Fuggles whole hops - yellowish green?

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todd_k

todd_k

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I cut open 2 1 oz packs of UK fuggles whole hops today, both were vaccum sealed. They have a yellowish green color to them and compared to the columbus pellets, smell nothing like hops.

I have never worked were whole hops before. I expected them to be green. I kept them in the fridge for 2 weeks after buying them. Are these ok to use? Should they have been in the freezer?

EDIT: now that I've thought about it for a few minutes, they kinda smell like Lipton Onion Soup Mix
 
Whole hops can be yellowy because they are full of the little globbets of resin that we are after. And no, they don't smell like pellets, they smell like hops. You won't ever go to pellets again, I would betcha.
 
I remember one of Dude's threads (Old Leghumper maybe?) where he had some yellow hops that smelled like cheese. What you're saying is that these are ok to use?
 
I think Fuggles tend to be a little bit more yellow looking than other hops.

If hops don't smell like hops (i.e., like cheese) it usually means they've gone bad. Not good for regular beer, good if you're brewing a lambic. Crazy Belgians.

OTOH, Fuggles and East Kent Goldings tend to have a very earthy, woody smell, unlike many newer varieties. I love them, but I have a friend who calls them dirt hops. He can't stand them.
 
Well this is just f'n great. I've got my brew in the primary and was suppose to add 2 oz of fuggles at 0 minutes and these fuggles have obviously gone bad. (I was also suppose to dry hop w/ .7 oz of fuggles.)

Will it affect the brew too much if I don't add these hops for a few days? Or at least until I can get my hands on some new hops?
 
I doubt the fuggles have gone bad. Fuggles tend not to be "hoppy" sharp like other hops, and the yellowish color is not unusual for fuggles. I have used fuggles many a time, and I almost exclusively use whole hops, and almost every batch of fuggles I ever bought were yellowish and smelled kinda dry and earthy when I opened them.

Don't worry, and have a homebrew.

:mug:
 
You could probably just up the amount of dry hops. More is better, right?:rockin:

It's possible you're just not used to the smell of Fuggles - I always think they smell a little like a cross between nice freshly turned earth and cut wood, but I would guess if they smell like onion soup mix that they're probably bad.
 
Will it affect the brew too much if I don't add these hops for a few days? Or at least until I can get my hands on some new hops?
Click to expand...

You won't get much bitterness unless you make a hop tea and add it later. If you're going to dry hop, I'd do it in the secondary--give the yeast a chance to build up the alcohol content so you aren't as apt to get an infection from non-sterile hops. :)
 
I have decided not to add the fuggles, I just don't want to risk the batch with cheesey-smelling hops.

Thanks for the hop tea suggestion, I wasn't even thinking about that.

EDIT: How do I make a hop tea? :)
 
Dude said:
floyd...you'll know they are bad. If they are earthy I'd still use 'em. If they smell like cheese I'd go to plan B.
Click to expand...

I'm backing off the Lipton Onion Soup mix smell. A much more accurate description is the dried cheese packet that comes in a box of Kraft mac and cheese.
 
yeah they should smell good, fresh no matter what kind of hops they are. When it comes to aroma/flavor you really want the freshest hops you can get. Whole hops are only better then pellets when they are fresh. Pellets store way better and therefore are a great alternative for flavor (30-15 min before end of boil).

If i were you id just dry hop with some plugs or whole fuggles/ ek gold.

and definitley keep them in the freezer in the future. I keep mines in a tupperwear container thats wrapped in tin foil. (of course they are in air tight vacumed sealed bags as well)
 
Bjorn Borg said:
yeah they should smell good, fresh no matter what kind of hops they are. When it comes to aroma/flavor you really want the freshest hops you can get. Whole hops are only better then pellets when they are fresh. Pellets store way better and therefore are a great alternative for flavor (30-15 min before end of boil).

If i were you id just dry hop with some plugs or whole fuggles/ ek gold.

and definitley keep them in the freezer in the future. I keep mines in a tupperwear container thats wrapped in tin foil. (of course they are in air tight vacumed sealed bags as well)
Click to expand...

Mine were in vacuum sealed bags as well and they were stored in a fridge at the Weekend Brewer so I figured I was good, of course, I bought those 2 weeks ago.

I found a oz of fuggles whole hops on e-bay for $1 so I may just buy a few of those.
 
How much are hops at your local shop? I pay $1.25 per ounce. By the time you pay shipping on ebay it's cheaper to buy locally
 
HurricaneFloyd said:
Mine were in vacuum sealed bags as well and they were stored in a fridge at the Weekend Brewer so I figured I was good, of course, I bought those 2 weeks ago.

I found a oz of fuggles whole hops on e-bay for $1 so I may just buy a few of those.
Click to expand...

They should have been good. I dunno about getting hops on ebay, dont get me wrong im all about ebay for electronics and what-not, but hops are soo perishable; I wouldnt trust some random dude who's selling them regardless if he's sketchy or not. Does not the so-called 'weekend brewer' carry whole or plugs? If not check out north county malt, or the grape and granary, or ebrew, these are all relatively local, trustworthy, online places that well get you good fresh hops at around about 1.25 an ounce within 3 days or so...
 
Bjorn Borg said:
They should have been good. I dunno about getting hops on ebay, dont get me wrong im all about ebay for electronics and what-not, but hops are soo perishable; I wouldnt trust some random dude who's selling them regardless if he's sketchy or not. Does not the so-called 'weekend brewer' carry whole or plugs? If not check out north county malt, or the grape and granary, or ebrew, these are all relatively local, trustworthy, online places that well get you good fresh hops at around about 1.25 an ounce within 3 days or so...
Click to expand...

Weekend Brewer had Fuggles in pellet and whole hops, not plugs. I will have to go through one of the online sites since I can't drive 40 min to Chester during the week.
 
If you purchased them locally, take them back and get their opinion. Don't know about UK Fuggles, but Oregon Fuggles have a mild, spicy aroma and are a pale green.
 
david_42 said:
If you purchased them locally, take them back and get their opinion. Don't know about UK Fuggles, but Oregon Fuggles have a mild, spicy aroma and are a pale green.
Click to expand...

I did purchase them locally, relatively speaking. It's a 40 minute drive so with gas prices and time constraints, I think I'm better off just buying off the web. This was my first experience with anything but pellets so I'm just going to learn from the mistake and move on.
 
budbo said:
Boil water, add hops boil for 15-60 min cool and pour in.
Click to expand...

15-60? That's a pretty big range. Does the boil time depend on the amount of hops?
 
bump.

What is the ratio of water to hops and why is there such a difference in boil time? (15-60min)
 
If you want a bitter hop tea, go for 60 minutes. If you want hop flavour, go for 15. If you want aroma, go for 2. Try a mix of all three if you want. Make sure you add some DME to the water to help the utilisation.
 
http://www.freshops.com has very good hops at good prices. I'd beware of eBay hops. Hops are so cheap that you're better off buying them from a reputable place than from some dude on ebay.

S&H be damned! Your beer is only as good as your worse ingredient. Pay an extra couple of bucks for the good stuff and you won't regret it.
 
My hops were waiting for me when I got home! Gotta love the USPS. I called G&G and got the tracking #, checked the status around 3:00 and it said the electronic information had been received and they were going to pick it up, that was yesterday. today, the hops are on my doorstep. Way to stay current on the tracking, USPS!

I will do up the hop tea tonight and we'll see how it goes!
 

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