ID'ing Unknown Hops

[eelgerg]

Ok, this is a bit of an embarrassing story, and I think I know the answer is going to be "start from scratch with new rhizomes" but what the heck - this is a question that has to be put out there.

So I bought 10 different rhizomes two years ago and planted them in pots. Year 1 was ok, year 2 was good, except now all my labels have faded in the sun and I have no idea which one is which. I totalled about 20 oz of dry hops last year. Hard to tell which is which by the smell.

Is there any other way to tell which is which?

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1487647699.460416.jpg

My current options
- dig up all the root wads and see if I can ID them compared to the rhizome picture
- make a "mystery" pale ale with a mixture of the hops
- send the hop cones away for testing (probably cheaper to just buy new rhizomes)

Thanks for looking

 

[nagmay]

> dig up all the root wads and see if I can ID them compared to the rhizome picture
Nope. By this point, the rhizomes will have changed drastically.

> make a "mystery" pale ale with a mixture of the hops
Sure, but it doesn't help you moving forward.

> send the hop cones away for testing (probably cheaper to just buy new rhizomes)
At $30/test, probably not. And it's only going to give you alpha/beta % - which can vary quite a bit base on the growing season...

Testing might help, but I would start by IDing the easy ones. Chinook is going to have highly hooked cones. Cascade has a general square shape to the cones and a citrus scent. You can also make tea out of each to get a general bitterness comparison. I recommend 5g of hops + 15g of sugar + 1 quart water steeped for 4-5 min.

Good luck!