Id'ing Hop Flowers

[Isuxius]

I heard he could predict the sex of your unborn child as well ??
GB

By Smell??

 

[Dazza_devil]

+1 but perhaps do a rub and smell and 'taste' (hop tea perhaps) of the hops before putting into a beer as if its come from seed it may not be any particular variety and the flowers may not have properties suited to making beer...

As I recall last seasons buds had a delicious aroma, I have no doubt they will be good in a brew but I'll make a tea from them first as you suggest. That may give me some idea as to how much to use and I'll taste test the wort as I progress through the boil. I wasn't aware that there was a hop variety that isn't any good for use in brewing, true? What style of beer would be best to test them in, a pale ale or perhaps something with a slightly darker malt flavour? I guess a Pale Ale could turn out as an IPA, might even dry hop with it yet.

 

[The Scientist]

G'day Brewers,
I've had some hops growing over the kids swings in the backyard for a few years now. I grew them from seed for their medicinal properties before I began brewing but have no idea what sort they are. Is it possible to ID them by the flower and their aroma?
Cheers

Hops grown from seed are known as wild hops and are not going to fall into any cultivar group. e.g. Simcoe, POR, EKG.

The reason for this is that these varieties are taken from a parent plant which does not produce seed and can only be replicated via a cutting.

The hops you have may still be good for brewing but It depends on your local environment and the genetic traits which the parent plant which these seeds came from.

The way new varieties are produced is through selective cross pollination breeding.

I'd give them a go if they smell ok, as you won't know the AA rating without tests you could just use them as an aroma addition and see if you like the result.

All of the above info just came out of my head, so I'd Google 'wild hops' before you take it as gospel.

Cheers and let us know what results you get :icon_cheers:

 

[Dazza_devil]

Well it turns out that the male isn't dead after all. It's gone berko and now there are male flowers all through my crop. It appears to have flowered a bit earlier than the female buds which on the whole are just starting to develop although some are maturing.
My question is how will this affect the quality of my female flowers if they have been pollinated. Will the result be the similar to that of the hop's close relative? I was hoping for sinsemella.

 

[Dazza_devil]

Here's some pics of my babies.
I reckon I'll still get a crop off them to use in a brew.

 

[Dazza_devil]

And here's a pic of the male for anyone who's never seen one in flower.