Getting Cascade & Chinook Wet Hops

[pshankstar]

The local hop farm where I bought some rhizomes this spring is going to harvest some Cascade and Chinook hops this weekend. I will be helping out with the harvesting and in return I will get some of these fresh/wet hops to take home so I can make a home brew with these wet hops! So I'm pumped and can't wait.

Depending on how much I get, I plan on using the wet hops as late additions to the boil and/or flame out. This way I can get a lot of the aroma and flavor from these hops but not using them to bitter. I'll make some sort of Pale Ale or IPA, not sure yet.

So here are my questions.
Do I need to do anything to these hops to make sure there are no bugs or anything else that would ruin my brew?
Which hops do you think I should use for the bittering hops for this brew (based on what I already have)?
Also, if I need to add some more late addition hops to the brew, what should I use (again based on what I already have)?

I have the following hops on hand:
Amarillo
Bravo
Ciara
CTZ
Falconer's Flight
Motueka
Sorachi Ace (whole leaf)
Warrior

I was thinking if I get a fair amount of these wet hops, that maybe I would mix them together and then just take a handful and toss them in every minute for the last 15 minute (or less maybe). Then use what is remaining as a flame out or drop the wort to 180 or 170 ish and then let them steep for 15-30 minutes. How does this sound? I think it would be fun and maybe make the brew very interesting.

Thank you all in advance and I appreciate to see all the feedback!

PS - Moderators, if you need to move this thread, please feel free to do so.

 

[meridianomrebel]

While hops are naturally anti-microbial, you still risk an infection if you just dump them into your fermenter. Honestly, I'd toss on a baking pan at 140-145 for a bit to kill any nasties that may be in hiding. But, other folks may have a different opinion. I've read where some just toss them in and never get an infection, whereas some have said they've gotten an infection. Kind of a judgement call I guess - but I wouldn't do it.

 

[pshankstar]

While hops are naturally anti-microbial, you still risk an infection if you just dump them into your fermenter. Honestly, I'd toss on a baking pan at 140-145 for a bit to kill any nasties that may be in hiding. But, other folks may have a different opinion. I've read where some just toss them in and never get an infection, whereas some have said they've gotten an infection. Kind of a judgement call I guess - but I wouldn't do it.

Thanks, but I am not planning on placing them into the fermenter but rather the boil kettle. I know if I do them as late editions then they will be boiled for 15 minutes or less. My bigger concern is when I cool the wort to 170-180 and add some to steep/whirlpool for 10-30 minutes. Sorry if my original post was a little confusing or misleading.

 

[meridianomrebel]

Oh, my bad. At those temperatures, you should be fine.

 

[pshankstar]

Ended up with only Cascade wet hops today. But it's 4.2 pounds so I'll have a nice IPA or Pale Ale going tomorrow with them!

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1471735222.915532.jpg

 

[Queequeg]

If you have ever tasted a wet hopped beer it quite a different experience to dried hops.

Your biggest issue is going to be losses due the shear volume of hops you'll need to use.

I would add them in a bag so you can squeeze out the trapped wort at the end of the boil/stand

 

[pshankstar]

If you have ever tasted a wet hopped beer it quite a different experience to dried hops.

Your biggest issue is going to be losses due the shear volume of hops you'll need to use.

I would add them in a bag so you can squeeze out the trapped wort at the end of the boil/stand

Thanks for the suggestions. I did take some of that into account. I built my recipe for 5.5 gallons, thinking some of the wort would be absorbed by the hops. I ended up with roughly 5.2 gallons and that was draining as much of the keggle as I could without squeezing the hops. Although I had to use my siphon since whole cones without a bag will clog my drain valve. So not too shabby!

Yes, I have had wet hop brews from local breweries and love them. I know they tend to have a very earthy taste and aroma to them. I'm sure mine will too!

But then again, how often can you do a wet hop brew? The experience in itself was awesome! Depending on if the hop farm needs more help to harvest some other varieties, I may end up doing another wet hop brew if I can fit it in.

 

[Queequeg]

Sounds good, really like the few I have had. I would describe it as more verdi as opposed to earthy. Sounds like you did ok on your yield

 

[pshankstar]

I forgot to mention at 20 mins I started throwing a couple handfuls of wet hops into the pot every minute or so. Then I chilled the wort with my wort chiller down to 150 and dumped the rest in and whirlpooled them for 30 mins.

I used Bravo for my bittering hops at 60 mins too.

 

[Calder]

4 lbs, that is great. That would be about 12 to 14 ozs dry. Should be a great beer.

Your biggest issue is going to be losses due the shear volume of hops you'll need to use.

I would think there would be less of a problem with fresh hops than dried ones. Dried hops are dried to about 10% moisture, so will suck up a lot of liquid, while the wet hops are already at 100% moisture and will not absorb any extra liquid. Yes, squeezing hops in both cases will get extra liquid out of them. Just need to make sure you have a big enough pot.

 

[pshankstar]

4 lbs, that is great. That would be about 12 to 14 ozs dry. Should be a great beer.









I would think there would be less of a problem with fresh hops than dried ones. Dried hops are dried to about 10% moisture, so will suck up a lot of liquid, while the wet hops are already at 100% moisture and will not absorb any extra liquid. Yes, squeezing hops in both cases will get extra liquid out of them. Just need to make sure you have a big enough pot.

Thanks for the words of encouragement! The airlock smells great and I'm excited to try the beer!

I have a keggle for BIAB, so it had enough room for a 5.5 gallon batch.

 

[pshankstar]

Ok, so I brewed the Cascade wet hop IPA on 8/21/16. Well I am going to get my hands on more Cascade wet hops from a friend's brother who grows them but doesn't use them for brewing anymore. So I will go over later tonight to pick them. Should I add them as a dry hop? Or should I try to dry them out and store them? I'm not sure how much I will get and I'm not sure if I use wet hops in the boil and as a dry hop is too much or not.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!

 

[Calder]

Ok, so I brewed the Cascade wet hop IPA on 8/21/16. Well I am going to get my hands on more Cascade wet hops from a friend's brother who grows them but doesn't use them for brewing anymore. So I will go over later tonight to pick them. Should I add them as a dry hop? Or should I try to dry them out and store them? I'm not sure how much I will get and I'm not sure if I use wet hops in the boil and as a dry hop is too much or not.

You can use wet hops for dry hopping. Only advice I would give you is to make sure they are ripe. If they are immature, they will leave a vegetative flavor to the beer, with not too much hop flavor.

I'd recommend not risking using them, especially if the freind is not experienced in judging when hops are ready. Dry them and use in a beer as a flavor addition.

 

[pshankstar]

You can use wet hops for dry hopping. Only advice I would give you is to make sure they are ripe. If they are immature, they will leave a vegetative flavor to the beer, with not too much hop flavor.

I'd recommend not risking using them, especially if the freind is not experienced in judging when hops are ready. Dry them and use in a beer as a flavor addition.

Thanks for your input and that's exactly what I decided to do. I dried them all out over the holiday weekend and vacuumed sealed them.