When to pick?

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jheist

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This is my first year and I have a cascade and a columbus going strong! They are 18 ft tall and the cascade has been putting out cones for several weeks now and the columbus just started putting out sizeable cones this week. Both seem to be full-size cones and are starting to brown on the edges. They smell great!

My question is how do I know if I am picking them when they are ready or am I picking them before they are ready. I have picked several so far just to check and they seem ready.

I have heard to squeeze them and if they pop back open quickly and feel papery they are ready. This being my first year I am not experienced enough to know if they are ready.

Thanks for your help!
 
Its way to early for them to be ready.I posted dry matter parameters last year will find them and re post. They should be papery.dry some out in the oven on low for 3-4 hrs or in a food dehydrator overnight.Should be no grassy smell
 
Thanks for the article. I realize time of year wise it is too early but I'm in GA and the sun has been beating down on them all summer so I thought maybe they put out cones earlier due to this. Plus I was worried if I kept them on there too long they would brown and wither due to the heat. Is this a legit concern?
 
It is early keep them watered they like the sun If you wrapped the first growth and did not cut back they could be ready in a month or less when did they go into burr
 
Sounds to me like they are ready by what you posted. I am in TN and have allready harvested my cascades and nuggets...back during the first of June. Our growing season starts on March 1st, I assume since you are in GA your growing season starts at least by that time or sooner. I have cones on my first year Brewers Gold that are ready to go...Ill be getting those picked and in the dryer tomorrow.

Cheers
 
I've always done the 'browning' method and I wouldn't challenge a pro, but my first thought was they sound readyish. Just the two cents of a 2nd year amateur.
 
Did u guys cut back the 1st growth ? I screwed up 18000 plants last year by not harvesting when ripe (caused by wraping the 1st growth) and the 1st hail we have had in 25 years screwed them up this year.Mine just went into burring about 5 days ago. So papery feel,if the cone splits down the middle and when u dry some in the oven completly no grass smell or very little.I put up the link to dry matter testing.I will get into this more as there are 2 curves to hop ripeness when doing dry matter tests. Come to the Hop and Brew School the agenda is posted .Cheers Glen
 
Did u guys cut back the 1st growth ?

Yes and no - I am doing test runs on a "dual harvest" Some of them I did cut back...others I didnt. Ill be comparing quality and quantity by end of season. So far it looks like Ill easily be able to get 2 full harvests during our season here. My nuggets (control) have never seen fert or water other than rain...which has been very scarce this year, they are second year plants, and from June 5 to June 14 I got on average .902 lbs wet per plant from those I let grow. It looks like ill get about the same from the ones I cut back, but Ill know for certain at the end of the season.
Of those I let grow - I cut them back to the crown right after harvesting - they are 18' and full of cones again. Next year Ill be doing a full blown experiment with all my varieties and cutting half of each back and letting the other half grow so I can try the "dual" harvest. Ill be getting AA testing done at NC State and be giving hops to local brewers and homebrewers for testing as well.

So far...it looks like a dual harvest is a very real possibility here (at least with some varieties)...my only questions are concerning the overall quality of the hops produced during the early harvest and which varieities are more suited to a dual harvest.
 
I have had full size cones for over a month and have been chomping at the bit to pick them. On Sunday morning I got out the ladder to do just that but when I checked them out closely there were only a few (1.4 oz wet, .5 oz dry) that were really ready. The thing that stopped me from picking the whole lot was the "papery feel". They just didn't meet that criteria. They still felt more supple and cool to the touch. I'll check them out again in a few days.
As a side note, these same plants have many many side arms with burs and small cones. Looking at a double harvest. The second one should be at least twice what the first one will be.
 
I picked my first year hops last year as follows,

Magnum came first and were dry/papery for several weeks
Cascade & Centennial matured a bit later but forecast of heavy rains/winds made me rush them and the hops were picked too soon and very grassy.

IMO its better to let them go a bit longer than a bit too early.
 
One year due to vacation, I picked my Cascades early and they were grassy. When you do it, you know it. Other than that, my hops have seemed fine.
 
I picked a few of my cascades yesterday and noticed after drying in a dehydrator that many smell grassy. When I squeezed the hops however the cascade aroma dominates.

Is that grassy smell going to linger in the beer if I use these? Should I toss 'em?
 
Glad I only picked a few. They were very grassy and now I have tons more that are feeling more papery every day. I'm just going to continue waiting them out. I just hope they don't shrivel on me before I get to them
 
I picked a few of my cascades yesterday and noticed after drying in a dehydrator that many smell grassy. When I squeezed the hops however the cascade aroma dominates.

Is that grassy smell going to linger in the beer if I use these? Should I toss 'em?

That depends how fussy you are. I would use them. It might be instructive to know the effect of grassy hops on beer. Depending on how it comes out you could name the beer, "Fresh Mown Lawn Beer" or something. On the other hand, if you only picked a few and mixed them in with the rest, you might not notice the difference. If they are picked prematurely, the lupilin content should be less also, so you may need a few more hops.
 
Hi,

I'm wondering if there is a certain time of the day that is better to pick hops than another. With my flowers and herbs that I use for the essential oil, I know we are to pick these in the early morning hours, so I'm wondering if this is the same for picking hops.

Thanks!
 
Nice thread as I have the same question. I've got 3 first year plants (Cascade, Magnum, Chinook) and all but the Cascade put out single burrs quite awhile ago and they seem to be full size now but not "papery" (I'm new so don't have anything to experience here) feeling with a pronounced aroma yet.

In the past week all three have started to put off lots of growth, all with multiple burrs on each. Although the singles look big enough to be ready, from what I have read here, it seems I should hold off for a bit before harvesting.
 
