In the Jan/Feb '16 edition of Zymurgy, Charlie P. has a Mild recipe that interests me. As I read thru the ingredients I see “wild hops” as a steeping hop after boiling. Now, where am I going to find wild hops in N AL? What would I consider a suitable substitute?
Maybe Cluster? That’s a lot of what went wild from commercial hop crops early on - obviously not a native hop variety.
Ah… cool. Thx
At our latitude your chance of finding wild hops is fairly low.
I seem to recall there is a monastery in New Mexico growing and selling some of the wild new mexicanus varieties. Not sure if that is still going on or what their sales are like.
I checked that site yesterday. It says they’re sold out on the 2015 crop completely. They obviously are pretty low volume starting out. So I guess it’s fall before they have any more to sell.
Cluster is probably the best choice. Also IMHO could add a touch of Chinook or Northern Brewer, just to simulate “wild” flavor, but go easy on those. Use at least 75% Cluster with small amounts of the others IMHO.
Pretty much only in the NE, though, AFAIK. Cluster always gets suggested in these situations, but there’s really no way of knowing. There are different wild hops in every area of the country.
I still have yet to stumble across a bine of free range, “wild”/fugitive hops. That will be a good day.
I was gonna say Cluster too, for reasons already mentioned.
You might find some HBC-438 or Medusa, both have new-Mexicanus parentage.
Stan Hieronymus has written about the monks in NM. The Monastary is not too far from Ghost Ranch if you are ever out that way. I was with a group at Ghost Ranch, they were not as in to beer and brewing, so I didn’t suggest going out there. That and the weather was terrible.
Steve-
Come on up here to Snoqualmie. There’s a farmer’s field that straddles the Snoqualmie/North Bend border. Back in the 1880’s and 1890’s it used to be one of the biggest hop growing farms in the US.
Along the sides of the roads surrounding that farm in late August/early September, you can pick all the wild hops that your heart desires. They literally grow like weeds along the side of the road.
Aside from using improper terminology (vines instead of bines), its a neat little article:
Here’s a painting of it:
Why not a traditional British hop for a mild? Maybe try something less common like Bramling Cross. I’m not sure what good an unknown wild hop does other than make the recipe sound interesting.
Bramling Cross is a great hop. I love using it in porters and stouts, and could see it working in something malty like a mild.
That does sound interesting
Very interesting read, thank you for sharing Steve! Seems like a great reason for a road trip.