Ideas wanted for a simple recipe to show off using home grown wet hops

[ThinBrewLine]

So my second year crop of Brewers Gold will be harvested in several weeks.
I plan on going from bine to boil immediately, for the fun of it. No particular style

I'm thinking 10-12 pounds of 2 row, 1oz of Magnum pellets at 60, and then about 15 oz of fresh/wet Brewers Gold at flameout, with some more dry hopping (sanitized cones- 15 oz) at 7 days or so. (The Magnum is to get solid bitterness without having to guess the amount of wet hops to use, and avoid unknowingly spiking the IBU's)

Brewers Gold is not widely used as an aromatic. Do you think my idea will lead to an overly grassy aroma?

Ideas welcome!

 

[ong]

Nope, that sounds like a solid plan! How will you sanitize the (presumably wet?) dry hops?

 

[Jayjay1976]

I have read that for some strange magical reason, whole cone hops or pellets do not host wild yeasts or other infection-causing microbes. Never believed it, but I've read it, and I'm not sure if that magic includes freshly picked cones. Maybe the boil additions supply enough alpha acids to reduce the risk of infection from dry hopping?

Either way, using fresh wet hops would likely lead to grassy/green flavors, although that might be a highlight of this technique. I can imagine pouring a bottle in January to escape winter's icy grip and enjoy the verdant aromas of freshly mowed grass, like summertime in a bottle! Gives a whole new meaning to the term "lawnmower beer".

I say go for it!

 

[ong]

I did two batches with homegrown last year: wet hops in the whirlpool, and dried batches of the same hop for dry hopping. Both got really crazy bad infections and were dumpers. So... yeah. Not sure what was going on there.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Maybe kilning the cones at 150f or something to dry out and pasteurize? I think commercial hops are kilned. Anybody with first hand experience to share?

 

[ong]

I did mine in a dehydrator around 130°, but I dunno. Honestly, I’ve never been super happy with any of the beers using my homegrown hops. I’ll try again this year now that I have a second year Comet plant.

 

[ThinBrewLine]

I'm thinking a dunk in some vodka should kill any nasties on board.

I'm also thinking that instead of 2 row base, I go with some mid level malts like vienna or munich for richer flavor, a tad bit of crystal, and maybe a bit of oats for mouthfeel.
A warmer than usual mash, say 154 held for 60 minutes, and a ferment temp of about 74f using US-05.
I think the malt will shine on this, and the fresh green of the wet hops will be less intense.

With over 30 batches under my belt (and only one poured down the drain- a Begian double I tried to make as my third batch ever- duh) this will just be a fun harvest brew experiment.

Brewers Gold grows great here in Middle Tennessee, but it is clearly not a overly popular hop choice. I love to get a mosaic rhizome!!!

 

[Jayjay1976]

I've got one centennial plant growing in a container that I'm going to experiment with pruning to hopefully keep it short and bushy. I don't have any illusions about harvesting any useful quantity or quality of hops from it for brewing, but it adds an authentic biergarten ambiance to our balcony and it really is a beautiful plant.

 

[ThinBrewLine]

I initially got mine for the same reason- it grows up to my deck, then over a sitting area for shade & ambience. But damn if it's not putting out a ton of cones- and I hate to not try a batch. Hell, a buddy that worked for Coke just got me three more pin lock cornies so why not do some experimental brewing.
Incidentally, the hops plant is closely related to cannabis. Jus sayin. Experimentally....

 

[Jayjay1976]

Well I got a severely late start to the planting season because work, life, etc. got in the way, only to discover that my single rhizome had frozen to death in the back of the fridge during the 8 weeks of procrastinating. In a fit of rage I ordered a live plant through amazon, whatever I could find ended up being Cascade, and by the time it arrived and I got it into a pot, well here we are in August and its only a gangly 24" high and so far nothing resembling cones. We also don't have any herbs, tomatoes, peppers, or anything growing on our balcony. I feel like we wasted the growing season and I'm pissed at myself for letting it slide past us. I'v been trying to train the three bines to grow around a tomato cage and ended up snapping the healthiest bine off near the tip so I don't know if that one will die now. If I don't get at least a few decorative cones this year I'll be disappointed. Sorry for the rant, just need to get my priorities straight next spring and get the gardening set up regardless of the wife's priorities. I'm also planning to erect a tall pole and strings for them to grow up. I'd give anything for a floor-level apartment with my own patch of dirt.