When do they start to smell?

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HomerT

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When do hops start to get thaty glorious "hop" smell? I climbed up tonight to pick one of the big cones off my 1st year Hallertau. Near the top, the cones are about 3/4 of an inch long and about a big in diamter as my index finger tip. The tips are not brown, but it felt slightly papery and had alot of yellow "pollen" under each of the little leave sin the cone. However, it didn't smell like "hops"...in fact, it didn't really smell at all. :confused:

-Todd
 
You have to dry them out first. I really simple way to do this is to put them in your attic for a day. Works great!

:tank:
 
Drying concentrates the aroma. Something like Cascades is noticeable wet, but Hallertau is more subtle. If you rub a cone between your hands until it falls apart, then hold your hands over your face & inhale, you'll get the most aroma.

On caution: Do not lick you fingers after fondling hop cones. Concentrated resin will trash your taste buds.
 
That's good advice David. I guarantee at some point I would have tried that and been very upset afterward.

:tank:
 
On caution: Do not lick you fingers after fondling hop cones. Concentrated resin will trash your taste buds.

Ding Ding Ding. I did this with My first time using whole hops. And I take the award for "moron of the month"
 
I was also wondering when to harvest as well. I have two Cascades and two Centennials and I think they are looking pretty ready, but they don't have any brown leaves yet. How long should I leave these on the bine, or should I pick them now?
 
Can you harvest continually? I have about thirty to forty cones that are about ready, but another 70 or 80 that are still little spikey balls. Can I harvest the "ripe" ones and leave the others until they are ready, like you would strawberries or raspberries?

-Todd
 
Can you harvest continually? I have about thirty to forty cones that are about ready, but another 70 or 80 that are still little spikey balls. Can I harvest the "ripe" ones and leave the others until they are ready, like you would strawberries or raspberries?

-Todd

Yes. (10 Characters)
 
If the hops smell "grassy"or like hay they are not ready. They can get brown on the tips and be fine. The smell is VERY noticable. As Sluggo Dave mentioned, place between finger and move around until you a noticeable odor...that good hop smell. Don't smell like hops then they aren't ready.
 
When I rub the hops, they smell like pine needles...is it still too early? They haven't started to brown on the tips yet, but they haven't been growing for 2-3 weeks now.
 
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