[pyrite]

Any pointers before I try this out?

The plan is to brew 5gals of a Pale ale using only the 3 homegrown hop varieties below.
Just to see where the bitterness is, I've made Hop tea out of each of the three different hop varieties that has been harvested.  The hop tea's have a clean hoppy, fresh potent bitterness to them.
 

I was leaning towards brewing a simple Pale ale. 

These are the dried hops and yeast that will be ready to use.
Chinook==2.25oz
Cascade===3oz
Columbus==1oz
WLP007-Dry English Ale Yeast

[chezteth]

One thing you could do is to make a hop tea from some store bought hops of the same variety.  Try them side by side to compare the bitterness.  What I have done is look at the %AA for the store bought variety then lower it by a percent, or so.  I then use that number to plug into my brewing software so it will figure an approximate IBU value for the beer.  So far I have had pretty good luck with this method.  I think a pale ale would be a good place to start.

Happy Brewing,
Brandon

[pyrite]

One thing you could do is to make a hop tea from some store bought hops of the same variety.  Try them side by side to compare the bitterness.  What I have done is look at the %AA for the store bought variety then lower it by a percent, or so.  I then use that number to plug into my brewing software so it will figure an approximate IBU value for the beer.  So far I have had pretty good luck with this method.  I think a pale ale would be a good place to start.

Happy Brewing,
Brandon

Thanks. I was thinking of taking that approach.  Even though the store bought hops are in pellet form, I'll give it a shot.   

[dmtaylor]

Never a bad idea to just shoot for a middle of the road pale ale with the homegrown hops.  If it turns out not quite bitter enough, then you can call it a blonde ale or amber ale.  If too bitter, then call it an IPA.  It works great for me.  Last year it was an IPA.  A few years ago, a blonde ale.  No big whoop.  It's really good, and it all got consumed quite quickly.

[pyrite]

Never a bad idea to just shoot for a middle of the road pale ale with the homegrown hops.  If it turns out not quite bitter enough, then you can call it a blonde ale or amber ale.  If too bitter, then call it an IPA.  It works great for me.  Last year it was an IPA.  A few years ago, a blonde ale.  No big whoop.  It's really good, and it all got consumed quite quickly.

I thought shooting for a pale ale style would keep the unknown bitterness from the homegrown hops in a safe buffer zone. A blonde if it's not hoppy enough, and an IPA if it's hop forward.

thanks 

[hoser]

Homegrown hops are best used for late hop additions of flavor and aroma since alpha acids are not known, unless you want to spend a few bucks to send them to a lab.  Since IBU contributions are minimal this is generally the best route to use for homegrown hops.  Use the hops with the known AA% for your 60 minute bittering addition.

[pyrite]

Homegrown hops are best used for late hop additions of flavor and aroma since alpha acids are not known, unless you want to spend a few bucks to send them to a lab.  Since IBU contributions are minimal this is generally the best route to use for homegrown hops.  Use the hops with the known AA% for your 60 minute bittering addition.

I agree with you, and I would take that approach, but, I wanted to see how an all homegrown hops brew turns out..

thanks

[alikocho]

Homegrown hops are best used for late hop additions of flavor and aroma since alpha acids are not known, unless you want to spend a few bucks to send them to a lab.  Since IBU contributions are minimal this is generally the best route to use for homegrown hops.  Use the hops with the known AA% for your 60 minute bittering addition.

I agree with you, and I would take that approach, but, I wanted to see how an all homegrown hops brew turns out..

thanks

I guess the only answer is to brew it, and see what happens. I brewed last year with wild hops of an unknown variety and AA - it was actually quite refreshing to not think about IBUs and just go with what felt right.