Looking for some old hops

[Worthog82]

I want to make a belgian lambic. Does anyone have any stale hops sitting around that I could use? I'll be sure to send a bottle your way once its done

 

[hoppymonkey]

I got a 1/2lb of whole leaf amarillo you are welcome to if you'll send a beer back.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Crap. I just threw nearly 3 pounds of leaf hops from a 2008 harvest.

they have been resting in the composter holding bin for a few weeks now. I doubt you'd want them anymore.

 

[Worthog82]

I got a 1/2lb of whole leaf amarillo you are welcome to if you'll send a beer back.

I'll take them! I PMed my address. I'll send you a bomber once its ready.

 

[SumnerH]

You may not need them, depending on how you're making your lambic. Hopefully Oldsock will chime in here--he's the sour beer guru, and I might have this wrong. But here's my understanding:

A wild-fermented lambic uses really high hopping levels for the antibacterial hops properties, in order to suppress all the other potential bugs that get into the beer during the initial open fermentation. Since it doesn't really want bitterness, they need to be well-aged to eliminate most of the alpha acids.

If you're pitching a lambic blend (or dregs from commercial bottles), you don't have quite the same concerns--you can use good sanitation, and hop lightly with fresh hops.

Here's a link to one of Oldsock's posts from his blog on sour beers--he's been brewing sours for years, and his site is a wealth of information for people looking to learn the process. This post is is overview of things he's learned about the process:
http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2009/11/brewing-sour-beer-at-home.html

I have not found aged hops to be a necessity for any sour beers including inoculated-lambics. Since you are adding the microbes yourself you do not need to worry about protecting the beer from wild invaders as lambic brewers must when they are slowly cooling their wort in a coolship, exposed to the microbe-laden air. If you are looking to do a spontaneous/ambient fermentation then aging hops is something you should look into (several years before brewing...).

 

[hoppymonkey]

I'll take them! I PMed my address. I'll send you a bomber once its ready.

I didn't get your PM. Do you still want these?