first time using whole hops - quick help needed

[JLem]

I'm at the start of my brewing day - mash is ~1/2 way done. I just weighed out my hops, but noticed they did not look like I thought they would. I got these hops from a local hop farm and they told me they were dried and vacuum sealed and then kept in the freezer. When I opened the vacuum bags up though the hops were not all loose in the bag, but stuck together in a great big clump. I had to pull it all apart to weigh out what I needed.

This is the first time I've used whole hops, but I was expecting the hops to be looser. I guess my concern is that these were not fully dried before frozen. So, my questions:

1) Based on my description, are my concerns reasonable? Or does the vacumm seal squish everything together like that anyways?

2) If my concerns are reasonable, should I make any adjustments with the amount of hops I am using?

Thanks.

 

[malt_shovel]

No worries with what you have,

It is a lot more economical for hop producers to vacuum seal them together to reduce packaging costs and such like.

There will be no adjustments required to the bittering and flavouring/aroma characteristics. Whole hops are great!

RDWHAHB

 

[Homercidal]

The hops should be dried to the same moisture content as any other. They do get compressed tight when packaged. Just pull apart and weigh the same as you would for pellets (although they will take more room, the weighing ensures you are using the same volume of hops).

 

[JLem]

Thanks for the quick responses - and for the reassurance. No worries - I'm a full believer in precision measuring and I've weighed them all out to the nearest 0.1 grams

 

[mightynintendo]

The clumping is normal. I find that more oily hops like magnum clump together more than the less oily hops like crystal. But it's all normal and a result of the vacuum seal. I would just weight out the calculated amounts and go with that. Well no, that's not true. I would measure out the calculated amounts and then decide that I want more. I always do.

 

[wyzazz]

If you're a precision type of guy and your recipe is made with pellets in mind, then you'll want to adjust your bittering addition to account for the 10% or so less utilization you'll get with whole hops.

 

[JLem]

If you're a precision type of guy and your recipe is made with pellets in mind, then you'll want to adjust your bittering addition to account for the 10% or so less utilization you'll get with whole hops.

Thanks. I had thought about that, but I am also guessing on the AA% of these hops - the hop farm did not have this batch analyzed (they're small and just starting out - they sent me ~6 ounces of free hops so I can't complain). Since I'm already guessing, I'm not concerned with a 10% drop (unless I am WAY overestimating...) I've hopped this up to about 50 IBUs with the idea that I'd be OK if it came out somewhere in the 40-60 range.

 

[wyzazz]

Right on, either way it'll make a nicely hopped beer right?

 

[JLem]

Right on, either way it'll make a nicely hopped beer right?

Exactly. If it ends up on the 40 end, it will be an APA, if it ends up on the 60 end it will be an IPA. I'm bittering with Newport and Amarillo, with late additions of Cascade and Amarillo. The Newport and the Cascades are the locally grown hops. The Amarillo I had in the freezer from my LHBS (pellets, 8%).