Homegrown Centennial Hops - Harvesting? Drying?

[Norselord]

I'm the proud dad of a 1-year old Centennial Hop Bine.

It took some time for it to root and show growth.
Once it started growing it was going about 1 foot per week.
Now it has a bunch of cones on it.
I've heard/read/seen that the hops are ready for harvest when the cones make a paper-like sound when you squeeze them.
I've plucked a few and played around with them, they smell great but still a little grassy/vegetal.

Will the grassiness disappear after drying, or should i wait to harvest until the first cone starts browning a little?

Can i dry the hop cones in a food dehydrator set to its lowest setting? I have a Nessco American Harvest unit that shows a recommended temp of 95F for drying herbs and spices...

I'm very excited to do some late additions with these hops...:rockin::rockin:

 

[B-Hoppy]

With the amount of cones you'll most likely have, you can dry them on a window screen with a fan. Within a few days you should be down to the required 8-10% moisture.

They can smell very aromatic way before they're even close to being ready for harvest so it's a matter of experience to determine when they're ripe. You can always do a dry matter test to make sure they're drying down on the vine before you pick.

The grassy-ness will generally go away once the plants become mature and are harvested at the right time as the concentration of oils/resins will overpower that character. Too early and there won't be enough of the lupulin concentrated/accumulated to hide it. The plant sends the majority of the oils into the buds during a very short time leading up to harvest so it's generally better to pick a little later than earlier.

edit - browning really has nothing to do with harvest maturity but can be caused by many other issues (insects, disease, wind burn etc). When the hops are graded after harvest, they will receive a deduction for too much discoloration.

 

[Norselord]

Since everyone has been clamoring for pictures of my baby...
Here you go:
Pic#1: about a month in the ground - i thought it wasn't going to make it
Pic#2: it has started its vigorous growth
Pic#3: about 12' tall
Pic#4: noticing a lot of 'good' insects - preying mantis, ladybugs, etc.
Pic#5: A hope cone around 7/25/17. Smallish, but not expecting anything huge from a yearling.