How to use stale hops

[i4ourgot]

I remember reading something about using stale hops but I can't remember what it said. What are stale hops good for?

 

[BigSumpin]

Try baking them in the oven @ 200 degrees for a couple hours and throw em' all in the boil...as long as theres no trace of (dampness) mold.

 

[i4ourgot]

no just the cheese smell. is there a certain type of beer people add them to?

 

[mcbaumannerb]

Lambic style beer is a good place to use older (stale) hops.

 

[ong]

They're used in lambics (and perhaps other sours?) to provide antibacterial qualities without contributing much hop flavor. That's a pretty complex style to get into, though, and finding old hops is not the hard part!

 

[i4ourgot]

nice, so what about the old cheese smell is that lost in the boil?

 

[mcbaumannerb]

Not in the boil - during fermentation. The other yeast strains will make it sour and mask the off flavors from the hops. A song said though, doing a lambic is not easy - the mash is extreme and the fermentation takes a long time to finish. It is a project.

 

[Calder]

As ong said though, doing a lambic is not easy - the mash is extreme and the fermentation takes a long time to finish. It is a project.

A Lambic style or sour beer is pretty easy. You can make excellent sour beers with extract. It just takes a lot of patience. You are looking for a time investment of at least a year, but more likely two.

You do not want the hops cheesy. You want them old and oxidized, but not cheesy. If you leave them out long enough, that will pass.

 

[Cbaddad]

I would say they make a great addition to the compost pile. Never made a lambic, but I think your options are pretty limited.

 

[i4ourgot]

Nice I will leave them out. I live in a pretty dry place so I am not worried about mold. Does anyone remember the BYO article that talked about using stale hops?