Mystery Roadside Hops and Gifted Grains

[mattman91]

Alright, this should be fun.

I live by and frequent a neighborhood (Winston-Salem, NC) beer bar where a ton of regulars like to hang out. We even have a “lawn guy” that mows the grass and, I **** you not, grows an unsanctioned garden by the roadside. In this garden, there are hops! I’m not sure the variety, but from my limited knowledge of what hop varieties grow here, I’m going to assume this is cascade.

I have about 2oz of these hops. Since that isn’t a lot, and I have no idea the alpha acid percentage, my plan is to use them as a dry hop addition and subsidize it with other cascade pellet hops in the boil.

These hops have been chilling in the freezer in a vacuum sealed bag for a month or so.

A few days ago, one of the regulars showed up with a ton of free grains from Carolina Malt House and asked me to do something with them. 20lbs of Pilsner and 5oz of malted wheat.

I typically brew 3.25 gallon batches, so I’m thinking about going 95% pils 5% wheat and fermenting with Lutra Kveik for a pale ale or “pseudo lager” type beer.

The only thing I’m not so sure about is how to properly use this hops as a dry hop. I typically use pellet hops and have no experience with whole cone. I’m also not sure if I’m supposed to “dry them out” and how I should go about doing so.

Any suggestions would be swell. If anyone cares, I’ll keep the thread updated with the progress 😎

 

[IslandLizard]

The only thing I’m not so sure about is how to properly use this hops as a dry hop. I typically use pellet hops and have no experience with whole cone. I’m also not sure if I’m supposed to “dry them out” and how I should go about doing so.

You've got "wet hops" there. They are about 5x the weight of dried hops, either being whole flowers or milled and compressed into T90 pellets.

So your 2 oz of wet hops would be the equivalent of 0.4 oz (11.2 grams) of dried hops.
Since you're using them as a dry hop, their %AA is not important. They do have tons of fresh flavor, so do not dry them.

If you'd just add them to a 3 gallon batch, without anything else, you won't be able to taste much of them. If added with other dry hops, they'll vanish among them.

So instead, I would add those wet hops, as they are, as a dry hop to only one gallon of your new batch of fermented beer, just to experience the fresh wet hop sensation.
The 2 oz of wet dry-hops in one gallon of beer would be the equivalent of 5 * 0.4 = 2 oz of dried dry-hops in 5 gallons of beer. That would be suitable for a Pale Ale.

If you want the wet dry-hops to show a little more, add them to only 3/4 gallons of beer. That's the equivalent of 2.7 oz of dried dry-hops in 5 gallons of beer.
This would be what I would do.

 

[AlexKay]

I was told by a brewing professor (in NC, no less), that wild-growing hops, especially in the eastern part of the country, were almost always Cluster. Just passing that on.

 

[mattman91]

You've got "wet hops" there. They are about 5x the weight of dried hops, either being whole flowers or milled and compressed into T90 pellets.

So your 2 oz of wet hops would be the equivalent of 0.4 oz (11.2 grams) of dried hops.
Since you're using them as a dry hop, their %AA is not important. They do have tons of fresh flavor, so do not dry them.

If you'd just add them to a 3 gallon batch, without anything else, you won't be able to taste much of them. If added with other dry hops, they'll vanish among them.

So instead, I would add those wet hops, as they are, as a dry hop to only one gallon of your new batch of fermented beer, just to experience the fresh wet hop sensation.
The 2 oz of wet dry-hops in one gallon of beer would be the equivalent of 5 * 0.4 = 2 oz of dried dry-hops in 5 gallons of beer. That would be suitable for a Pale Ale.

If you want the wet dry-hops to show a little more, add them to only 3/4 gallons of beer. That's the equivalent of 2.7 oz of dried dry-hops in 5 gallons of beer.
This would be what I would do.

Great info, thanks.

I am pretty set in making the 3 gallon batch as I will be sharing a good bit of it with friends. Should I just attempt to fry them out? Could I do this in the oven?

 

[IslandLizard]

Should I just attempt to fry them out?

fry?

Should I just attempt to fry them out? Could I do this in the oven?

If you mean dry them out, what would that accomplish? You're not gonna get more hops or flavor. They just lose their water and all their fresh hop flavor, which can be quite unique.

You're not going to be able to taste that small amount of hops in a 3 gallon batch. Hence splitting 3/4 gallons off for this wet hop experiment.

 

[mattman91]

fry?

Dry*

Damned autocorrect 😂

 

[IslandLizard]

Dry*

Damned autocorrect 😂

I edited/added to my previous post.

 

[MaxStout]

I concur with @IslandLizard.

You have a neat oppprtunity to try out those wet hops. In a 3 gal batch, they'd contribute just a tiny part and probably not noticeable. But in a separate 1 gal, you could enjoy the full flavor/aroma without them being mixed with others.

