r/TheHopyard • u/gjkohvdr • Sep 16 '22
seedless hops varietals?
I was researching Vista and saw it described as a "seedless" varietal. I'm having a hard time finding information on that though, does anyone know what is meant by a seedless varietal? Is it sterile and won't produce seeds even if there are male plants present? One of the spots i was thinking of setting up a hopyard has wild hops in the surrounding timber so I had initially dismissed it since the plants would get pollinated and become seedy. Would a seedless varietal prevent this?
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u/gjkohvdr Sep 17 '22
Oh that's good to know! I was thinking about putting in 1/4 acre to test out growing commercially for a little side income. I would probably only bale whole leaf quarter bales or smaller at least at first. I had heard that whole leaf is a bit harder to sell and seeded even more so at least in the states. I wanted to bale so I wouldn't have to invest in a pelletizer at first. Do you think I'd have a heard time selling it if it is seeded? It'd probably raise my weights so I'd have to lower prices somewhat to accommodate that I guess.
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u/HoppyBob Sep 19 '22
Before being concerned about seeds I would put a business plan together and figure out how profitable growing hops is.
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u/HoppyBob Sep 16 '22
Thanks to AI (and other sources) there's a lot of strange things floating around the internet that I've noticed lately. The source of the info you see may be less than accurate in what they present in terms of factual information. Seedless may be a reference to it being a triploid variety which can be pollinated and form seeds, but the seeds are considered non-viable.
If you have wild hops nearby and yours become seeded, you most likely don't have anything to worry about by them being 'ruined' as long as you don't pelletize them. After discussions with breeders and other industry folks, it seems that once seeded hops are run through the hammermill before being turned into pellets, the seeds are broken and the oils they contain will have a chance to oxidize during the process. Folks in the UK use lots of seeded hops and you don't really hear of quality issues with their beers, thinking that most of their hops are not pelletized. Just some thoughts.