Wild Hops found but...

[thed163]

There may or may not be worms in/on/somewhere around them.

My roommate picked a bunch of hops, he said he felt a worm crawling on him on the drive home. He thought it was from the hops, but really, he was in bushes and stuff so I'm not so sure it didn't just come from a plant elsewhere.

Anyway, if they are in the hops, are they useless? Also, just put them on a screen in the sun and dry them out, then freeze them? Is that the proper process on how to use them? He wants to try to dry hop with them next batch.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

Yeah, put them on a screen and mix them up every once in a while if they're more than a single layer.
I never worried about bugs, they'll crawl out for lack of food eventually before I get around to vacpacking them. And the little spider webs that get mixed in don't add much flavor ;-)

 

[thed163]

Good call. I won't worry about it. They smelled good? I mean, they don't smell like the only hops i've really smelled (Chinook, Citra, Centennial... and in that pellet form) ... but I didn't expect that.

Does drying them out make them more aromatic? I did do the "hand rolling/crushing and then take a whiff" test, and they smelled good. Just not super duper pungent.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

You could dry them and then put some in boiling water for a while to make a hop tea to get an idea of the flavor. I've heard that many wild hops are ornamental so they don't offer much in the way of bittering or flavor.

 

[thed163]

Good idea too. I'd be using them as dry hop if anything. I don't think they'd be bitter enough to use in the boil, but I think the hop tea is a great idea. I'll look up how much hops vs water to use etc.

 

[unionrdr]

Drying them before freezing will preserve them a lot better. Ever take bell peppers outta the freezer & let'em thaw? They get slimy/mushy like. It also sounds like they may be some noble hops gone wild. Like German noble hops, with their herbal, spicy, floral qualities?

 

[thed163]

That's what I'm thinking... They smell like all you listed. Dry then freeze is the plan. Much appreciated

 

[unionrdr]

You're welcome. It just seemed to me that they could've been from some old plantng used in a local brewery from pre-prohibition times?