There is a very nice shrub I've seen at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum called hop bush (Dodonaea viscosa). It's a wild form, with the seeds looking essentially the same. But are you wanting the vine, which I have seen growing in huge plantations in CA farms? The agricultural crop looks very impressive, growing in tall, vast cages. Here is a link that might be useful: Dodonaea viscosa (Master Gardeners, UA Pima Ext. page)

"A number of flavors are associated with spruce-flavored beverages, ranging from floral, citrusy, and fruity to cola-like flavors to resinous and piney." I think I'll stick with plain old hops-brewed beer. This sounds like a beer of last resort, similar to coffee made from Kentucky Coffee Tree. Better than nothing, but not much...

Hi Brian.My name is John and I am a homebrewer:>!I grew hops for a couple of seasons and just how much do you brew? Two hops vines will keep you in all the flavor and aroma hops you can use by the third season.I can see getting different varieties,but more than one of each is overkill.BTW using homegrown hops for bittering is very dicey,since alpha acids can vary greatly from season to season.If you do want to propagate you can just cut a piece of rhizome after a couple of seasons.Hops are downright invasive,so keep 'em in check!Good luck and happy brewing!

Mostly PBR consumed here... just cheap generic-ish beer. A fan of Atwater Brewing Co... their Hell beer is amazing. Mad Hatter Ale a favorite. Two Hearted Ale is very decent. For a hoppy hop beer I love Lake Superior ESB. It has been awhile but I make stout that is priceless. Hard to find good hops these days. Maybe the "coloring" of memory but it seems years ago the hops tasted better. As most brewers recall a terrible plague destroyed the noble hops. Not a huge fan of Cascade hops but Sierra Nevada with the green lable is a decent mid-priced beer. Also a fan of their Porter but it is very filling. Frankenmuth Brewery is about 45 minutes from my home. Years ago before the tornado hit it had the most wonderful brews... I drank many bottles of Bad Frog which was really excellent beer. When it was rebuilt I really enjoyed the heffe weisen they had on tap. It failed economically but has reopened and I've not tried the new brews. Really miss the old brewery which had a brew shop and tours.... for about $2 a pretty girl would lead you around the place and then serve you "samples"... I took many many tours... often the only guest on the tour. Years ago I loved Sam Adams Honey Porter... I'm a fan of the Porter style in general. Alas, they seemed to have changed the recipe or the hops changed. Perhaps my taste changed but it ain't the same anymore.