Scored Lots of Free Hops! But...

I just got an email from my mom this morning, a guy she works with is an awesome gardener and he decided to grow some hops. Since he doesn't brew at all, when my mom mentioned that I brew he offered to give me all of the hops that he is harvesting this fall, for free.

However, he doesn't know what kind of hops they are. He said it was a vine when he bought it and it was labeled "beer hops".

How will I be able to determine what he grew? Will my LHBS be able to tell?

Is there anything else I should know about using home grown hops? I understand they need to be air dried and then put in air tight bags in the freezer.

Unfortunately, there are hundreds of types of beer hops and only eight cone types. If he purchased it at a nursery, it may not even be an identified type. On the other hand, Cascade sprouts new plants like kudzu, which would make it attractive to a nursery supplier.

If you like the way they smell, use them for flavor and aroma.

If they don't seem suitable for brewing you could always make some sort of brewing arts and crafts projects! Some people use them for making wreaths or similar items. Or you could simply put them in a jar for show and tell to help beer-challenged individuals that think hops are some type of grain. Seriously I know about 2 non-brewers that actually know what a hop is.

I'd go with the aroma and flavor. You can check that easily. If you can manage to get a TON of them, repeatedly, it might be worth it to have someone do an AA analysis on it and see what you can get for bittering.

+1 on Cascades growing line crazy. I got 6 lbs of cones from the second year off my 3 plants. I'm betting even more next year. They grew up past the 12 foot post and back down another 4-5 feet or so.

I would smell them, if they seem like they are on the aroma side roll with that, if you are not sure, just dont use them in the boil as that could really change a beer when AA's are not known, just make them your dry hop supply. Dry hopping is good when hops are getting to the end of their fresh cycle as well, AA's dont matter so just toss em in and let them add some nice aroma to your beers. Free is a great way to score a source for dry hoping!

I'd stuff my pillow with them so I could smell hops as I sleep. mmmmmmmm.

Dry hopping is for the cautous. go for it. if you can't taste it, why bother? There are no mistakes, enjoy what you make. My club has loved what I thought was wrong.

Try some of the links in this thread.

Dave

I would maybe make a little hop tea with like a 5 minute steep and see how they taste/feel...

Be sure to take pictures and keep us updated on how much you harvest.

You could always make a hop tea (as mentioned above) and compare it to other varieties you purchased at you LHBS. I have blind analysis before and gotten pretty close with all of them, you normally will get near the AA near the same % and well its pretty easy to tell certain types of aromas, if you are really familiar with your hops this would work. WARNING, hop tea is VERY bitter, use very little hops! (made that mistake my first time after a buddy told me how he did it). Either way it would be fun for you to try!

uechikid said:

Be sure to take pictures and keep us updated on how much you harvest.

Click to expand...

OK I will do that.

I asked my mother to ask the guy when and where he bought the vine so I can call the company and see if I can get any additional information on the variety of hops they sold.

Hopefully I should know more tomorrow.

sounds awesome, let us know how it turns out

That is a sample of some of the hops I received. Still have no clue what kind they are.

Look too small and round for cascades, fuggles maybe? My centennials also look like that but they hardly produced so I have a hunch the cones were just small this year.

The place where he got the hops called me back about my inquiry of the hops variety and left me a voicemail stating:


"The hops is a straight geniousen(?) species with no cultivar. If it is arrogated(irrigated?) it is an invasive Japanese hops."

I don't understand gardening speak, so none of that made any sense to me.

could thay maybe said variegated its a common term in "gardening speak"

Variegation is the appearance of differently coloured zones in the leaves, and sometimes the stems, of plants. This may be due to a number of causes. Some variegation is attractive and ornamental and gardeners tend to preserve these

a cultivar is like a breed in dogs
so i think thay are saying as far as thay know its just Humulus lupulus
but not any one know breed , kinda like tomato you have the big round ones beefsteak and the long narrow ones romas ect, thoes are cultivars just like golding and cascades

so if the leaves are variegated its the invasive Japanese hop and if not its anybodys guess

I just listened to the voicemail again and I believe you are correct, it does sound like she said "variegated".