Hops are mature, nnow what :)?

[smellymoose]

Hello all, need your expertise and advice on the next steps to take in the process..
My hop buds are growing at the tips now and the lupulin has become very aromatic and golden.

Before I pick can I instantly use these moist wet hops and put them into boil immediately and still get a decent bitter, flavoursome and aroma-full beer?
..or would you recommend drying first and then boiling (I assume drying was only useful if you weren't yet ready to boil and needed to store?).

After that, whilst boiling, what is also necessary to add, Malt? Barley? I'm a complete novice and intended to only boil the hops, add yeast and sugar and leave to ferment, but after a little light-reading I see most make additions to the boiling process?

I live in the UK and have 4 different hops which I intend to use for different beers, my biggest harvest is from the 2 year old plant, Challenger (created in Kent,UK), and 3 (1 year old) plants:- Zenith, Bramling Cross and Phoenix. If any of you are more an expert on different hop types could you give any indication on the boiling time needed for each?

I am sorry for the long read, but would really appreciate some answers on the best approach to take, thankyou

 

[Trox]

You might have better chance of finding the answers for your hop questions in the Hop Growing section of the forums:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/

And you need to use some grains or your just going to end up with a foul tasting prison hooch; unless by sugars you are talking using malt extract then you'll be fine. I would highly recommend reading the following before you do anything else:

http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html


Some of it is a little outdated, but you will get a great understanding of the basic essentials on how to brew beer. If you still have some questions on how to brew after reading the above this is one of the best sites out there to get the answers; most times if you Google search your question it will lead you right to here.