Cascade Hops Dilemma

[baptistbrewer]

So my friend grew cascade hops in his backyard and wanted me to brew something for him with them. I have one question. With homegrown hops how do I know the AA%? Or do I just wing it? Any advice? The picture is of the hops. Those are gallin size and over a pound in total.

 

[supermoth]

You won't know the alpha acid percentage precisely unless you send them to a lab. You could either wing it by making a guess based on the usual percentage of alpha acids for cascades, or you could use a commercial hop for bittering and save the homegrown hops for your late additions and/or dry hopping.

 

[IffyG]

or you could use a commercial hop for bittering and save the homegrown hops for your late additions and/or dry hopping.

That's what I would do. Use magnum to bitter (to ensure you don't end up with a cloyingly sweet beer) and late hop/dry hop the heck out of it.

 

[unionrdr]

By the brown color,I'd say many of those hops hung on the bines too long.