Recommended way to try out our homegrown hops

[Tobor_8thMan]

Planted 3 hop plants in the fall of 2017.

They all grew tremendously in 2018. I actually got quite a lot of the Nugget cones. I carefully picked them when they were ready. Air dried them, double bagged them and put the "light as a feather" (after air drying), hops into the freezer.

What is the best/recommended way to test the hops in a brew? I probably have 2 oz, but I don't want to simply use them in my latest homebrew until I'm sure they taste OK.

Thanks.

 

[friarsmith]

They probably have not reached their full potency AA%-wise after the first year, but if they smell good and have some visible yellow resin, they should be worthy of a test. A few ideas:

1) 5gal Pale Ale. Maybe a SMASH, but simple fermentables nonetheless. Use a neutral bittering hop like Warrior/Magnum/Galena at 60 minutes for 35 IBU's or so, then add an ounce of your hops at both 15 and flameout/whirlpool. That will give you a decent indication of their flavor and aroma as the bittering hops wont mask much, and worse-case-scenario you'll have a pale ale with low aromatics/flavor. You could always test a sample after a few weeks in the fermenter, and if there's no aroma, dry hop with some pellets to salvage the beer.

2) 1-2 gal simple extract & steep recipe. Add your cone hops at 60 and 20, and consider using an AA% est of 8-9% in the recipe calculations. Mature Nuggets will usually be north of 10%. If, for example, your 2 gallon recipe calculates to 60 IBU's with whatever weight of hops in the two additions, compare the finished product to another commercial pale or IPA that closely approximates that bitterness to see where yours lands.

FWIW, I've been growing hops since 2005, and have tried lots of varieties to settle on a small handful of high-producers and varieties I like in my favorite beer styles. I generally only use first year hops for late kettle additions, but then will use them for bittering after the second season.

Don't be afraid to brew with those cones!

 

[89Hen]

Sounds very similar to my 2018. I planted in April and my Centennial didn't grow beyond 3-4 feet and didn't flower. But my Zeus grew well above my trellis (will have to expand this year) and produced about 25-30 usable cones. They had a decent aroma, but Zeus are bittering hops. I found a recipe for an APA using Zeus and Centennial so I could just add what I had to mix to say I used them. As Friar said above, they probably weren't near full potency so I followed the recipe for store bought hops and simply added mine as extra. It turned out to be one of my best brews I've ever done... was extremely well received by friends.

I'm hoping the Centennial do better next year. This year we set a record for rainfall for the year and I know a couple of the local breweries that tried to plant hops this year lost their entire lot to mold.

 

[mashpaddled]

If they smell good then they probably taste good. If they smell weird well they will probably taste weird, too.

Normally I would suggest brewing a typical pale ale and use the hops as a late addition or dry hop. The problem with nugget is that it doesn't have a lot of flavor unless you use a crazy amount. Think about brewing a two gallon batch and whirlpool or dry hop the two ounces you have. Seems like overkill but it won't be for those hops. If they taste like commercially grown nuggets you'll get a slightly woody, peach taste like a nice peach tea.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Sounds good. Thanks for the input.