2 Gals of Chinook

[HowlingHog]

Saw hops flowing over a fence in town. knocked on the door, and he said
have at 'em."

Picked 1/2 a milk crate. Mature buds, beginning to brown a lomg the edges.

He said he they were Chinook. Now what?

 

[CA_Mouse]

Get them in a beer or get them on a dryer right away. If you have a dehydrator, that has a low temperature setting (need about 130*F). The best thing to use them for would be aroma and possibly flavor hops. Without knowing their AA%, using them as a bittering hop could be problematic.

 

[day_trippr]

If they were picked off the bines, two gallons is roughly 28 ounces wet, and roughly 6 ounces dried to ~20% original weight (appropriate for freezing, fwiw).

So you have the equivalent of 6 ounces of Chinook (my favorite bittering hop for pales and ipas).
If it's true to strain the AA% could be in 11-12 range, but sans analysis - or at least comparison testing against a store-bought benchmark - one never knows.

Definitely use a recipe builder, and if you use them wet, assume 5X the weight of dried additions.

fwiw, I've been growing Chinook (and Cascade, Centennial and Fuggles) for 6 years now and my Chinook is the equal of store-bought cones wrt bittering ability, so don't underestimate "home growns"...

Cheers!

 

[thaymond]

Like trip said, Chinook is also my go to for IPAs. It's well balanced with crazy citrus aroma and piney flavor. It pairs well with Zeus and Cascade. I usually use the same amounts as a pellet hop addition, even when bittering. When recipe building, I assume the low end of the hop range. So, if this year's crop is 11-14% commercially, I'll assume 11 for the recipe.

Great score! Make friends with that guy and score more free hops.

 

[HowlingHog]

OK - Went back and picked more! There were Chinook on one plant and he had another of Cascade. Picked 5 gals more of Chinook and 10 gallons of Cascade.

Dehydrated first batch, and working on the rest.

So excited!

 

[arnobg]

Awesome find! Make sure you bring him some home brew as a thank you!

 

[Homercidal]

Good deal! Chinook and Cascade both make great IPA and Pale Ale beers. Chinook might also be good in an English pale if not used too late. I've been meaning to try this.

 

[agrazela]

...Now what?

Now what? Give us the guy's address!