[micah h]

My brothers co-worker, who doesn't brew, let me pick his Cascade hops plant today and I got a pound of them. He was disappointed I didn't take more, but I only brew once a month. I put them in the freezer to prevent oxidation.

What I am wondering is, what do I do with a pound of fresh hops?

-How long will they stay fresh.
-I want to use them in one batch, but think I might be a bit over zealous.
-Will cascade hops be ok on their own, or should I pair them with another hop.
-Should I have picked more.

And a side question. What made me itch from picking hops. Think its the alpha acids, but it could just be the vines.

[hopfenundmalz]

If you look at the amount of water you would lose drying those, you would end up with around 3.5 oz dried. How much you use depends on the beer and what you want.

The itching comes from the hairs in the bines, that scratch. Hops are like nettles in that respect.

[erockrph]

My brothers co-worker, who doesn't brew, let me pick his Cascade hops plant today and I got a pound of them. He was disappointed I didn't take more, but I only brew once a month. I put them in the freezer to prevent oxidation.

What I am wondering is, what do I do with a pound of fresh hops?

-How long will they stay fresh.
-I want to use them in one batch, but think I might be a bit over zealous.
-Will cascade hops be ok on their own, or should I pair them with another hop.
-Should I have picked more.

And a side question. What made me itch from picking hops. Think its the alpha acids, but it could just be the vines.

I've never frozen fresh hops, but I think you're better off drying them first. If dried first, then they can be good for a few years vacuum sealed in the freezer.

A pound of fresh, wet hops is the equivalent of just over 3 ounces of dried hops. That is certainly a reasonable amount for a single batch of beer.

They'll be just fine on their own. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a classic example of a an all-Cascade brew. Plus, it's kind of cool to brew a beer using nothing but the hops you picked. You may want to consider using another hop for your bittering charge since there's no way to know what the AA% of these hops are without getting them tested.

Yes, you should have picked more if he was cool with it. There's no such thing as too much hops

I know some people that are allergic to hops, so it's possible that it was the hops themselves, but the bines can be kinda scratchy so it could have just been that. Do you start sneezing or get a stuffy/runny nose when you drink a really hoppy beer?

[hopfenundmalz]

" Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a classic example of a an all-Cascade brew."

Got to point out that Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is bittered with Magnum and Perle, says so on the web site. You can verify if you wish.

Anchor Liberty is said to be all Cascade.

[erockrph]

" Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a classic example of a an all-Cascade brew."

Got to point out that Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is bittered with Magnum and Perle, says so on the web site. You can verify if you wish.

I stand corrected. Fixed it.

[denny]

As to how long they'll stay fresh, Ralph Olsen of Hop Union once said that hops will start to compost themselves within an hour.

[micah h]

I will dry the hops. Was just concerned about oxidation. Any suggestions on how to dry hops. I assume it's just let them dry for two days. And I have no way to vacuum seal.

The kind of beer I am going for is pushing the lupulin limits.

Never had runny nose or sneezing by drinking a hoppy beer. But my dad had a lot more irritation from touching the plant than me. He said he wished he had someone he dislikes enough to fill their briefs with hops.

Denny posted when I was writing this. So should I not dry them?

[HoosierBrew]

Honestly, with no way to vacuum seal, you can dry them but come brewing time I think you'll be disappointed with the hop quality.  What I would do is use all of them now, as in today if possible. Make an IPA, bitter it with something like Warrior (for clean bitterness) or Chinook (for a more coarse bitterness) and add those fresh hops incrementally over the last 15 minutes all the way down to flameout.

[BrewArk]

If you are brewing today, use them fresh.  Otherwise, think about drying them.  Lay them flat as you can in a dry place out of the sun for a few days until they are dry, if you aren't sure, wait another day.

