This past summer a friend alerted me that a huge hop vine would be harvested and asked if I wanted some. The hops came from an 18th Century colonial plantation at Ridley Creek State Park a few miles from my home. There is a colonial beermaker kind of fellow at the plantation but he was not around when I picked my share of hops. I do not know the origin or the type of hops. After drying I got a little over 4 ounces of hops and I vacuum sealed them in 1 oz portions and put them in the deep freezer. I would like to utilize these wild hops and was thinking of making a simple ale with 2oz of hops. Any ideas or suggestions on a basic ale all grain recipe that would let these wild hops come out? Anything I should be aware of with wild hops? Would it be a good idea to do a split batch with some hops I know pretty well like cascade? Thanks Chris K
I'm working on growing some neo mexicanus hops this year, so I may be able to give you more insight in 6-10 months, but here are my thoughts at this point: I would bitter with something other than your wild hops. Use hops you like to bitter with or even CO2 hop extract. That way, you can get a predictable level of bitterness, since you don't know the AA of your hops. Then use your wild hops for aroma and dry hop additions. If it were me, I wouldn't mix them with other hops; seems like sort of a waste. Try a SMaSH with a decent base malt (like MO, Vienna, or GP).
Just as a matter of terminology, these hops may not be wild, but rather some domestic variety that was planted long ago and has "gone wild." (I wish I could remember the term for this.) If that's the case, the hops may bear a striking resemblance to hops you have used before. Or maybe not! Here is a brief blog post (with video) by a homebrewer in British Columbia, who received a similar windfall. You might see if he has any suggestions. As for myself, I would echo @Ten_SeventySix_Brewhouse's point about trying to isolate the character of the hop. Blending it with another hop might make it difficult to tell what it is contributing to the beer.
I would plan to make an American pale ale, and use the wild hops for bittering, flavor, and aroma. That's the only real way to know what they're like. As a wild guess as to the alpha acid, wild hops are very likely to be around 2.5-3%, so select something in there and then use amounts according to that. The nice thing about a pale ale is, if it turns out too bitter, you can just call it an IPA, and if not very bitter at all, then call it a blonde ale or cream ale. No big deal, if you're not sure what to expect or what to make anyway. A nice mild malt presence is the best way to know what these will do for you. You might even want to do a SMASH beer with nothing but pale malt. That's what I'd recommend. When I first grew my own homegrown hops, I did exactly the same thing -- shoot for an APA and then just see where it lands. If mild, just rename it as a blonde ale, etc. Cheers.
I have used found hops in beer. I picked a five gallon bucket full, did a basic pale ale grist, some pils and Vienna, used magnum to bitter, and added half the hops at 10 and the other half at flameout. I suspect they were neo mexicanus, they threw some catty lime. I went back the following year and the bines had been mowed down and poisoned.
I would echo what was mentioned previously that it is possible these were planted hops that then went ‘wild’. If this is a domesticated hop it is likely Cluster hops. I too would suggest an APA for using these hops. If it were me I would use store bought hops with published AA% for the bittering addition. I would use these acquired hops for flavor and aroma additions, maybe 1 ounce with 10-15 minutes remaining in the boil and 1 ounce for end of boil (with a 20 minute hop-stand). I would think the flavor of these hops would come out in this basic beer. Cheers!
Ok wild may not be the right term. They were definitely planted and were growing up a 10ft or so piece of twine. I definately want to keep it simple and not mix hops. Thinking of using an ale recipe I have been using for a while and switch out the cascade for these found hops. It's a recipe I have used often so it will be a good comp. Could also do a split batch with the cascade and these found hops. Hmmm
I have picked and used wild hops from northern Michigan quite a bit. I sent them out for testing and they were 10.8% alfa acid. They work well for bittering but as finishing hops they were very grassy tasting. These were probably a Cluster variety. Good luck with your stolen... I mean found hops!
LOL I was invited by one of the workers from the colonial plantation. No stealing involved. Thanks all for the tips.
Do a small one gallon batch with some of it, a simple golden ale would be best imo, and assume it's say 5% aa then you have a baseline for the rest of it with to regards how bitter it is and the flavour
I have seen comments like Jack's, above, in the past. I have made similar comments myself, advocating use of homegrowns for flavor and aroma because we don't know % AA, It suddenly hit me that %AA is probably characterization or hops, How did brewers of 140 years aog approach the ilenna if wgen and fhow much?
Another reason to save homegrown hops for late/post boil is so you can taste them. Seems kind of a waste to me to use them for bittering, especially is you need several ounce for an IPA, when 60 minute additions don't contribute much flavor (if any). As for what brewers used to do? I imagine there was a lot more guesswork and trial and error. Harder to get a consistent product that way for sure.
Prolbsably. Sloopy editing. Anywho, I'm peflecty soapier. now. The intended gist was how did those old brewers address bitterness? I know that the hops were lower in alpha acids, and possibly the crop to crop variability at the low alpha range was lower, so the consistent mass or volume-based measurements could give consistent bitterness. I also wondered if they relied on anything like hop teas or pilot batches to guide them. Finally, I wanted to know if wgen and fhow much?
They bittered the same way that I do with my homegrowns. They just guessed then adjusted subsequent batches if necessary.
Not all beers require a ton of hops. I just did an oatmeal stout kit that had only 1 oz of centennial added at 60min. Many German beers are more malty then hoppy. I know hoppy is all the rage these days and that's fine but some times its nice to have a hefe, marzen or kolsch that doesn't have that heavy hop bite. I don't plan to dry hop with these hops I got from the plantation. I just want something simple so I can get a feel for how much bitter in there is with thwm so I can decide if it's worthwhile to get more at the end of this summer...planning ahead. Also want to make something pleasing that I can share with the plantation worker that gave me the heads up on the hops. BTW...here is a pic I found of the hops just prior to harvest day.
@Antler, from your numerous posts in this thread I get the distinct impression that you already 'know' what you want to do with these hops. If that is the case just brew the beer you want. In this situation there is no need to ask others what you should do with the hops you acquired. Cheers!
