Aging Hops For Lambics

[b_thomas]

Anyone have any ideas on how to effectively and rapidly age hops? Was thinking spreading them over some baking paper and popping them in the oven at a dehydration temp 50-60^c for a few hours. Would this be enough? or is my only resort to be patient

Popping some in to a paper bag in a warm dry place for up to 12 months doesn't really appeal to me, especially given the risk of them going moldy or the oils going rancid.

I'd love to brew a Kriek given that cherry season is nearly upon us.

 

[bakkerman]

Oven method is the way to go if you have little time... use a low alpha hop though.

 

[b_thomas]

I have some ~5% AA Goldings that have been in the freezer for a good 6 months, so I might use those.

Now I just hope that some of the local cherry farmers grow Morello's.

 

[neonmeate]

I have some ~5% AA Goldings that have been in the freezer for a good 6 months, so I might use those.

Now I just hope that some of the local cherry farmers grow Morello's.

try www.frozberries.com.au if you can't get hold of fresh sour cherries they worked really well for me and don't come with the syrup crap you get in the jars

 

[b_thomas]

Living in the central west of NSW if I can't get sour cherries locally then I won't be able to get them in Australia. (Orange and Young grow 80% of the national cherry crop)

 

[neonmeate]

Living in the central west of NSW if I can't get sour cherries locally then I won't be able to get them in Australia. (Orange and Young grow 80% of the national cherry crop)

for sure, sorry didnt see your location. you are lucky we can't get fresh ones anywhere in sydney. i was even planning to drive to orange to get some - i found a lead on a burke's backyard forum - a pick your own place in Nashdale near Orange that does morellos
"I know a great roadside shop in Nashdale, near Orange. It is called 'Thornbrook Orchards' 39 Nashdale Lane (off Cargo Rd at Nashdale school).

They sell fruit from December to June and have eating cherries, sour morello (cooking) cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, black muscat grapes, figs and apples all in season. The fruit is fresh and tasty and you can buy through an honesty system if the owners are off picking!

If you have a group you can even pick your own cherries - ring beforehand, Janet on 0428 653 145. Coaches are also welcome and some people come up on a coach from Sydney each year.

The speciality items they stock are the morello cherries which are hard to find and are used for cooking, preserving and making liquers; black muscat grapes which are a dark, very sweet eating grape; and white figs which you would not see in the shops today - they are not picked until ripe and are amazing!

You can contact the owners Janet and Arthur Treweek on (02) 6365 3145 or Janet 0428653145, Arthur 0427653389.

They have information on the following web sites which also have lots of information about the Orange area - a great place to go for a holiday especially if you are into food and wine.

http://www.orangefoodweek.com.au/pdf/regionpro
ducedir.pdf

www.orange.nsw.gov.au/download.cfm?Downl
oadFile=7924FFDA-E7F2-2F96-321D57D2383CAC07

www.oran
gefarmersmarket.org.au/orange/growers.htm

Or
you can google 'thornbrook orchards' to find more sites. "

 

[b_thomas]

Great find, was also looking at the Orange food week website but didn't see that farm

Yeah we missed both the Orange and Bathurst farmer's markets this month might have gotten lucky. Managed to pick up a kg of cherries for $7 today though.

Might have to take a trip up Cargo Rd, there's meant to be some very nice cold climate wineries there.

Back OT, we've had our new oven installed today, so looks like some Goldings are going to end up lightly toasted

Not sure if I can wait for my Chinese hops to arrive (have a kg of Saaz that might be appropriate)

 

[neonmeate]

you should grab some grapes from one of the wineries and make a druivenlambik from grapes! ive been meaning to do that, in fact the only grapegrower i know lives in orange. question is red or white. i was thinking chardonnay grapes might go well with the funk without adding too much acidity of their own.

 

[joshuahardie]

Anyone have any ideas on how to effectively and rapidly age hops? Was thinking spreading them over some baking paper and popping them in the oven at a dehydration temp 50-60^c for a few hours. Would this be enough? or is my only resort to be patient

Popping some in to a paper bag in a warm dry place for up to 12 months doesn't really appeal to me, especially given the risk of them going moldy or the oils going rancid.

I could not wait for hops to age, so I just said bugger it, and used a hopped kit beer instead.
The other idea i had was to go to the supermarket / big w etc and buy the hop teabags. they are usually brown and useless. So perfect for a lambic

 

[Stuster]

I just hopped the lambic I did to around 10IBUs with the lowest alpha hops I had, plugs of Styrian Goldings I think. I figure that with a couple of years of aging, that amount of bitterness won't be significant. I've heard of other brewers doing that (on the Brewing Network I think). Still, I only brewed this in the winter so it'll be a while before I can confirm or deny if that works.

 

[Jim_Levet]

I left some Goldings plugs on top of the HLT (urn) overnight. Maybe an easy option, worked nicely for me.
James

 

[neonmeate]

ot i should add I have done the baking hops thing with a bunch of 3%aa hallertaus and it seemed to work well in my lambic, left some flavour but no bitterness, at least the bitterness was hard to discern under all that wild horsiness anyway

 

[neonmeate]

I just hopped the lambic I did to around 10IBUs with the lowest alpha hops I had, plugs of Styrian Goldings I think. I figure that with a couple of years of aging, that amount of bitterness won't be significant. I've heard of other brewers doing that (on the Brewing Network I think). Still, I only brewed this in the winter so it'll be a while before I can confirm or deny if that works.

interesting to see if tht does age differently or if you develop the same bugs with lower beta acid level. wild brews says 6g/l And I think when I made mine I used like 200g of baked hops in 18l or something hence there was a bit of herbal hop flavour. you might get some more interesting lacto happening with a smaller hop mass but who can say