[micah h]

Honestly, with no way to vacuum seal, you can dry them but come brewing time I think you'll be disappointed with the hop quality.  What I would do is use all of them now, as in today if possible. Make an IPA, bitter it with something like Warrior (for clean bitterness) or Chinook (for a more coarse bitterness) and add those fresh hops incrementally over the last 15 minutes all the way down to flameout.

A few days drying. I can find a way to vacuum seal em by then.

Thanks for all the help everyone.

[morticaixavier]

Honestly, with no way to vacuum seal, you can dry them but come brewing time I think you'll be disappointed with the hop quality.  What I would do is use all of them now, as in today if possible. Make an IPA, bitter it with something like Warrior (for clean bitterness) or Chinook (for a more coarse bitterness) and add those fresh hops incrementally over the last 15 minutes all the way down to flameout.

A few days drying. I can find a way to vacuum seal em by then.

Thanks for all the help everyone.

It's funny to thing about all those centuries when people didn't have vacuum sealers and how the hops were always terrible.  Dry them wrap them well in plastic and foil and freeze them and they will be fine for a year or more. If they start smelling cheesy then compost them but it's not really a big deal if you can't  vacuum pack them.

[denny]

It's funny to thing about all those centuries when people didn't have vacuum sealers and how the hops were always terrible.  Dry them wrap them well in plastic and foil and freeze them and they will be fine for a year or more. If they start smelling cheesy then compost them but it's not really a big deal if you can't  vacuum pack them.

It's really no different than thinking about all the infected beer people used to drink.  Tastes were different, there was nothing to compare it to, and stale, infected beer with cheesy hops was better than no beer at all.  I mean, some people think Moosehead and Corona are supposed to taste like that!

[morticaixavier]

It's funny to thing about all those centuries when people didn't have vacuum sealers and how the hops were always terrible.  Dry them wrap them well in plastic and foil and freeze them and they will be fine for a year or more. If they start smelling cheesy then compost them but it's not really a big deal if you can't  vacuum pack them.

It's really no different than thinking about all the infected beer people used to drink.  Tastes were different, there was nothing to compare it to, and stale, infected beer with cheesy hops was better than no beer at all.  I mean, some people think Moosehead and Corona are supposed to taste like that!

i'll grant you that but I will also say that there is a practical limit to how paranoid you need to get here. There is good evidence that without some oxidation hops will not develop all the flavour components we are after. Particularly the noble type hops. My point was more along the lines of relaxing a little. pick the hops dry them as gently as you can (This might take a few days, that's okay) and use them in a reasonable amount of time. If you can vacuum seal them then do. If you can't, remove as much air as you can and keep them as cold and dry as you can. It's not like hops turn to cheesy cardboard after a week or even a month. I regularly keep an open bag of hops in the freezer for a couple months wrapped in plastic then foil and have no problem. I just retired a bag of 1 year old amarillo that had been in a paper bag in a plastic bag in my freezer. They were cheesy but only slightly. They went in a bag with some 2009 harvest saaz I am using in lambic type beers.

**EDIT to add at least one reference, however iffy and singular**
"Noble “Spicy” — Hop growers throw the term “noble” around. Technically the term refers to a set of German and Czech hops, Hallertau, Tettnanger, Spalt, and Saaz. The noble hop character is spicy with additional complexity from oxidized oils and beta acids"

http://www.netplaces.com/home-brewing/hops-putting-the-bitter-in/not-all-bitterness-is-the-same.htm

[denny]

If you need some 2006 Summit, let me know!

[HoosierBrew]

It's funny to thing about all those centuries when people didn't have vacuum sealers and how the hops were always terrible.  Dry them wrap them well in plastic and foil and freeze them and they will be fine for a year or more. If they start smelling cheesy then compost them but it's not really a big deal if you can't  vacuum pack them.

It's really no different than thinking about all the infected beer people used to drink.  Tastes were different, there was nothing to compare it to, and stale, infected beer with cheesy hops was better than no beer at all.  I mean, some people think Moosehead and Corona are supposed to taste like that!

+1