A little confused about harvest time

[chromesphere]

Hey guys,

As the title suggests, its my first year harvest and im having a bit of trouble working out when to pick my hops. Ive actually already had a small harvest, it was a few months ago. I'm "fairly certain" these were ripe to pick. But it seems its happening again. I have another sizeable amount that are ready to go and we are not in march. This hop seems to have flowered in 3 sections and they are ripening at different times...i assume...Its a cascade and im in melbourne by the way.

Ive attached some photos of the hops i picked today. Even though its early, i really think they are ready. Some are actually going yellow which from experience is followed by brown then the bin.

The next photo is of some of the hops still on the plant on the section i picked today, they look nearly done.

The last photo is of hops further up the vine (at the top). These feel wet and unripe and will probably be ready in march, i hope...

So even though its not march yet, i figure i should continue doing what I'm doing? The hops i picked today all have the trademarks for being ready, golden lupilin, rustling petals, browning tips, strong scent, etc. The ones at the top of the vine do not (soft damp pedals, no noise when squeezing etc. I think ive read somewhere this can happen, top ripens last, or maybe it was the other way around...!

Hope im on the right track!?

Cheers
CS

 

[Yob]

They look lie they have a little way to go. That said, my chinook probably has a few weeks tops to go.

Don't be so set on March as a pick date, it'll depend on your plant, soil and light conditions.

 

[Weizguy]

As Yob mentioned, don't rely on the date for the hop harvest.
I find that my hops have flowered earlier this year too.
As long as you have been monitoring progress, you should know when they are at the peak of florescence and maximum aroma.
If you have noticed that they quickly progress from yellow to brown then you have done the right thing, but from those pics (at least in my garden) they look a bit immature and could have been left a bit longer.

 

[chromesphere]

Thanks les / yob, I have had a few go yellow / brown and die so I may have been a little hasty. Still there are loads of hops on the vine, I will leave those for longer.

 

[Simdop]

Hey guys,

I've got a hop plant that I've been growing at my mates place for a while. Planted two years ago. It didn't yield anything last year but this year it has flowers all over it. How do you know when they are ready to pick and if you're in the unfortunate position where you can't use them in a wet hop ale, how best to store them?

 

[Simdop]

Here's a couple of photos of what they look like at the moment.

 

[Yob]

they still look green and soft, they will start to change colour and feel drier and papery. its an odd descriptor but you will know it when you feel it, the lupulin will start to change from a yellow to a more orange colour as well.

I rekon mine have a week more to go and look further advanced than these.. the only way to know for sure is to keep an eye on them and 'feel/smell/see' the changes

 

[Simdop]

So when they start to to change colour and go a little drier is when to pick them?

Best way to store them?

 

[Yob]

Like any other hop, vac sealed, in the freezer.

Pick them just before the turn brown, first year picking is a bit of a learning curve, I'd suggest you pick when you feel comfortable but leave a few on so you can watch the progression to brown.

They will feel papery, less soft and moist. Pick then

 

[Hippy]

As Yob said, the papery feel is the best indicator. Invest in a vac sealer if you don't already have one and once dried, store vac sealed in the freezer.

 

[Simdop]

mmmk, thanks guys. I don't have a vac sealer but hopefully ziplock will do!

 

[chromesphere]

Anyone have a photo of a ripe hop ready to pick?

Edit: mine looks pretty much exactly the same as yours Krausen

 

[Belgrave Brewer]

This might help you out...
https://youtu.be/TlsT-x19III

 

[Yob]

mmmk, thanks guys. I don't have a vac sealer but hopefully ziplock will do!

For a VERY short time, they let oxygen in which isn't great

 

[chromesphere]

This might help you out...
https://youtu.be/TlsT-x19III

Thanks Belgrave, I have seen that video before but its still not clicking! I will give them some more time on the vine and hope the don't yellow too much, if they start ill pull them off.

On a separate comment, does it matter too much if they are a bit green, I have a bag that are probably a bit greener then they should be. (grassy flavour?)
Cheers
CS

 

[chromesphere]

Well, they are starting to turn brown now for some reason and my instincts tell me they are down and i should pick atleast these ones that are changing color?

 

[Curly79]

The ones with brown tips are definitely ready if not over done chrome. They won't all be ready at the same time mate so pick what you think are ready and leave the rest till later. A tiny bit of brown on the tips of the leaves is ok but too much and I'd throw them out. Personally I try to pick them just before they dry out to the point of showing that brown colour.

 

[chromesphere]

Ah ok, most of them arent too bad, i just went over the whole plant and removed any that looked down or with a slight amount of brown. Ill keep an eye on it over the next 1-2 weeks and start removing them a bit at a time. Cheers

 

[Simdop]

Here's my cop. Looks like I got it just in time or a tad late? Most of them were a touch brown at the nose/tip?

Also, how many do you use? For a pale ale where i would do say 40g of cascade pellets dry hopping, how much flower to use?

And will they keep ok for a week in the fridge or should i still freeze?

 

[chromesphere]

Yours look much like mine. The plant seems to ripen at different rates so i guess your going to get some that are a little brown and some that are a little green or pale. This plant went NUTS. First year cascade. I have about another flywire screen full in the freezer already.