Ella and I harvested this year’s hop crop from the Centennial plant and I estimate the harvest was at least 5 times what it was last year. This is good news. I can’t find my scale, so I have no idea what the final weight was, but volume-wise, it was about half-a gallon. The cones came right off the plant, with a  short pause to let some of the bugs out, and in to the kettle with about 5 minutes left in the boil. I don’t think the contribution will amount to much, but they’re in there. They’ll be competing agains 11oz of other hops (8 of Cascade, 3 Amarillo).
The Willamette plant didn’t do anything again. I think it’s coming up next year to make way for a producer.
Interesting about the Willamette plant. Mine is in its second year. Though it produced a reasonable amount of cones (about a batch of beer’s worth), it had major issues during its growing season. Aphids, yellowing/brittle leaves, and somewhat meager leaf proliferation. I’ve been meaning to do some research into what kind of issues Willamette hops typically have. It might just be a disease-prone variety.
I think it was probably a rhizome on it’s last legs when it was dug up in the field. Now just have to pick a replacement. for next year.
All 8 of my plants are doing better then expected this year. Everything was from first year rhizomes planted in May. We had no expectations, but every plant is filed with maturing cones. The Chinook should be ready to pick soon.
Any brew suggestions for the Chinook? “Arrogant Bastard” seems to be a popular choice, but I am not a big fan.
Here’s a pick of the Chinook cones: http://twitpic.com/2jgc02
Looking good!
Are you looking to do a single-hop beer with Chinook? If not, IMHO, bittering hops are just bittering hops and can be substituted pretty willy-nilly as long as you match alpha-acid contribution. I’m sure there are differing opinions, but the essential oils are volatile and are largely gone after 60 minutes in a boil. The character comes mostly from your late additions.
Chinooks can bitter anything up, but if you like the the aroma, highlight with an addition in the last couple minutes or flameout, or dry hop it.
I think Chinooks tend to come across as rather harsh, and grassier/pineir than I usually want, but to each their own.
Originally, I was going to do a gonzo batch by mixing the 1-2oz produced by each plant. But, now that it looks like I might get almost 1/2 lbs per… So it would be nice to do individual batches that highlight each one. For instance, the cascade is going towards a batch of Epic: http://epic-pale-ale.blogspot.com/
Not sure what to do with the Pride of Ringwood either…
Gonna harvest mine this weekend. All three varieties are 2 years old. The Galenas are going gangbusters and should yield about 5x of last year. This will be the first year I get any harvest from the cascades but it will be a small yield. And like you, my Willametes will yield nothing. The plant is much bigger than last year but I’m wondering if it’s not getting enough light or it’s just a week variety. I’ll give it one more year and we’ll see.