Yes, I agree, very nice thread. :)

I guess I'm hung up on the essential oil aspect of the hops, I think this is the part that bitters and flavors the beer? I wonder if there is any other 'test' or indicator that can be used for determining when the hops are ready (in terms of the oil), besides just a papery feel?
 
determining when to pick is pretty much a blend of art and science. the one hop grower i spoke with last summer at obf said that he did use the method HOPFARMER posted on the first page of this thread. i think most of us home growers tend to jump-the-gun and pick too early. from what i've seen is that if you train them at roughly the same time each spring, they will usually have a window of time when they come ripe (growing season will play a role with this). when the window is close, i unstrap one of the poles and lay it down into picking position (close to ground level) and each few days check a few cones for ripeness (pick, rub and smell). this is a lot easier than having to climb a ladder.
 
http://www.freshops.com/hop-growing/hop-gardening/#harvest


Here is some good/practical info I found at the above website about harvesting:

"Because most hops are produced out of reach from the ground, it is safest to lower the vines in order to pick the hops. The harvest date varies with variety and location but will become evident as you gain experience as a hop grower. At maturity, the hop aroma is at its strongest and is measured by crushing a cone and smelling it. The yellow lupulin glands in the cone become much more evident and plump looking when magnified.

The cone will develop a drier, papery feel and in some varieties a lighter color as it matures. Some browning of the lower bracts is a good sign of ripeness. Squeeze the cones as they develop and you will notice they become more light and resilient rather than green and hard. The actual picking is self-explanatory and this is where you want the flower cones, not the leaves. I don't know why raw hop cones are occasionally called leaf hops, when the idea is to not pick the leaves."

And, here is some helpful info about drying:

"Drying can be done in a good dehydrator, custom made hop dryer, well vented oven, or they can be air dried. If you use heat, the temperature should not exceed 140 degrees F. Cooler temperatures take longer but a higher quality hop is obtained. Under dry weather conditions, I suggest taking a screen off of your house and setting it up in a wind protected area, elevated on each end. Spread the hops as shallow as possible and fluff daily so moist inner cones are brought to the outside of the pile. If weather is dry and the pile is not too thick they will dry in about three days.

A high moisture content in the cones will adversely affect storability and recipe formulation. The hops are dry when the inner stem of the cone (strig) is brittle and breaks rather than bends. The strig takes much longer to dry than the bracts, so be patient. Pack the hops in an air tight container and store in a freezer until used."

I appreciate what is said about using scales on page one of this thread, but I think knowing when to pick--and how to dry--our hops (like the hop farmer writing above) is somewhat of an art that comes with experience, not unlike brewing itself! :p
 
I just picked 14.5 oz of Cascade. This plant sprouted in early march and was putting out burrs very early. After the first burrs had turned into cones this plant sent out side arms and then a bunch more burrs. So what I harvested today was the first set that came out so early.
The next harvest should be double this one. The side arms are really loaded with cones.
I should get about 4 oz of dried hops from this first batch.
 
Well I just finished vacuum sealing the 4.5 oz (14.5 wet) of Cascade that I picked yesterday. It amazes me that even when you're sure there ready to be picked (papery and crunchy on the bine) they still had some grassy smell to them when they were dry.
 
Don't get in a hurry to pick.In most areas Cascades will not be ready till the end of the month.They need almost a month in the cone stage.Dry a few and smell (wait for the grass smell to almost disappear) or do dry matter tests if u have a lot
 
Don't get in a hurry to pick.In most areas Cascades will not be ready till the end of the month.They need almost a month in the cone stage.Dry a few and smell (wait for the grass smell to almost disappear) or do dry matter tests if u have a lot

The ones I picked have been cones for at least six weeks, probably more.
 
General Question:

Do you pick all at once, or As they ripen??

Some of the answer is practical. I have 4 types of hops on a cable arrangement and my cascades are in different areas. This year I picked one of the hop types on my cable early as the string was breaking anyway and they looked ready. I picked the other 3 varieties yesterday. My cascades ripen a bit later so I will pick them after I get back from vacation.

I wouldn't bother picking the same variety at different times if that is what you mean.
 
A word of caution. I hadn't checked my hops for about a week so I went out there today to see how they were doing. The Cascade still has some time left on the bine but when i checked the Chinook they were dry. I mean DRY, like the had already been in the dehydrator. So I harvested them.
This time of year you need to watch you hops. When they are ready to harvest you need to do it right away.
 
I haverested last night. I'd been away for a few weeks. Some (~20%) were brown. Not brown edges, nearly all brown. Should I toss these brown ones? I am new to this.

Also, I planted Centenials, and Willametes. I didn't keep track of them. Some died, I think I was left with 2 plants of 1 variety. Got a bit of citrus aroma, but I do not know hops well. Not sure what survived. Centenials maybe?
 
This is only my second year harvesting. Last year I picked around the first week of September. Much different growing season this year...lots of rain.

The cones are much bigger but they are starting to brown already. They are still not very dry/papery feeling and they do not have the strong aroma I remember from last year yet.

My question...is the browing an indicator they should be picked? I wanted to leave them as long as possible but dont want to risk overdoing it.

Thanks for any help

**edit** guess same question as above:drunk:
 
It seems like our growing season came early this year. Last year I harvested about mid sept. This year the cones came out earlier and they are starting to get papery. I'm seriously going to have to get a drying screen ready soon! Still need to renew my knowledge on exactly when is best time. I see just a bit of brown on the tips of some cones.
 
I'm not sure of the answer on whether to pick the brown hops. I think it is up to you. To me it is an aesthetic question. If you smell the brown hops, I think that you will find they smell the same as a green ones. Once you boil these, they will be brown anyway.

I'm guessing that the brown hops may be better to pick than the occasional immature hop that you will find on the bine.
 
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