home grown hop disappointment

ekjohns · 10-20-2011, 11:43 PM

I have some first year cascade that grew about 12 oz of dried hops. They were picked when the hops were pappery, tips brown, and lots of lupilin. However i brewed with them adding 1 oz at 10 min and 2 oz at flameout. However the smell was never as good as hops i buy. If anything they were more grassy smelling. They were dried very well on a screen. Is this cause they are first years or cause they were picked at the wrong time?

NorthSide · 10-20-2011, 11:57 PM

i also dried a lot of my first year centennials and they don't smell as good as store bought hops, so i'm worried i might end up with the same issue. i'm curious to know if next years with have better aroma...

**Retrofit** · 10-21-2011, 03:03 PM

First year hops spend a lot of energy trying to survive in their new home. There are a lot of factors that influence growth, weather, water, soil, blah, blah.

I personally think all my hops are more aromatic than store bought hops. In fact I just brewed last weekend with a guy that never used home grown hops and he was amazed at the aroma of my Mt. Hood. After I dropped the hops, you could see a pile of lupins at the bottom of the vacuum bag. Give them another year and some more love, they'll come back stronger than first years. Good things come to those who wait.

solbes · 10-21-2011, 04:44 PM

I've found the same thing and am hoping for better results in year 2, and excellent results in year 3.

ekjohns · 10-21-2011, 06:42 PM

I figured the first year would not be that good, but i was optimistic when I got 12 oz off one plant. Guess it doesn't have to do with amount as much as quality?

cfonnes · 10-21-2011, 06:49 PM

Almost exact same thing happened to me. 12 oz of hops (wet) from first year Columbus. I made a wet hop ale with all 12 oz, great bittering but little to no aroma and grassy. I was thinking that perhaps it was because I live in such a dry environment, but now I am looking forward to next year.

ekjohns · 10-21-2011, 06:50 PM

I got 12 oz dry! but mostly grassy and no aroma...cant wait till next year I should have MUCH more

edsrockin · 11-08-2011, 10:54 PM

i tried to brew an all Nugget IPA with fresh hops. i put 5 oz -- 2 oz for 60 min, 1 for 30 min, 1 more for 5, 1 oz at flameout, and 2 oz dry hopped for 14 days. there is hardly ANY hop flavor to it. there is some bittering but nothing like i'd expected. i did formulate a big grain bill for it to balance out the hops, but it is FAR from an IPA. i am glad to read that this seems to be a common thing for first year yields. next year! next year!

gbx · 11-09-2011, 06:55 AM

My first year harvest ale is terrible with a brutal "cheese and lawn cuttings" character. I've been using it only for cooking but I always give it a try and its definitely getting better. I'm storing bottles around the house at different temperatures so its also gonna be an experiment on how beer ages. Hopefully it will age into something drinkable and hopefully next year's harvest is better.

day_trippr · 11-09-2011, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbx

My first year harvest ale is terrible with a brutal "cheese and lawn cuttings" character.[...]

The "cheese" character is usually indicative of oxidation. How did you store the hops - and for how long - before using them?

Cheers!