Do hop seeds affect the taste of beer?

[bierhaus15]

I received around 2lbs of Cascade hops from a friend in Oregon the other day, only to find that there are a lot of hop seeds mixed in with the cones.

The hops smell great, though I am unsure whether or not the seeds will impart any undesirable characteristics into my beer if I use them?

I know hop seeds are bad news for planting, but I haven't found much info on what they will do to the taste of a beer when used.

Thanks for the help!

 

[david_42]

The only problem when you use hops with a lot of seeds, it can throw your IBUs off, they add weight but no bittering or flavor.

 

[EvilTOJ]

Dude, those aren't hops man.

 

[scinerd3000]

thats surprising...most of the time, the only seeded varieties of hops are used by growers in agriculture....sure its not some other types of herbals?

 

[bierhaus15]

Oh sh*t!

Nah, I am 100% positive they are hops, with no other 'herbs' mixed in.

Whether or not they are really cascades or some feral type, I don't know. I brewed a sMasH with them last night (2 oz; 1 @ 60, .5 @30, .25 @ 15 and 5 min) and the hydro sample was really bitter with not much aroma. I think I'll just give these hops away.

 

[the_bird]

Hydro samples are ALWAYS really bitter (even for beers that later have relatively little bitterness). The hops may or may not be good, but hold off on giving them away until you taste the final product.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Some say that fatty acids can be leeched from the seed as well as some tannins that can effect the stability and flavor of beer, but science has yet to substantiate this.

For the most part seeded hops are avoided becuase the seed weight is impossible to quantify thus, the potential for skewing the bittering is a signifigant issue.

Chances are your hops came from a homegrower that had a tranny hop in his/her yard and this plant seeded. Although, it is rare, it is still possible to get commercially effected hops. Usually tho, if a plant shows sign of gender bending it gets erradicated before it can pollenate.