Hops Harvested too Late to use?

[ontum]

I have several plants in their second year but didn't get a huge amount of hops. So I didn't want to worry about drying them and has planned to do a couple big wet hop brews. But I didn't get time and now the hops have are a yellow/green color and I am not sure if I can still use them.

When hops are harvested too late, do they impart bad flavor or just give less to the beer? I opened a couple up and they do not smell as pungent as they did a couple weeks ago. When are they a lost cause?

Thank you,
Craig

 

[alane1]

When the cones are overly brown and have an onion/garlic aroma they're past their prime. If you don't have any of those symptoms you should be good.

 

[ontum]

When the cones are overly brown and have an onion/garlic aroma they're past their prime. If you don't have any of those symptoms you should be good.

Thank you very much for the help. I went ahead and used as many of the hops as I felt comfortable. I picked out the cones that were a bit too brown and used the rest. I didn't get any onion/garlic aroma, so I think they should be okay. I brewed a strong IPA with Chinook, Cascade, and Mt Hood and used some 1968 to get things going.

-
Craig

 

[mojo2008]

I figured I'd piggyback here rather than create a new thread. First year crop here and I'm happy with the yield. I have heard it takes a few years before you get a lot, but I was surprised.

Anyway, life continued and I was unable to harvest before some started to dry out (see pic). I know most of these are still viable, but based on how they look alone, how do you seasoned growers decide which to discard?

Thanks,
Andy

 

[kirbcheck]

I'd use most of those... Little brown isn't bad... All brown I'd toss. I'm wondering if anybody has a suggestion for all brown hops. Had a baby and missed my window for picking them.

 

[B-Hoppy]

. . . how do you seasoned growers decide which to discard?

Thanks,
Andy

Rip open one of the good looking ones, rub and sniff - then do the same with one of the ones in question and compare. Let your nose decide.