Most people say that wild hops in Eastern USA and Canada are likely Cluster. But these seem more intentionally planted for brewing in the town they were picked in, and the size and smell does not match
Here’s the back story. I live in Ontario Canada, and picked and cut a rhizome from St.Thomas Ontario a small town known for it’s railways, in the center of good agricultural land that grows a lot of Tobacco for the past many years. It’s had it’s share of breweries in London Ontario and 3 in the little town of St. Thomas that existed until prohibition (1916-1920). This location may have been from a German settler who ran a brewery, I think I have eliminated the English settler as having a brewery on the other side of town. Dutch might be possible. The location is beside a rail line that runs from London Ontario to the shipping port on Lake Erie. So picked hops lost along the railway line is possible but it’s just at the outskirts of the town boarder in 1880 and probably within the town boarder by 1900. And I’m still researching the 3 breweries to see if one was close to where I found them.
The hops are currently growing along fences, up trees, over bushes etc. in a man made 300ft ditch that appears to have no drain and no other function than for the hops. And it’s located between a cemetery and rail line.
The rhizome i cut was not a stick the size of my finger, but just a part or the many cord like roots the size of my wrist that spread from one of the many crowns that are about 3ft in diameter
My rhizome has taken off like mad, grown quite nicely, and i will have a good harvest.
But I have no idea what kind of hop it is.
I made tea with it, it’s low Alpha around 5%
the smell is fresh pine needles, maybe cedar hedge, and a nice lemon sent. The flavour is more towards pine and cedar than lemon.
There doesn’t seem to be a floral, or resin character.
If the Alpha was higher, and I was on the other side of the world Southern Cross describes a similar smell. If it helps the hop is just ripened now Sept 8th
I’ve checked http://www.americanhopmuseum.org/varieties.htm but it wasn’t helpful
The thing is there can’t be that many varieties from 1880-1916, and with the German, English or Dutch heritage I thought it would be easier to track down.
No, I have no idea
I found someone posted a picture of a beer bottle for one of the three breweries. Rudolph & Begg Brewing Co - St Thomas Ontario Pale Ale,
I’ve read that pre-prohibition the lager came to the front in North American brewing, not the light beer we have today, but cleaner, clearer beer than they would have had previously. I would assume that would happen with the breweries in this little town as well.
Without some chemical analysis or genetics, I would doubt that anyone could tell you what they are. Even if they could, I’d imagine there is enough terroir in hops that varieties may not produce the same results. Sure it would be nice to put a name label on them for historical interest & the like- but perhaps it is just as well to enjoy them for what they are- found hops.
I’ve got some too that I found along my road growing up an old maple tree. There used to be a small village there that no longer exists. Too soon to get flowers, but perhaps next year.
I think HopUnion was doing a per diem anaylitics of sample hops from anyone willing to shell out some $$. It might help to have all the specs and try and pin down the strain. Better yet, what a perfect excuse to brew an easy SMaSH!
I think leaf defintions are your key to solving it. It’s possible that someone has a plant they can match it to. Post a picture of your leaf or multiple leaves and tell where on the plant it was from. Is it near the main stem or where the cones are forming, etc…
I went to my garden and your leaf looks exactly like my Galena leaf that forms near the hop cone. There could be other plants that look the same also though.
The way I’d approach it would be to find a good agricultural college that you are near enough you could travel to their library for literature on hops along with pictures of the leaves. Or buy a good hops book or find articles on the internet.
You may have to brew a batch to figure out the taste profile, it’s another piece in the puzzle that could help you solve it.
There are two kinds of leaves on the main stem, they seem to alternate back and forth between the two styles, but only seems to have pointed leaves on the runners out where the hops are growing.
Both those leaves look like my Galena. The tri-lobed leaf near the main stems, single lobe near the cone growth. it’s late but I’ll post pictures in the next day or so.
