Dried Cascade Hops Smell Like Hay

[HopTonger]

I'm sure the short answer on this one is 8 probably picked too early - but - I think the question now is if the Cascade hops I picked and dried are useable. They did have tell-tale signs of ripeness - brown tips and/or papery feel, crinkly, darker color, etc - lupulin was present but not quite visible unless you pulled the brachts up. I noticed some had a nice aroma, but it was inconsistent. I dried, packed, and froze them (very recent - within last week) and then pulled them out to use them brewing yesterday. They smelled like hay, but I ran my finger along the bottom of the bag and swiped up some of the lupulin that had fallen down - it packed quite a flavorful and bitter punch.
Are these good for flavoring hops?

 

[GVH_Dan]

Are they the color of straw? It could be you picked to early or that you dried them at too high of a temperature. The first would mean you picked them before the oils had a chance to fully form. The latter means you drove them away.

 

[HopTonger]

I dried them in a non-heated oast - box fan with screen-bottom crates (BYO mag DIY from spring issue), so can't be too hot.

 

[thaymond]

I dried them in a non-heated oast - box fan with screen-bottom crates (BYO mag DIY from spring issue), so can't be too hot.

My cascades are similar. I still get grapefruity goodness in the pale ale I make. The aroma isn't as intense as my Chinook or Zeus, but it does come through in the beer.

Good to see people are using the oast design! I hope it worked well for you!

 

[HopTonger]

Very efficient design, actually! We had a heat wave here in PA when I was drying them in the garage - I got down the 20-25% of original weight in 36hrs.
Thanks for the input. I was making tea with them before I picked certain sections and they sure had the flavor and look to be picked. Good to know I wasn't totally wrong. I'm going to push my final picking a little longer just in case, though.