 

[IslandLizard]

I was told by a brewing professor (in NC, no less), that wild-growing hops, especially in the eastern part of the country, were almost always Cluster. Just passing that on.

That's interesting, and somewhat disillusioning...

No chance on a Neo-Mexicanus? Or some fluke wild hybrid?
Anyone around who can identify them from the picture in the OP by cone size and shape?
If they're indeed Cluster they could be used as a dry hop. She has a nice citrusy flavor/aroma.

A few years ago we found some hops growing in a cove by the road in the Chapel Hill area, when we visiting there.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

A little caveat perhaps, wet hops should be used shortly after picking, otherwise let them air dry then store them cold. Apologies if this was already stated, I just skimmed the thread. Mystery hops are fun!

 

[mattman91]

A little caveat perhaps, wet hops should be used shortly after picking, otherwise let them air dry then store them cold. Apologies if this was already stated, I just skimmed the thread. Mystery hops are fun!

I picked them and took them home and vacuum sealed and threw them in the freezer. I couldn’t use them right away so I figured that was the next best thing 😎

 

[MaxStout]

Another side of the coin in favor of using them for only a small portion of the brew: If the hops are bad or have some weird off-flavors, you've only screwed up 1 gallon instead of 3 gallons. It's not uncommon for people to grow ornamental varieties of hops, and YMMV as to flavor.

You could take 1 of the hops, make some tea with a little hot water (like a mini hopstand) and taste/smell. That would give you a preview of what it may impart to your beer.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I picked them and took them home and vacuum sealed and threw them in the freezer. I couldn’t use them right away so I figured that was the next best thing 😎

I’m not absolutely sure about this, but I think that could lead to a vegetal/grassy contribution to flavor as the moisture content freezes and breaks the cell walls. Great for getting juice to flow in fruits maybe not that good for hops, unless you like that of course.

 

[mattman91]

I’m not absolutely sure about this, but I think that could lead to a vegetal/grassy contribution to flavor as the moisture content freezes and breaks the cell walls. Great for getting juice to flow in fruits maybe not that good for hops, unless you like that of course.

Oh fudge. I followed the advice here:

“Package Your HopsA vacuum seal is ideal for this process, but not necessary. You'll flatten out and crush your pretty little hop cones, but it's for their own good! You don't want any oxygen contaminating and ruining all your hard work. Label them with the type of hop and toss them into the freezer for safe keeping.”

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/how-to-harvest-prepare-and-store-homegrown-hops/

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Oh fudge. I followed the advice here:

“Package Your HopsA vacuum seal is ideal for this process, but not necessary. You'll flatten out and crush your pretty little hop cones, but it's for their own good! You don't want any oxygen contaminating and ruining all your hard work. Label them with the type of hop and toss them into the freezer for safe keeping.”

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/how-to-harvest-prepare-and-store-homegrown-hops/

It also said this.
“You’ve picked your hops, but you’re still not done. After you pick hops, you have two options: throw them directly into a brew and make a wet-hopped beer or dry them to use later.

Fresh hops are about 80 percent water, so you’ll need to use more than you would with dry hops. In general, wet hops are used four to six times the dry hop rate. For example four to six ounces of wet hops would be the equivalent of one ounce of pelleted dry hops.”
On the bright side, you have a pretty small amount of hops there and perhaps not likely to contribute much vegetal flavor especially if you are going to also use some pellets. This is another plus of doing a small batch as said above. It’s your beer, have fun with it. Next year you’ll remember to harvest ripe cones on brew day for wet hopping and getting the best flavor. 🍻

 

[mattman91]

It also said this.
“You’ve picked your hops, but you’re still not done. After you pick hops, you have two options: throw them directly into a brew and make a wet-hopped beer or dry them to use later.

Fresh hops are about 80 percent water, so you’ll need to use more than you would with dry hops. In general, wet hops are used four to six times the dry hop rate. For example four to six ounces of wet hops would be the equivalent of one ounce of pelleted dry hops.”
On the bright side, you have a pretty small amount of hops there and perhaps not likely to contribute vegetal flavor especially if you are going to also use some pellets. This is another plus of doing a small batch as said above. It’s your beer, have fun with it. Next year you’ll remember to harvest ripe cones on brew day for wet hopping and getting the best flavor. 🍻

Well darn.

That’s what I get for not reading the full article.

We’ll see how it goes.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Well darn.

That’s what I get for not reading the full article.

We’ll see how it goes.

We all make mistakes, and many of them are not catastrophes. RAHAHB 🙂

 

[mattman91]

We all make mistakes, and many of them are not catastrophes. RAHAHB 🙂

It’s going to be very cheap and easy brew day and if it sucks, it won’t be a huge deal. I’m going to use Lutra, so I won’t have to wait very long to find out how it turns out 🙃