hoping for hops

Earlier this spring we inherited two hop plants from a friend who didn't want them any more. They were established root balls a few years old. One is already quite tall as you can see above. The other root ball was smaller. We planted it in a large container and, sadly, has not sprouted (yet?). Unfortunately, we don't know what variety they are, but since they were purchased from a garden store and not a beer store, we were informed that they might be the ornamental Golden Hop (Humulus lupulus 'Aurea'). The vote is out on whether that variety is any good for brewing. One source said it tastes like Fuggles. I guess we'll just have to wait and find out.

To replace the second plant that hasn't sprouted, we picked up a new rhizome from Hop To It, the local homebrew shop.

It's a Chinook variety. In hindsight I would have selected Hallertau since I hear it is better for this dry sunny climate.