Are these hops ready or past their prime?

First time growing hops and about 3% of the cones look like this below. Are these ready to brew with or past their prime? I am looking to do a wet hop ale with centennial and cascade as aroma hops.

Are they past their prime or should they hang a little longer? What they look like and what they smell like may yield very different conclusions. Have you mashed a few up and rubbed them between your hands to smell what they have to offer? Determining harvest has more to do with what stage of maturity the lupulin glands are at as opposed to how the cones look. I'd say to let your nose make the call.

B-Hoppy said:

Are they past their prime or should they hang a little longer? What they look like and what they smell like may yield very different conclusions. Have you mashed a few up and rubbed them between your hands to smell what they have to offer? Determining harvest has more to do with what stage of maturity the lupulin glands are at as opposed to how the cones look. I'd say to let your nose make the call.

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So if I get a strong aroma flavor from the hops after rubbing them together then they are ready to go?

Thanks for the reply.

Essentially, it would always be nice to have something to compare the aroma to though. Usually when it gets near harvest, it's a good idea to take a few cones and peek under the petals to check and see what the lupulin looks like. At this point, rub, sniff and remember what you smelled. A few days later, do the same and compare to the previous observations as the aroma will intensify as you get closer to harvest. Now, when you harvest, leave a few cones on the vine to come back to a week or so later and smell again. Your nose will be able to tell you when they've gone past their prime so you can use this for future harvests. It will take time as this part of growing hops (determining harvest) is kind of tricky, especially if you don't have the ambition to do dry matter calculations.

I've read that the aroma compounds are more evident late and I've found that to be true. Initially the lupulin will be a pale color and will become darker yellow when they are really ripe, but you should peek under the bracts from time to time so you know the difference and can monitor the progression. This year I have some Magnum - best known for bittering properties - and now I see why: it was loaded with lupulin but had no aroma at all. Chinook on the other hand becomes very fragrant when it is ready to pick. Cascade is a little less pungent than Chinook. My cones often look like yours - slight browning of the tips of the bracts - at harvest time, but that is probably location and humidity dependent; here in the northeast (MA) we get significant heavy dew on our hilltop almost every night; I don't personally think this slight browning of the tips affects them at all.