Interesting Christmas present: "fresh" hops!

General Homebrew Discussion
1

I received four zip-lock bags filled with “fresh” hops for Christmas.  It threw me for a loop!  I opened the box fearful of finding a Mr. Beer, and lo-and-behold, there were HOPS!  Of course, I have no clue what variety they are, and neither does the goofy girl who picked them for me, but I don’t figure that’s as big of a deal as whether or not they still have any use.  After she picked them at the end of August, she didn’t know what to do with them, so she threw them in the freezer while she tried to figure out what to do.  4 months later, she packed up my Christmas boxes and brought them to the party.

My conundrum is this:  are these hops still worth drying out and using in beer?  Are these best used as fertilizer for the 18 “ladies” I have growing in my back yard?  I estimate that they would weight between 4 and 7 ounces when dry, but I don’t really know right now.  I’ve kept them as frozen as possible since I received them, so they’re still pretty much un-thawed.

Hmm…

2

My understanding is that if you don;t dry them within 24 - 48 hours after picking they are no good. And that wet hops don’t freeze well. That said I have no personal experience.

3

I’m not sure that I’d waste my time with them.  Too much other stuff to experiment with.

How do they smell?  Is the lupulin bitter?

4

I have some Mt Hoods that were only partially dried (about 1/3 dried )  , then we got tons of rain/humid weather so I just vacuum sealed them up.

They seem fine to me, used them to dry hop two kegs of Alt and the aroma is definitely there.

Going to see about bittering properties when I brew a Pils next month.

They do smell GREAT.
Easier to handle too, just break off a piece and re-seal the bag  ;D

5

If worse comes to worse, don’t chunk 'em. put 'em in a small muslin bag and hang 'em from your rear view mirror!  :slight_smile:

6

I have friends that have done it and say it works out OK. The lupulin glands have burst, since they didn’t dry out and the alpha on these will be a lot higher than you’d expect. That said, I also have ZERO personal experience.

Guess you have an experiment to do. :wink:

Pleas let us know the results. :smiley:

7

First, thank goofy girl for thinking of you and giving you the hops

Make something out of them and see how it turns out. If good, great. If not, tell goofy girl that next harvest you will show her how to dry and store them properly. Give her some of the beer made out of them and and some made of “proper” hops and let her see the difference and use this as a chance to dispel ignorance for the earth.

Never look a gift horse in the mouth, look in it’s eye.

8

Particularly if she’s cute. :wink:

9

I have frozen wet hops and used them in later brews just fine.  I would use them as is, no worries.

10

“I opened the box fearful of finding a Mr. Beer”… That is so funny…I bought My Kid one for Christmas.He is a college student, I will fill it with a couple of gallons of IPA wort before he returns to school. I was just thinking it was something he could do in the dorm. Hope I don’t ruin him on brewing!  :stuck_out_tongue:

11

It depends. Are his credit cards in your name? :wink: