Brown Hops

Picked my cascade hops last weekend and put them in a mesh bag. Alot of them have turned really brown are they still ok to use? I crushed a couple of them and they still smeel good.

im not 100% but im pretty sure they shouldn't sit to dry untill they turn brown i think they might still have the smell but lose the AA that you want , the way i hear to do it is to let them dry just untill they are papery but dont shatter when squeezed my cascades i harvest and dried this year were still greenish for the most part but not brown

Picked my cascade hops last weekend and put them in a mesh bag. Alot of them have turned really brown are they still ok to use? I crushed a couple of them and they still smeel good.

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My typical harvest routine involves picking them and storing in the garage between 2 pieces of screen door to dry, then forgetting about them for a week (usually more). They are pretty dry, brown and crusty by then, but they work nearly as well as any whole leaf hops I buy. Cascade is always a winner in my garden. I usually use double the weight as pellets with these and it seems to be pretty comparable.

I'm sure they're still fine to use but they shouldn't necessarily be brown. I picked mine last weekend and tried to avoid the brown ones. They should all still be pale green and "nice" looking hops.

@PoppinCaps: If you're doubling the weight of your whole leaf hops then you have lost something in the drying. Whole, dry hops should still be 1:1 mass ratio with pellet hops.

Oh I'm certainly losing something, but mostly in AA's, not so much aroma. That's what I get for laziness (and living in NC).

Ah, ok.

Laziness is my middle name. LOL

Just as long as you're aware and accepting of it. I am but I didn't want you to be led astray.