NE Grower - Maturity/Harvest problems

[EBloom97]

Hi Folks -

I grow in Western MA, and for the past two years have been struggling with a good indicator for harvest maturity. Currently I am growing Cascade, Williamette, and Perle, and I find that if the cones start to brown slightly at the edges and I can see lots of lupulin without pulling apart the cone then I need to be picking and drying.

My problem is this: after drying I don't get a lot of aroma from the hops other than a kind of 'grassy' smell. My brewing partner suggests that the hops are still immature, which I find tough to believe unless they are browning before maturity. My drying procedure entails filling 5 gallon buckets under halfway with fresh hops, lying them on their sides in my greenhouse, and covering the tops with burlap bags. I then set up fans and stir up the hops about twice daily. Generally it takes 2-3 for them to feel really dry.

So that was a lot of text, I would appreciate any insight into this problem of little or no aroma (especially since I am growing aroma hops), and apologies if this kind of thread exists somewhere else that I haven't looked.

Thanks,

Evan

 

[CusterBrews]

The browning is a good sign that it is near picking time. The hop aroma should be at its strongest when the hop is ready to be picked. When you think it is time to harvest, the hop should be papery feeling and light rather than hard. when you crush the cone of the hop you should smell it for aroma and if it isn't really strong, then wait a little longer.

 

[cram]

+1 on CB's comments. The old crumple in your hands test and smell is my go-to technique. Often, we can be misled by brown tips on the hop edges. Sunburn, insect damage, nutrient deficiencies, etc., can lead to the tips of hops browning before they are ready to pick. Besides the papery feel, a hop that's ready to pick often lightens it's entire color to a "beige-ish-green," not just the edges of the bottom of the hop.

I can say that I picked some hops too early my first year and they were as you described--lacking in aroma and more "grassy" than "hoppy." The aromatic quality gets much more intense when the hops are allowed to mature fully. As a general benchmark, when my burrs turn to hops, it still takes a good three or four (sometimes more) weeks more until they are ready to come off. And one year I left some Chinook on the bine until they were way past prime and they were the stickiest, stinkiest hops of the bunch, even though they didn't look pretty. In fact, I have started to label some harvested hops as "late harvest" because of the added intensity that leaving them up longer can have on their alpha acid content...

 

[EBloom97]

Thanks for the replies. The Homebrewer's Garden talks about this papery quality without talking about a potential for browning; in fact it mentions that brownish cones are a sign of overmaturity. But certainly it does get quite hot quite quickly where I grow and I wouldn't be surprised by a sunburn-before-maturity problem. I will try to leave the remaining hops on the bine for longer than I normally would and report back. And I'll also have to buy my partner a beer for being right.

Evan

 

[jessox80]

I am growing a first year Newport and this New England heat wave has already scorched a few of the lower burrs. How far along are your various strains right now?

 

[EBloom97]

I am growing a first year Newport and this New England heat wave has already scorched a few of the lower burrs. How far along are your various strains right now?

Willamette was the one that we harvested from. The perle is not far behind, and the cascade has yet to flower, but when it does we expect a good harvest. It's our second year and they are much more abundant this time around, as seems to be the norm.

 

[B-Hoppy]

One other tip that was given to me was to grab a cone between your thumb and index finger of both hands (top near your fingernail and bottom toward the but of your hands) and pull the petals (bracts) apart from the strig. If they tend to break away from the strig somewhat cleanly then they're ready and if they kinda shred the strig, leave them a little longer. Also, the strig contains the majority of the moisture and should be dried almost to the point of brittleness. If you ever use commercially purchased whole hops to brew with check some of them out to compare with your own. Hope that helps.