So I just received some freshly picked Chinook hops from my good friend a couple of days ago and now I am preparing to brew for him an ALL Chinook IPA this sunday. I have a good recipe ready to go, but my concern is using homegrown hops for the bittering of the boil. I know I dont know the AA% so i used the average for that style of hop. Using beer smith i came out with 81 IBUs. is this an OK assumption to assume when calculating hop additions? Also will I get any off flavors like "freshly mowed grass" if i use 100% homegrown? The hop cones came from a plant in its third year of growing. Also I have been drying them on a window screen the past couple of days.
Using 100% homegrown hops
- Thread starter rwing7486
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No way to know until you give it a shot. I just brewed my first all homegrown pale. It seems like it will be good, but I will just have to see what type of flavor I get from the homegrown cascades and nugget.
I would imagine that most homegrown hops end up being a bit under in the average AA% due to us being amateurs at growing and drying.
I would imagine that most homegrown hops end up being a bit under in the average AA% due to us being amateurs at growing and drying.
noreaster40s
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I always thought that the AA% would be less too but now I'm not so sure. I've brewed several batches using a combination of pellet and my own homegrown hops and when compared to batches I've brewed of the same beer in the past the ones with my own hops seem to have more of a bite to them. Just have to keep testing, I guess. 
