Hops have been used in brewing beer for literally hundreds of years. They were found to give bitterness and act to preserve beer. Hops are often grown on large hop farms, usually several hundred acres, with multiple varieties. In the United States, Yakima, WA is the primary growing region, followed by the Willamette Valley in Oregon, and the Boones Ferry region of Idaho. Hops are also produced in Australia, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Germany, United Kingdom, and many other places. A growing number of homebrewers are also starting to grow their own hops.

On a farm, all hops are grown on a trellis. Most of those are simply several large poles, anywhere from 20-30 feet high, with rope or wires running to the ground. Hops grow up the vine and can get as high as 30 feet! But they can be trained to grow in several different ways. A home trellis can simply be a few long sticks or posts, with a cross wire between them, and twine going down to the ground for the hops to grow on. There is no one way to build a trellis. Some growers have hops grow up the side of their home or along a fence. The biggest enemies are bugs and mildew.

A few videos are available for hop rhizome planting. A rhizome is the root of a hop plant. In the videos provided, we start with the basics of selecting a location, pre-soaking, and planting. At the time these videos were made, the hops were fresh in the ground and nothing was growing yet. More videos of their progress will be added in the spring when they start growing.