Hops update

The last hops entry was about my latest experimental growing scheme and detailed my inability to detach the line to let the hop vines down for picking.

That has continued with the 2017 harvest, but I've learned to use a tree branch trimmer extension to cut the vines down in stages from a ladder. Dangerous, but effective (until we find a solution to the detachment problem). 

But one thing that I learned years ago is that the best way to harvest hops is always with a bunch of friends (and nosy neighborhood kids) and this year was no different.  

This 2017 year's hops crop was donated to an aspiring kombucha startup named Motherlode that a friend of mine is starting. Just last week I got to taste the fruits of her labor and it was great! Small disclaimer that I had never had kombucha before this and that all of the flavors were still awesome. I wish her the best success and she can have all the hops she can pick from my lines next year (especially since we got tired and didn't do a thorough job this year, lol). Cheers!