The picture gets small fast when you try to capture the expanse of hops. The yards are everywhere. I knew this. We’ve driven through here in December, but it’s quite different when hops are growing.
A more amusing photo would have been me trooping through the test plots at the Hop Research Center at Hüll. I had to wear blue booties, like the ones you see people wearing in hospitals for some antiseptic reason. In this case, they don’t want any foreign critters tracked into the yard. I didn’t even tell them that I’d been in and out of English fields a few days before.
> snif <
It's just gorgeous. Color me as green as those vines.
Hey Stan — losing myself in the photo I started to wonder what sort of camera you use. The capture of the colors and depth of space (if not field) is very nice, even in the small, web image.
How did it smell?
Not a lot of hop aromas in the air yet, even walking between the plants. That will change quickly, though not quickly enough to suit me.
If you grab a Mittelfrüh cone right now and open it up lots of floral and spicy aroma. They’ll be the first that are ready to pick. A chance late next week, thus before I leave, but more likely the following week ;<(
“If you grab a Mittelfrüh cone right now and open it up lots of floral and spicy aroma.”
On one of my trips to Munich I wandered the Viktualienmarkt while my friends did some shopping in the stores. One stand had a big bin of fresh hops (that I can only surmise were Hellertauer) they were selling (for what purpose, I never knew).
I watched a couple around my age looking at the bin and discussing what they were — pretty sure they were American tourists, though I didn’t actually hear their words. I reached in, plucked a cone and rubbed it between my hands and gave it a big sniff then offered it up to them — their eyes lit up and they were very surprised at the flowery, spicy aroma. I walked off to meet my friends at the Biergarten and never really saw what the couple did after that, but I’ll bet they were in for a pound!
Stan, hops are 10 days away at the earliest and 4 weeks for the end of the harvest here in Embudo.
That’s awesome!… sounds like you’re going to have fun writing your new book…