Cascades hop harvest aroma???

Ok so I harvest my first year cascades. Ended up with about 8 oz wet. They are in the dehydrator now at 95. However they do not smell like cascades. They smell very grassy/herbally. I am wondering if I picked too early? Any advice on the way the smell right after picking?

They started to turn a little pale and slight browning around the edges. The also rebound when compressed and they feel papery to the touch.

How do yours smell after picking???

Rip one open and then take a whiff. I think you'll notice it smells alot different.

Take your finger or thumb and rub it under the petal on the lupin gland. The yellow part. Then smell it.

It is hard to describe the smell, it is a tart type of smell, kind of grapefruity.

hmm, maybe they are still a little wet. It still just smells like grass or lettuce. Even un-dried are they supposed to be plump full of aroma?!?

MilwaukeeBrewGuy said:

hmm, maybe they are still a little wet. It still just smells like grass or lettuce. Even un-dried are they supposed to be plump full of aroma?!?

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I would suggest posting a photo or two.

not to hijack but i have the same problem - wondering wether to take the time to vacuseal or not.
this is from a 3rd year plant and is dried - i don't see much yellow - what do you guys think?
i got 4 full 5 gallon pails wet between cascade and hallertau and they both smell just like grass after drying

I haven't harvested mine yet, but just today I picked a 1-2 to see how things were going. After ripping them open and a quick rub between my finger I was amazed at the aroma. Even now hours later and multiple hand washing I still get a subtle hint of the cascade aroma.

I look forward to Tuesday .... harvest day!!!!

I'm no expert, but upon picking mine, my fingers smelled strongly of grapefruity goodness and the aroma was awesome. No grassy smells at all.

If the yellow "glands" are in there, you should smell it. I'd break one apart and rub it over my wrist and see if the smell is better.

good idea yooper - i just crushed one up and little aroma came out and it tastes bitter when i licked my fingers.
it just seems subdued compared to last year.
there wasn't much rain in the two weeks before harvest- just wondering if lack of water causes smaller 'glands'?

1st year cascade harvest for me. 2 bines and I got only about 2oz after being dried. While I was picking I got a pretty classic cascade "citrus" scent all over my hands. Crushed a few in my hands after drying and they smell fantastic.

Probably just going to throw them all into a batch of beer and see what happens.

I can't wait till next year.

i have 2- 2nd year cascades going wild and they are the same way as well, pungent when squeezed though. Did you harvest them all at once ? i picked a few( enough for a good batch of ipa) this past weekend. they smell grassy just sitting there, until you move them (air drying) .

In my case I don't think that my hops get enough sunlight/heat. We had a great hot start to the growing season and then it turned too cool to produce quality hop cones. I have two pounds of wet bland Cascade hops. Some of them had already dried on the bine and others had the Lupulin glands go bad, almost none of them had that nice golden yellow color/aroma that commercial hops have.I no longer expect to ever use my hops for brewing until I can move the plants to a better location. I might just try to find them a new home for next year.

i did notice that after they dried out real good I was able to pick up a little grapefruity aroma. Still nothing like commercial, but maybe they need a little aging.

As I vacuum sealed my Cascades I wondered at the lack of real hops aroma. They smelled a lot like tea (Earl Grey). Had some citrus aroma, but a lot of tea smell. They air dried for 3-4 days in the garage with a fan blowing on them.

I thought I would chime in as I had the same experience here in Minnesota with my first year Cascades. I was waiting for the "kick you in the face" hop aroma and never experienced it, but there is no doubt that MOST mine were ready to be harvested as of last Friday. Not until I had harvested 50 cones did I pick up a hop smell, and by that time, both mine and my son's hands smelled pretty delicious. Until then, they smelled similar to your description - like grass or a weed... My wife thought like they smelled like weed, weed.

Mine were REALLY dry and sounded like tissue paper when crunched
Some of the leaves were browning
The Lupulin was gold
The tops of the cones were starting to flare out and up

Homercidal said:

As I vacuum sealed my Cascades I wondered at the lack of real hops aroma. They smelled a lot like tea (Earl Grey). Had some citrus aroma, but a lot of tea smell. They air dried for 3-4 days in the garage with a fan blowing on them.

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exactly the same aroma i get.

are you all seeing "school bus" yellow lupulin glands? Or more of a golden color? Mine is school bus yellow color and I think I read somewhere that it should be more golden, but I may be mistaken.

MilwaukeeBrewGuy said:

are you all seeing "school bus" yellow lupulin glands? Or more of a golden color? Mine is school bus yellow color and I think I read somewhere that it should be more golden, but I may be mistaken.

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It varies a little between the varieties, from what I have seen. I have seen the light yellow to a medium gold depending on variety. It may be varying on AA% or some other related factor, but there is definite differences between varieties in my yard. The Newports were gold while the Chinook and Cascades much lighter.

Homercidal said:

As I vacuum sealed my Cascades I wondered at the lack of real hops aroma. They smelled a lot like tea (Earl Grey). Had some citrus aroma, but a lot of tea smell. They air dried for 3-4 days in the garage with a fan blowing on them.

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If you soaked em in boiling water you would smell it immediately. The aroma of fresh-picked or dried hops is not as obvious as when added to hot water much like dry tea (not the heavily spiced kind, mind you).

I think the color that I saw earlier was a lighter yellow. At picking time it had gone a bit more dark.

There was no lack of aroma if you squished a cone, that is for sure, though!

Homercidal said:

I think the color that I saw earlier was a lighter yellow. At picking time it had gone a bit more dark.

There was no lack of aroma if you squished a cone, that is for sure, though!

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There is definitely aroma there, and IMO the drier and more ready to harvest, the more obvious. I don't sense that the aroma is similar to what you expect in finished beer though. Maybe it is just a matter of the concentration of the aroma?

Great discussion on the fine points, especially for my Cascades. I think I will give them a few more days. They are papery and crunchy, but the smell is grassy, and the lupulin is still a bright "yellow light" yellow. Unfortunately, we won't get warm sunny and dry weather till like the middle of next week. Cloudy with 30% chance of precip all weekend and into the start of the week for the Seattle area. And, we have had rain the past several days. Go figure!

i think mine are a write off
i boiled up some water and added a few dried cones- no aroma at all.
let it cool and tasted it - a little bitter but no citrus.
not going to waste the time or $$$ to vacu seal - will just throw out and hope for better luck next year.

man that is sad.That many hops to toss. How many did you boil?

I just picked and dried 1.25 pounds of Zeus hops and man they are pungent compared to my weak little cascades.

I am curious as to why this is. I taste more grapefruit in mine that i can smell. Have you tasted one that was un-boiled? just a leaf or two?

Not sure what it means but the more brown my zeus are the more aroma they have. I am starting to think we may have picked to0 early??

MilwaukeeBrewGuy said:

man that is sad.That many hops to toss. How many did you boil?

I just picked and dried 1.25 pounds of Zeus hops and man they are pungent compared to my weak little cascades.

I am curious as to why this is. I taste more grapefruit in mine that i can smell. Have you tasted one that was un-boiled? just a leaf or two?

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i put 4 or 5 cones in a cup of boiling water- no aroma
last years harvest smelled great.
i will try a taste tonight since i haven't been able to toss them yet - maybe they will be salvageable