Last year Leeds Hop Growers was launched in West Leeds and we are open again for new members, writes ALAN THORNTON.
More than 40 people joined last year and grew hop plants at home, in large pots or gardens. You don’t need any brewing experience or green fingers in particular. We gathered in the autumn with the first crop of hops to go into a special brew.
You too can take part by pre-ordering a £20 starter pack (and £10 for extra plants) to be picked up at the Cardigan Arms social event on Wednesday, 24 January.
The pack will include the rhizome (root), compost and string for it to grow up. They’ll need to be planted out and will grow high, with flowers at the end of summer.
You’ll be harvesting the “cones”, as they are called, around September and they’ll go straight into a special brew within a few hours.
Hops are a perennial plant, which means they’ll keep growing every year, which means more beer in the future.
Follow Leeds Hops Growers on Twitter.
The group was launched in Pudsey and Kirkstall last year.
