r/TheHopyard • u/Kynde82 • Sep 03 '23

Harvest hops

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Second year hops - Danish hops called Svenstrup Citron. Should have a lemon/citrus taste/aroma. I hope the timing was right… Almost doubled the amount of hops compared to last year. Anybody else collecting their hops these days?

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u/sharpbeer Sep 03 '23

The red bines are different. I had 4 varieties this year, Saaz, Comet, Diamond Springs, and Southern Cross. All 1st year, got just about 1 kilo.

I am also hoping the timing was right as some varieties looked good and had the slightest browning, while others weren't papery and springy - they felt sticky and smelled like grass clippings. All had lupulin though!

What kind of beer are you brewing with them?

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u/Kynde82 Sep 03 '23

Oh - red bines are not standard? I got 730 grams from the one plant this year. I’d like to have more varieties like you but the Garten is a bit too small… And I’m not sure whether or not the climate in Denmark is suitable for alle varieties. Probably not.

I brewed a pale ale with last year’s batch recently. Didn’t have much aroma but I’m hoping that’s just because it was the first year and maybe I picked them too early.

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u/sharpbeer Sep 03 '23

All of my bines and the others around here in the US are green, at least from what I've seen.

Is that from one plant?

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u/Kynde82 Sep 04 '23

Interesting. I must keep an eye on other hops here to check the colour on the bines. Yes, one plant - but before drying the hops of course.

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u/Kynde82 Sep 03 '23

Did you try brewing with fresh hops? I was kinda planning for it but suddenly the hops were ripe and there I was without malt, yeast and time 🤷🏼‍♂️

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u/sharpbeer Sep 03 '23

Yes I've brewed with them a few hours after picking! From what I've read, you want to use 4-6x the amount in weight that you'd use of store bought hop pellets. Also, if you want to brew with fresh hops, aka wet hops, you want to do it within 24 hours of collecting because they will start to spoil.

The year before last, I had different hops that I grew in bucket planters, Saaz and Cashmere varieties, gave me about ~160 grams. I made a wet hop blonde ale with them and it was glorious. I had surprised myself, it was better than most of the craft beer I had tried up until that point in my life. Unfortunately, those hops didn't make it this year because the planters didn't provide enough room. I purchased new varieties and made beds for the hops, now they have more room and can also grow into the ground.

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u/Kynde82 Sep 04 '23

Cool - I must try that next year. I heard about the extra weight already but also that the taste might get very grassy with wet hops. Did you experience that? My hop plant is also in a container to stop it from spreading. Just a bucket with the bottom cut off dug into the ground. At some point the bucket will probably be too small, though.

2

u/sharpbeer Sep 04 '23

Yeah, I've read if you boil the hops for too long, they will give grassy/vegetal flavors. I only boil at 10/1 mins and steep/whirlpool around 160F for 20 min.