I've found hop vines growing near me that I suspect are quite old and have probably been there for hundreds of years. Is there anyway I can identify what they are while they are on the vine so if I harvest some I'll know what to do with them? I'm in MA which I don't think is a native hop growing area. Thanks.
The pragmatic way is to contact a hop grower or Ag. extension. It is not easy to identify hops. If you really want to know you could send in for DNA testing. $$$
comparing the leaves, stem, root, and bud structure to other solidly known varieties is the easiest way. If you have a plethora of different hops at your disposal, and some chemistry sets, you could narrow it down much better, and say with more certainty than, "It looks like Chinook"
We have vast amounts of hop bines growing wild in our hedgerows , I would imagine they are a real mix. I tried brewing with them once without any great success, perhaps I should have used more! Here's a link but it refers to the UK: http://adnams.co.uk/about/news/beer-news/the-adnams-guide-to-hop-spotting/
They tend to party more. Sorry......really I am.... Perhaps some spring cleaning is needed for the May Queen, if indeed a bustle is created while picking them. Again, sorry......just low hanging fruit for a dry witted fellow. Seriously though, I'd be very hesitant to use anything wild without identifying it first thoroughly with a very up to date field guide. Too many poisonous bits of vegetation out there to chance it.
Hops were first introduced in MA as a local agricultural product in 1628 and "...(f)rom the middle of the eighteenth century until the early nineteenth century, Massachusetts was the acknowledged leader in hop production in North America...(Tomlan, Tinged with Gold)..." in particular in Middlesex County - even exporting them to other colonies, and by the end of the 1700s to Germany and France . So, if your hops are descendent from former hop farms' plants, they'd (obviously ) be a variety typically grown in the US at the time - supposedly the most productive hops in NE were English Cluster and Grape, with some less productive Red Bine and Pompey also grown. Wild hops were also found in much of the northern colonial region - not sure if that included Mass.
the worst thing is that I knew very well to resist the urge, every force in nature told me to resist, but I just.....couldn't..... Enough corn to brew a macro in those two crap one liners!
You in or around Lexington? There are some hops growing on the Minuteman bike trail. Probably when that train was running it brought hops from local farms into the breweries in the city and some fell off the train. They are usually picked clean by idiots before they even approach being ready. Contact the UMass extension school in Waltham (near Bentley college) they might be able to help
I live in Minnesota and about 30 years ago I found a bunch of hops growing along the Mississippi near Fort Snelling. They were probably originally planted 80 - 150 years earlier. Tried some in beer - I air dried them instead of using a hydrator and tried them in a beer I brewed. The results were meh. Here is a link to a site that tells you how to dry them: http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/drying_hops_on_a_small_scale
Wild native hops grew in the Northeast. http://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/science-an...ps/humulus-lupulus-l-hop/?id=1300913484300#a8
Great question, I have often wondered the same thing as my cousin has some wild hops growing on the side of an old barn, and I wanted to use them to make a wet-hopped APA this year. I am not sure I want to drop the $$$ on DNA testing, so maybe I'll just wing it and see what I get.
I'd also suggest making a "hop Tea" to try them out. You still won't get any idea of Alpha or beta acids, or any of the oils, but you'd get an idea of what bittering, aroma and flavor to expect. From Homebrewtalk.com: For hops, heat 4 oz. of water to 170F again and add 2-3 grams of either whole or pellet hops. That’s about 1/3 cup of whole hops or maybe a dozen pellets. Let the hops steep for about 5 minutes, and then filter through a coffee filter. But beware….this is some seriously bitter, harsh, vegetal stuff. It’s much more useful for comparing one hop variety to another than for actually getting the true taste, flavor and aroma of a particular variety. You could, of course, make a small amount of wort using either grain or extract and steep the hops in that. It won’t be as “challenging” to taste that way. But keep in mind that both the grain and hop flavor will change significantly during the actual brewing and fermentation process. Making a tea will only give you an approximation of what you’ll get when you actually brew with the ingredients. Fortunately, the aroma of a hop can tell you a lot about the flavor qualities it has. Take a hop cone or pellet, break it up, and then rub it between your palms to release the volatile oils. Take note of the aroma…is it flowery, earthy, woody, citrusy, dank….try to come up with descriptors that mean something to you so when you think back on the hop you can use it in your “taste imagination” recipe.
