In her plan for a brewer’s garden, Rebecca Kneen takes hops production from the “back forty” to the backyard. Armchair brewers daydreaming about crafting their own microbrews can now rise from their seats and start growing the ingredients for their custom ales and lagers: organic hops, flavoring flowers and herbs, fruits, and more. Rebecca demonstrates how easy it is to transform an average-size backyard into a small-scale hops operation with a design that’s both productive and beautiful.
Because hops are an essential ingredient in beer brewing, giving flavor and aroma to the finished product, they take center stage in Rebecca’s garden. The dominant element of the landscape is the 9- by 12-foot wooden pergola that lends its sturdy support to 10 rampant hops vines while creating a shady retreat for al fresco meals. “Hops growing requires infrastructure,” says Rebecca. “They are huge plants that are tall and wide, and you need to allow 12 to 18 feet in height for each plant and 3 to 5 feet in width.” She also notes that a spot with full sun and good soil is a must, and she recommends digging in generous amounts of compost each year.
Managing hops vines. At the base of the hops vines, Rebecca has planted mostly annual plants including Thai basil, cilantro, and barley. The hops rhizomes need to be dug up each spring and pruned back — a process that could damage perennial plants or bulbs. “Some large mature crowns can produce 20 to 30 rhizomes per plant, and if such exuberant growth is left unchecked, the plants will soon cover the entire acreage with a solid mass of plant material!” warns Rebecca. The pruned rhizomes can be used to expand production or be shared with fellow brewers. The two small patches of barley are included mostly for show. “But it could also be used for home malting experiments or to make smoked grains for specialty beers,” Rebecca suggests.
Pick your hops varieties carefully based on what you intend to make from them. “Any grower of hops must be very familiar with the uses of hops and the desired acid and oil profiles for any given variety,” says Rebecca. Another reason to choose wisely: the plants will stick around for a while. “Hops crowns live for up to 25 years in good conditions, and each vine will produce up to 2 pounds (0.8 kg) of hops a year,” says Rebecca.
Another patch of hops vines lines the north side of the garden, with the fast-growing plants supported on tall posts, preferably made of cedar because of its durability. The posts should be at least 10 to 12 feet tall and spaced 3 to 5 feet apart. “A heavy wire (12-gauge high-tensile wire is ideal) or aircraft cable should run between the posts,” says Rebecca, adding that each year, heavy-duty string, sisal twine, coir, or paper twine should be tied to the cable for the hops to climb up.
Tasty and practical mulch. At the base of these post-supported hops, more cilantro and Thai basil, as well as potatoes, are planted to create a living mulch. “You can cook the potatoes and eat them with the beer, or you can use them in the beer as a starch source, much like rolled oats or flake barley,” says Rebecca. She suggests that the cilantro be used in homemade salsas to accompany the beer and some homemade potato chips. Cilantro seeds, better known as coriander, can be collected to make spiced winter ales or wheat beers. The Thai basil, on the other hand, adds anise notes to beer; the flowering tops can also be used to flavor vinegar, turning it a soft pink.
Thanks to a suggestion by Rebecca’s partner, Brian MacIsaac, she has included several pots of aromatic spearmint — another brewing herb that can be used fresh in beer. Brian also suggests a juniper for making sahti (a traditional beer from Finland); juniper berries and branches can be included “either in the brew or as a strainer for hot wort to make an easy version,” Rebecca says.
Using flowers. Throughout summer, the tall flowers in this plan— meadowsweet, angelica, yarrow, and bee balm — provide long-lasting color to the garden. “All of these flowers are used for bittering beer,” says Rebecca. “Bittering in beer is important because without it the malty, grainy flavors would lack structure and backbone, creating a very soft, flabby, and sweet flavor.” She points out that all of the herbs and flowers used in brewing also have medicinal uses, which makes beer both flavorful and healthful.
If space and local by-laws allow, Rebecca suggests including a beehive in the garden, perhaps tucking it behind the pumpkins or beneath the crabapple. The honey could be used as an additional source of sugar in various beers, or used to make mead.
The small selection of fruiting trees and shrubs serves several purposes. These plants add an important visual element because they provide year-round structure to the garden. They also yield juicy fruits that can be used to flavor homebrews, or eaten right off the bush! A row of raspberries are supported on a T-bar wire trellis. Jostaberries are a cross between a black currant and a gooseberry; these vigorous plants can grow over 6 feet tall. A crab apple (for cider or beer) anchors one corner, and red and black currants anchor another.
Pumpkin ale. The northeast corner of the garden is home to pumpkins or winter squash, which can be used for pies or pumpkin ale, and the big ones as casks. “[They] also make a good base plant for the hops vines, as the pumpkins would only be shading the vines late in the season when it doesn’t matter,” says Rebecca.
1. Hops
2. Barley
3. Yarrow
4. Meadowsweet
5. Angelica
6. Thai basil
7. Cilantro
8. Spearmint (in pots)
9. Bee balm
10. Red currant
11. Black currant
12. Raspberries
13. ‘Red Kuri’ winter squash, pie pumpkins, or giant pumpkins
14. Potatoes
15. Juniper
16. ‘Adams’ crab apple
17. Jostaberry
18. Lemon in pot