Using moldy hops?

[Psych]

I picked about 4 ounces ("dry weight") of Nugget hops from my 2nd year plant this past fall, and thought I had dried them sufficiently. I bagged them up in a ziplock freezer bag and for whatever reason left them out on the counter for a week, I think I was worried about critters in them and wanted to suffocate them before storing.

Anyhow, during that time they developed fluffy moldy type stuff on some of the cones, and the cones started to brown some.

Are these in any way usable? Like can I dunk them in star san before using, or something? I'd use them as a 0 minute aroma or a dry hop, likely.

Thanks!

 

[day_trippr]

Nah, toss 'em. Why chance compounding a mistake into an effed up batch or two?

Cheers!

 

[GVH_Dan]

Agreed. Toss them. If they have mold, they weren't dried enough. That means the alpha acids and a lot of the oils would have broken down (oxidized). The brown color is also an indication of that. So if you used them in a dry hop, not only would you not derive any of the flavors you wanted, you would be potentially introducing something nasty to grow in the beer.

Sorry, but you should toss them.

 

[Psych]

*Sniff* all my hard work watering them this year

Thanks guys, I'll be more careful next year. Will keep them around till spring and mulch em into the earth around my plant, see if it helps...cannibal hops!

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

If you think you've dried your hops well enough, dry them another day.

Its near impossible to "over dry" hops if your leaving them out somewhere warm with a fan blowing.

 

[mozart4898]

I picked about 4 ounces ("dry weight") of Nugget hops from my 2nd year plant this past fall, and thought I had dried them sufficiently. I bagged them up in a ziplock freezer bag and for whatever reason left them out on the counter for a week, I think I was worried about critters in them and wanted to suffocate them before storing.

FYI, and I know it sounds kinda gross...even if there ARE critters in there (bugs/insects I'm assuming you mean), I'd still just throw the bag straight in the freezer after sealing them up. They're going to suffocate/freeze to death either way.

 

[GVH_Dan]

*Sniff* all my hard work watering them this year

Thanks guys, I'll be more careful next year. Will keep them around till spring and mulch em into the earth around my plant, see if it helps...cannibal hops!

I understand the feeling. I've had 1-3 acre growers call me with the same problem. On guy was drying what would have been 500 lbs (dry) of hops by spreading them out on tarps on his barn floor, but he had a wedding scheduled in there for the weekend. After 2 days of drying, he wrapped the hops up in the tarp and shoved it in a storage shed. Three days later he laid them back out in the barn to finish drying but they were all brown and funky. So he calls me and asked what he could do with them. My response, "...they are perfect for reapplication to the field."

Seriously, hops are really high in nitrogen. Another grower brought us some funky stuff. I took home 200 lbs and worked them into my tomato bed. For 5 years, I had the biggest tomato plants you have ever seen. I spread the rest on my lawn and didn't have to fertilize that year.

On the bug issue, they pretty much all vacate the cones within the first couple of hours of being picked. They sense that something has changed and they scurry out. Look at the 3rd post down on this thread for a funny story from one of my first years of drying. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/hop-dry-picture-tutorial-134103/index8.html

 

[Psych]

I understand the feeling. I've had 1-3 acre growers call me with the same problem. On guy was drying what would have been 500 lbs (dry) of hops by spreading them out on tarps on his barn floor, but he had a wedding scheduled in there for the weekend. After 2 days of drying, he wrapped the hops up in the tarp and shoved it in a storage shed. Three days later he laid them back out in the barn to finish drying but they were all brown and funky. So he calls me and asked what he could do with them. My response, "...they are perfect for reapplication to the field."

Seriously, hops are really high in nitrogen. Another grower brought us some funky stuff. I took home 200 lbs and worked them into my tomato bed. For 5 years, I had the biggest tomato plants you have ever seen. I spread the rest on my lawn and didn't have to fertilize that year.

On the bug issue, they pretty much all vacate the cones within the first couple of hours of being picked. They sense that something has changed and they scurry out. Look at the 3rd post down on this thread for a funny story from one of my first years of drying. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/hop-dry-picture-tutorial-134103/index8.html

Haha great story!

I had this one earwig that I didn't notice when I picked them, but saw in my bowl before I dried. I never saw him leave and sure enough his corpse remains in the ziplock freezer bag to this day. Stupid earwig...

Live and learn, I did enjoy the growing process this year and got a fairly good second year harvest considering my plant only hit 6 feet high the first year (no flowers). Next year's going to rock! Hope I like Nugget lol

 

[Cyclman]

Don't feel all bad, year 3 you'll be amazed how many more hops you get out of your bines.