Fresh Hop Brewing

Two things to remember when using fresh (wet) hops: Use them within 48 hours of picking and plan on 5-8 times as much by weight as you would dried hops. The higher the typical AA% of a hop, the lower the wet:dry ratio. That's because the resins don't lose weight during the drying process.

Also, for reasons I don't understand, they don't work very well post-ferment. On the gripping hand, unless you had multiple harvests, you wouldn't have any fresh hops at that point anyway.

It is quite common for the pros to make fresh hop ales with just one variety of hop. Nugget works quite well. Just wish my Nugget would get busy!

Thanks for the post. Good stuff.

Any rules of thumb for randallizing wet hops?

I tried randalling an IPA three years ago at Hop Madness. Filled a cornie full of fresh hops (maybe three pounds) and hooked up the other cornie so the IPA flowed down through the hops.

Waste of hops.

I have been wondering what it would be like to "garnish" a glass with hops to get a similar effect, kinda like the olive or onion in a Martini. I am sure it may not be worth it as you'll prolly' end up drinking some of the hop matter but, it would definitely be more "efficient" than Randalling.

david_42 said:

I tried randalling an IPA three years ago at Hop Madness. Filled a cornie full of fresh hops (maybe three pounds) and hooked up the other cornie so the IPA flowed down through the hops.

Waste of hops.

Click to expand...

Are you ant-Randall or is it just in the case of wet hops or because it was already an IPA.

I've enjoyed randalled beers, the 2 that I have done and others.

Waste of hops, as in zero boost in aroma/flavor. I brewed that IPA specifically for randalling at the party. I was more than a little disappointed, because they smelled great. My guess is the drying process makes it easier for the aroma oils to be released as the hops re-hydrate.

Do fresh hops impart a different flavor/aroma? A friend who knows someone who has brewed with them talked almost like it might be an acquired flavor.

If I like dried hops in beer, am I going to like fresh hops in beer?

I've got a bine worth of hops, by the way, that I'm going to brew with this afternoon after microbiology lab is over. Can't wait!