Found some wild hops

[Wincky]

My housemate's girlfriend found some hops growing in her garden and picked them for us over the summer. i dried them out and they've been sat in my freezer for a while now. i'm still fairly new to brewing and i'm not sure what to do with them. what would be the best way to use them, in order to know their flavour and things like that?

 

[cluckk]

I guess it first depends upon how much you have. If there is enough to do a batch of beer without other hop additions, I'd consider a SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop) with something like US 2 row, so the hops are highlighted. This way you can show off the qualities of the hop. You'd end up with an American Pale Ale--depending on the strain of hops they are. By using the same hop for all hop charges in a batch (bittering, flavor, aroma) you really see what it will do.

If you're and extract brewer you can do the same thing by using a pale unhopped extract.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

I typically use my hops for all aspects (bitter/flavor/aroma). However, if these were wild hops they may be ornamental and not worth a darn for brewing. I would start off making a hop tea (steep a few in boiling water) to see if they provide a bitterness on the tongue and/or enjoyable flavor. Then I would recommend using them for flavor and/or aroma additions. If they are not brewing hops they may not provide any measurable bitterness and you'd have simply wasted the other ingredients.

 

[PapaBearJay]

Did these wild hops that were picked have any seeds with them?

 

[brewerelated]

I am looking for seeds too. If anybody has seeds I would pay postage to have them sent.

Did these wild hops that were picked have any seeds with them?

 

[johngaltsmotor]

Why do you want seeds? Growing from seed you get both male (no hop cones to brew with) and female plants, and they'll be a hybrid of the female and male varieties (and may be complete garbage for brewing with).

Most homebrewers should stick with root cuttings (rhizomes) of a known female so they produce hop cones with a predictable bitter/flavor/aroma profile.

 

[brewerelated]

I am looking to experiment with crossbreeding hops. I was a gardener long before I was a homebrewer. I am most interested in the Neomexicana varieties as those are native to the southwest.

Getting to mess with new genetic material means new possibilities. Breeders now are trying to breed dwarf hop varieties which yield about as well as traditional hop varieties but are grown on trellis that are half the height. That's just one example of the many possibilities when breeding hops.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

Gotcha Brewerelated, just wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing and didn't wind up hopping mad that someone sold you a mystery.

 

[Terek]

Why do you want seeds? Growing from seed you get both male (no hop cones to brew with) and female plants, and they'll be a hybrid of the female and male varieties (and may be complete garbage for brewing with).

Most homebrewers should stick with root cuttings (rhizomes) of a known female so they produce hop cones with a predictable bitter/flavor/aroma profile.

Sex can be changed in most plants, just hermy the males

 

[Terek]

I guess it first depends upon how much you have. If there is enough to do a batch of beer without other hop additions, I'd consider a SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop) with something like US 2 row, so the hops are highlighted. This way you can show off the qualities of the hop. You'd end up with an American Pale Ale--depending on the strain of hops they are. By using the same hop for all hop charges in a batch (bittering, flavor, aroma) you really see what it will do.

If you're and extract brewer you can do the same thing by using a pale unhopped extract.

I have done this to check "unknown" hops. I live near wilder, idaho, which is a huge hop growing area. A couple of the farmers let me hunt doves in the hop fields. Most of the "farmers" are just working for the distribution centers and have no idea what kind of hops they are. (Most don't even speak English) sometimes when I'm hunting, some hops may "accidentally" fall into my bag. Hey, I'm doing them a service, clearing out all the destructive birds anyway, I don't really know what they are, so I smash them and figure what I like and don't like. After doing this a few years, I got a few recipes that I use my dove hops in. I usually only get enough for one or two batches a year.

 

[WissaBrewGuy]

I used wild hops that my buddy found last year in a pale ale. It turned out decent. I assumed the hops were 4%AA so I added some warrior bittering hops at 60min and the wild variety for the rest. The warrior is so clean you couldn't taste it but without it the beer would not have been bitter. I'd suggest something along those lines or making a hop tea like was suggested by johngaltsmotor.

 

[brewerelated]

I understand. I have done some reading on hop breeding programs and it seems like hop breeding is almost like playing a genetic lottery and hoping that you hit the jackpot. I know there is science behind it that can increase your odds of a favorable outcome, but I won't have access to that kind of technology. At the same time growing hops isn't an ends to a means for me. I don't grow hops just for the cones. I enjoy gardening and I am fascinated by the genetics of plants. Hopefully I can find some native North American hops or some Native Neomexicana hops soon.

Gotcha Brewerelated, just wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing and didn't wind up hopping mad that someone sold you a mystery.