Just-harvested Willamettes have little aroma

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supermoth

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Did anyone grow willamettes who would care to comment on their level of aroma? I'm just starting to bag mine up and I'm surprised that they don't have very much smell. I harvested and dried the centennials last week, and those were so much more potent.

I definitely didn't harvest too early, and the lupulin is plentiful and bright yellow so I don't think it was too late. I actually popped one in my mouth and chewed, and they certainly have lots of flavor! But the aroma just isn't there.
 
I can't speak on williamettes but I have some first year cascades that I just harvested that aren't bursting with aroma either. All the other signs that they are ready to harvest are there though. I pretty much a have to have my nose on a hop cone to smell it. And like yours the lupulin is a deep yellow, almost golden and they have a tissue paper feel to them. I'm going to pick a few in the earlier stages this time around and see how they turn out. I may try the tasting one like you suggested.
 
Thanks for your response. These are second year plants. In the process of bagging them up last night I realized that they do have some aroma, just not nearly as much as my (also 2nd year) centennials did. From things I've read, centennials are a more potent variety anyway, so I'm not going to stress out about it too much. It'll be a good experiment to brew with them and see how much they contribute.

Also, if you pop one in your mouth and chew, get prepared to immediately spit it out in shock and rinse your mouth several times. The hoppy bitterness will slap you! After a few minutes, the aftertaste is pretty nice. :)
 
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