What can be used to keep aphids off of hops without ruining the taste of beer?

I planted my first rhizome this year to try my hand at hop growing. To my surprise the plant flourished and was ready to yield at least a half pound of hops. To my great sadness I awoke this morning to find that aphids had completely ravaged the entire plant.

Next year what can be done to control them and not leave a residue that will end up in beer? I have read a little about the soap and water treatment but wonder if this will leave any aftertaste in a beer.

Topic aftertaste hops homebrew

Category Mac

1
answered at

Cascade or Willamette hops? I grow both, and they are especially vulnerable (or attractive) to aphids for some reason.. more so than other hop varieties. On the other hand, Cascade and Willamette are vigorous and resist mold.

I don't do anything to fight aphids except mulch around the base of the plants. I bought hemlock and wood chip mulch, and mulched for 1 meter in every direction. The hops love mulch by the way, and you have to water them less.

The mulch makes it easy to keep grass and weeds away from the hops. No grass means you expose the aphids to attack by predator insects such as earwigs and wasps and yellowjacks, and birds.

As someone else noted, soap and water reportedly helps but I can't speak to that myself from experience.

You could also look into gardening forums about aphids. Some vegetables and flowers are useful for repelling specific types of insects. Catnip is a perennial and reportedly repels aphids: http://www.pallensmith.com/articles/pest-control-plants

Don't be afraid to plant something next to your hops. (Offtopic, but both pole and bush beans are awesome for injecting nitrogen into the soil... hops love nitrogen! I've started growing beans mid-summer for this reason (not really for the bean harvest).

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