Calling all hops guru's

HawgDaddy · May 6, 2014

Ok, planting hops for first year. Assuming that I get a harvest, I'll use for aroma/flavoring not knowing for sure the AA's.

Question is this. Do you guys chop/grind or just use whole flowers?

Wet at approx 5:1 assuming?
Dried 2:1??? 1:1????

Just curious. I'm not going to throw any beer away unless it realllllllllly sucks. But I'll have to harvest first. No putting the cart before the horse.

Thanks in advance bro's and sis's

HawgDaddy :rockin:

OneImpBrewery · May 9, 2014

I go with a the average for the AA%(right smack in the middle of the range). I use whole hops for the additions which can get a bit large when you get to an ounce or more. It doesnt seem to make a big difference since I only boil them for 15-5min additions.
Also wet hops additions are 4-6 times as much as dry hop. I would stick towards the lower part to start of with unless you are a hop head. Dried is 1:1 as usual.

Congrats on getting them planted!

Cheers
-Imp

thaymond · May 9, 2014

When I used my nugget crop, I bagged them in paint strainers then threw them all in. I used pellets for bittering because I knew the AA, and used my hops for flavor and aroma additions. Did 2 oz at 15 and 2 oz at flame out. It turned out great. I'll be doing much of the same this year with my new crop of Zeus, cascade, Chinook, and Nugget.

No sense in throwing in the wet hops, just use a screen door and dry them out in the garage for a few days. Divide your initial weight by 4, and this about as dry as they'll get. Of the 3 varieties I had last year, none of them went all the way to 20%. They all hovered around 25%.

Growing your own and brewing with them is super rewarding. It got me back into being obsessed with brewing.