# Using Wet Vs Dry Hop Flowers



## T.D. (26/2/08)

I recently picked a bunch of home grown hops. I have a vacuum sealer so I decided to vacuum seal them instead of dry them. I have heard that there is no difference between using dry and wet hop flowers. Is this true?

I'll be bittering with some super alpha pellets so all the home-grown hops (100g (wet) of cluster in this case) will be thrown in at 5mins. Will this work ok do you reckon?

And one more thing... in other brewers' experience, how much weight is lost by drying the hops? I have just over 100g of flowers wet. When putting them into beersmith, what do you reckon the equivalent dry weight would be (roughly)?

Thanks! :beer:


----------



## mfdes (26/2/08)

They lose ~90% moisture, more if they're not quite ripe.
MFS.


----------



## Stuster (26/2/08)

I used some wet hops last year, T.D. I'd say there's not a whole heap of difference in the flavour of the beer compared to dry hops, though there was a certain amount of grassiness initially. I used some Goldings and did a tiny batch with the little Perle I had. The Perle was great actually, the Goldings good. I bittered with some commercial hops as you're planning to do and just chucked the flowers in the last ten minutes of the boil in big handfuls. From all I've read you get about a fifth of the wet weight when you dry them, so those 100g are probably about equivalent to 20g dry. The beers did come out well IMO and it was just fun to have made some beer with your own hops and I'll probably end up doing the same this year instead of bothering to dry them (unless I get heaps). 

And I might worry about the hops getting mouldy, even though they are vacuum sealed. Hmmm. Not saying they will, just a concern. Where are you storing them? :huh:


----------



## randyrob (26/2/08)

stolen from homebrew digest:



> The reason to dry them is for consistency. Without drying, you are
> using ingredients with substantial water content which is:
> a. variable
> b. not found in the commercial products you buy
> ...





> Dry them. This will improve your control of amounts when adding them to
> your brew, as the wet hops will lose about 2/3 of their weight when dried.



i'll see what else i can dig up as this intrests me as well, saying that when my crop is ready to harvest i'm just going to wet hop in the last 10 minutes myself purely for novelty value!

Rob.


----------



## mfdes (26/2/08)

Wet hops go stale far earlier than they go mouldy. 
They develop a cooked cabbage smell within a couple of days, at least that's what it reminds me of.

MFS


----------



## T.D. (26/2/08)

Thanks for your replies guys...

The cooked cabbage comment has me a bit worried!! :huh: Hope that doesn't happen! I vacuum packed them the same day I picked them and they've been in that form in a dark cardboard box since probably 3 weeks ago.

So the general concensus seems to be that I have 20-30g of hops in a dry weight equivalent.


----------



## randyrob (26/2/08)

Should be plenty mate!

i'd stick to your original plan and brew an aussie ale something like

95% Ale malt
5% Wheat Malt

Super Alpha for bittering to 20 Ibu's
Homegrown Clusters all in @ 10 minutes

Favourite yeast of choice, us-05, nottingham etc....

should turn out lovely

Goodluck Rob.


----------



## T.D. (26/2/08)

Thanks Rob, that's the sort of "can-do" attitude I like to hear!!  

Funnily enough, you've picked my recipe almost to the letter! Except I may have 5% of munich in there too...


----------



## randyrob (26/2/08)

Touch

i just kegged a batch of Summer Ale 90% Ale Malt, 5% Light Munich, 5% Wheat

i couldn't recommend that grain bill enough absolutely delicious, 

plus it will still allow the homegrown hops to shine through?

Rob.


----------



## Lukes (26/2/08)

randyrob said:


> Should be plenty mate!
> 
> i'd stick to your original plan and brew an aussie ale something like
> 
> ...



Hop Growers,
That's the one I did last year with Nugget & the home grown Cluster and used Marris Otter & German wheat with a little caramel malt.

Golden Nugget / Harvest ale = Magic drop. :chug: 
and in a couple of weeks it will be on again.





edit: they were dried....


----------



## T.D. (26/2/08)

Excellent. Lock it in!


----------



## randyrob (26/2/08)

you could always dry them in 3 minutes like this guy did <_< 

Drying Hops in the Microwave


----------

