How to use fresh hop?

[jb1986]

Hello,

I decided -for fun- to try to grow my own hop. I'm positively surprised to have a lot of cascade and centenial that I will harvest in a few weeks. Hard to estimate but ~500 cones.

1. What's in you opinion the best way to use it? Should I use it wet or dry it? I'm a beginner (4 batches) and red a lot of comments saying that it adds grassy tastes that not everybody like.
2. Should I combine it with another hop (more bitter) and add my hop later during boiling? Or use only my own hop? (i saw the 5x ratio in comparison to pellets)
3. And regarding harvesting, should I harvest everything at the same time? I've cones that are already very big (but not ready yet) and other that still are small.

Thank you!!

 

[Minbari]

@Bulin's Milker Bucket Brews grows his own. He might know

 

[dmtaylor]

Hello,

I decided -for fun- to try to grow my own hop. I'm positively surprised to have a lot of cascade and centenial that I will harvest in a few weeks. Hard to estimate but ~500 cones.

1. What's in you opinion the best way to use it? Should I use it wet or dry it? I'm a beginner (4 batches) and red a lot of comments saying that it adds grassy tastes that not everybody like.
2. Should I combine it with another hop (more bitter) and add my hop later during boiling? Or use only my own hop? (i saw the 5x ratio in comparison to pellets)
3. And regarding harvesting, should I harvest everything at the same time? I've cones that are already very big (but not ready yet) and other that still are small.

Thank you!!

1) I have not used wet hops yet (I have always dried mine first), but I plan to give it a try this season. Go ahead and try them wet, I have tasted good beers made this way.
2) Use a different hop for bittering, then add your wet hops in the last 5-10 minutes of the boil, and let them steep for another 15-30 minutes after the end of the boil before removing. Wet hops contain 25% solids, 75% moisture, so you should need 4 times as much as a regular recipe by weight. Or 5 times would guarantee a good amount of flavor and aroma. I will try about 4 to 4.5 times as much.
3) In my experience, as well as that of hop grower experts, you should not harvest until all the hops are big, and many are beginning to dry and brown on the edges. This will maximize flavor and aroma as well as alpha acids, and will reduce grassiness. Here I do not harvest mine until middle or end of September. I have been very happy with results.

 

[Tim Bulin]

I dry mine first, got some of them tested last year, were pretty close to the commercial hops I was buying in aa content. For the rest I just plugged them into the recipe builder by variety and rolled with it. Adjust up or down as needed. No need to be afraid to use them for every addition.

Start with a recipe you know for a baseline.

 

[jb1986]

I dry mine first, got some of them tested last year, were pretty close to the commercial hops I was buying in aa content. For the rest I just plugged them into the recipe builder by variety and rolled with it. Adjust up or down as needed. No need to be afraid to use them for every addition.

Start with a recipe you know for a baseline.

So I guess i'll dry it too.

I saw that it's best to harvest in the afternoon. I would let it sit 1-2 hours to have every potential insects away and dry it during the evening? or the day after? it takes ~8h to dry?

And then? Can we use directly?

 

[Tim Bulin]

So I guess i'll dry it too.

I saw that it's best to harvest in the afternoon. I would let it sit 1-2 hours to have every potential insects away and dry it during the evening? or the day after? it takes ~8h to dry?

And then? Can we use directly?

I try to pick after the dew is pretty much dried off, but when they’re ready they’re ready. Window is about a week or a little less to get them picked.
As far as drying, I spread them out on some 2’x4’ burlap screens that I built and get air flow over and under them with a couple of fans. When the stems break when you bend them in half, they are dry.
Probably not the most scientific method, it it’s what I do.
Without heat they will generally take at least a couple days to dry.

After they are dry I use them like any other hops.

To answer your other question, I get them spread out and drying as soon as I get done picking for the day. Think of it like drying hay, you need to get it spread out and drying so it doesn’t start to rot.

 

[BarbarianBrewer]

The July/August issue of BYO magazine has a more scientific way to determine when to pick hops. It involves weighing them fresh, then microwaving them, then weighing them again to determine moisture content. Not too difficult but if I grew hops I'd probably use this method to start. But, after a season or two, would probably wind up using @Bulin's Milker Bucket Brews method.