is there such thing as bad hops??

[John8251]

just opened two packages of centennial hops (raw hops) back to back. first one was very green with a great aroma. the second bag the leaves were greenish brownish and almost had somewhat of a "foot-like" smell to them. they just didnt smell good. has anybody ever had this experience? is it my overprotectiveness of my beer thats making me hesitant to use these hops? these are for my dry hopping btw.

 

[LKABrewer]

Old and oxydized hops get brown and cheesy. Your instincts were correct; do not use those hops.

 

[signpost]

Also, I'd check with whatever store you bought them from and see if they'll replace the bad hops.

I got a bum pack of hops that I had ordered from Northern Brewer. I contacted them and they sent out a replacement pack without any further questions.

 

[duboman]

Old and oxydized hops get brown and cheesy. Your instincts were correct; do not use those hops.

+1
Return them

 

[stz]

Not sure if it counts as the same 'problem' but brewed a couple of batches using summit hops as the bittering and 30 minute aroma contributions. They are pretty mean in the bottle, one beer tastes pretty savoury and the other is quite smooth, but still, not sure I'd use them again.

 

[John8251]

Called annapolis homebrew and they credited me the price of the hops in an online gift card..said that some air must've gotten in them and ruined them...thank god I had an extra ounce of centennial in the fridge! Had never really heard of oxidized hops before but knew something was wrong. Just a great excuse to get more hops than I need next time, just in case

 

[daksin]

Yup- it's an important smell to learn. Probably just a pinhole in the bag let some air in. Glad everything worked out for you.

 

[Supurb]

I bought some for a quarter from the vending machine at the petting zoo. I thought it was a great deal. Don't buy your hops from the petting zoo.

 

[Zamial]

Homebrewers have a VERY interesting hop issue. I would venture to say that 90% of them have no clue that hops vary from farm to farm even if they are called the same thing. At the brewery we record them in lots as either A or B. B hops suck.

The most noticeable hops with this issue are cascade. I actually thought I just hated cascade hops. Turns out I must have gotten a few bags of "B" lot cascades. After trying the "A" lot, I like them...

As for the OP the hops sound old/oxidized. However, you may want to consider opening them up and aging them in a brown paper bag for a year out of refrigeration to be used in sour beers. I have a bunch going now just for that reason. Also glad to hear things worked out for you.