Using wild hops

Found some wild hops. Two questions: How to identify them without having them analyzed and how to know when they are ready to be picked. Plan to use them as flavoring hops as research tells me wild hops are low in alpha acids. Photo attached.

That is really amazing. A wild hop plant... I found a wild strawberry one time, but this totally beats that.

Good plan using it as a late flavor hop. You can't be sure of the AA, so bittering with it is out.
Throw them into a light ale, so the flavor can come through.

If you have a good number of them, you can sacrifice one or two by mashing them up between your palms. That smell will match pretty close what their flavor will be.
Let us know what they smell like. (Who knows, if it's good, grab a rhizome off the original, start a new line)

very cool find.