Question about aged hops.

Are aged hops supposed to smell like some really funky smelling cheese or nasty feet?

I purchased some "aged hop pellets" from my lhbs and they stinK!

I am wondering if this is legit or if my lhbs is trying to get rid of some old stock.

Did a quick search on here first before I replied (thought you had been taken!) but come to find out there is a time to use "aged" hops. Some Belgian beers (Lambics) are made using aged hops. I guess it's because they have lost most of their aromas but still have the preservative values for the beer.
I'm thinking that if you are brewing almost ANYTHING besides the afore mentioned you will be severely disappointed in the results. And personally... if they smell like "feet or cheese" they wouldn't be going into any beer I brew. : )
LHBS's I've been to, when they have older hops, they have the harvest date on them and what they believe the AA to be now at the current date. They call them "old" not "aged" lol
Cheers

If they are cheesy smelling they haven't aged enough for use in a lambic. Throw them in a paper bag and let them sit until the smell goes away. If in a hurry put them in an oven at 170F until they no longer smell bad.

cshamilton said:

If they are cheesy smelling they haven't aged enough for use in a lambic. Throw them in a paper bag and let them sit until the smell goes away. If in a hurry put them in an oven at 170F until they no longer smell bad.

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Interesting!

They smelled so bad I couldn't stand it. I pitched em! Instead I tossed some very old(not cheesy smelling) fuggles I had laying around on my dehydrator for the day.

thanks for the help guys!

worksnorth said:

Did a quick search on here first before I replied (thought you had been taken!) but come to find out there is a time to use "aged" hops. Some Belgian beers (Lambics) are made using aged hops. I guess it's because they have lost most of their aromas but still have the preservative values for the beer.
I'm thinking that if you are brewing almost ANYTHING besides the afore mentioned you will be severely disappointed in the results. And personally... if they smell like "feet or cheese" they wouldn't be going into any beer I brew. : )
LHBS's I've been to, when they have older hops, they have the harvest date on them and what they believe the AA to be now at the current date. They call them "old" not "aged" lol
Cheers

Click to expand...

This is the LAMBIC and WILD brewing section. I would assume he is brewing a sour style which would use aged hops.

They shouldn't smell like cheese. Age them longer.

I aged some of my homegrown hops using the paper bag method in my hot garage. I let them sit for a couple years and didn't smell them along the way so I don't know if they ever smelled cheesy, but after a couple years there was literally no hop aroma.

The OP contacted me via Facebook asking about the aged hops and their aroma. There seems to be 2 camps when it comes to cheesy hops. Some that say not to use them, and others say to use them, in the proper styles of course. Many of the references to using them are on this site (likewise there are comments to the opposite). As I replied to him via FB he is entitled to a refund of the 99 cents.

I was just reading Wild Brews this weekend and I'm pretty sure it says that cheesy smelling hops are appropriate for use in a lambic. I don't have the book with me at work so I can't find the section now, but I think cheese is OK. It adds to the complex variety of flavors you get from a lambic, and a lot of the cheesiness will get boiled off during the long boil used for lambics.

My aged hops have a slight cheesy/off aroma, but to me it isn't offensive. More like dried hay. In the end I don't think aged hops are required unless you are doing a spontaneous fermentation. For most sour beers using fresh hops, but keeping the IBUs under 20.

The hop bales at Cantillon smell like hops, nowhere close to cheese, but hops. You can still smell hops standing a good distance away from them. That said, they are faint and you really have to rub them to get the aroma out. But being in the huge bales they are more aromatic. And the packaging says Fuggles - whole leaf.

From Wild Brews, since it was mentioned above. Luckily I brought mine along on vacation.
"As hop resins oxidize, they can produce a cheesy aroma and flavor. Some people believe this character represents an important contribution to the flavor of lambic. The hops I've seen used in lambic production are old and oxidized but not stinking to the point of hop-cheddar. Aged hops actually may retain a bit of their natural aroma. Any aromatic compounds transferred to lambic wort should dissipate during the requisite long boil."

Most use three-year aged whole hops. Mort Subite is reportedly using pellets aged 5-7 years. Unless I was doing the super long turbid mash and multi-hour boil, I wouldn't dump cheese into my beer. That is a big investment in time to maybe throw it off.

I would like to say thanks to my Local homebrew store "South Hills Brewing Supply" aka "SHBSJon" for such a quick reply on Facebook and on here. You guys have been fantastic with all of my home brewing needs. My apologies for even considering that you were "Just trying to get rid of old stock". You guys got me into brewing and have helped me on so many occasions. Next time I have a question about something I won't make such a big "stink" about it.

I have decided that I have to test the cheese hops. I am going to brew 10 gallons of beer and split the batch. Half will be hopped with dehydrator-aged hops and the other half will be with the cheesy hops that I picked up at SHBS.

Any progress on your aged vs. dehydrated hops experiment? I'm curious to hear how it's coming along.