Wet hop recipe help needed

MrBandGuy · Post by **MrBandGuy** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 6:40 pm

A former student of mine has started growing hops on his farm. I got a message from him asking to brew up a wet hop ale to show off the fresh flavor of their crop. I'm thinking a basic pale, but also thought a solid amber might be more interesting. I think he has cascade, maybe some other c hops, I'm not sure yet.

I've got a solid pale recipe, but not for wet hops. I also have a good hoppy red IPA, but I'm thinking it may be out of balance with the wet hops.

So, what would you brew? How would you approach this recipe? I know to start with a regular pellets for bittering, but what about the rest of the hop schedule?

I'm open to making this a Borg brew! Let's put something together!

Whamolagan · Post by **Whamolagan** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 6:47 pm

Boy if we only had the old history to look back on. I believe jon or bp had what the weight difference was between wet and dry.

BigPapaG · Post by **BigPapaG** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 7:37 pm

If you are dry hopping with wet hops, the ratio bantered around the interweb seems to be 5 wet ounces equals 1 dry ounce.

Not sure what to expect for bittering or flavor addidion.

Whamolagan · Post by **Whamolagan** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 7:38 pm

I think he is going for an aroma with the wet hops

Stinkfist · Post by **Stinkfist** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 7:40 pm

Yeah I would def not try to bitter with them... the flavor is significantly different than dried, I did an fresh Amarillo hop beer once came out pretty well I can share the recipe if you want.

BigPapaG · Post by **BigPapaG** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 7:43 pm

Then I would say 5 or 6 to 1 then...

Also found this from Brew 365...

http://www.brew365.com/technique_wet_hop.php

bpgreen · Post by **bpgreen** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 7:54 pm

I usually don't weigh mine until after I've dried them, but out of curiosity, recently weighed before and after.

If I remember correctly, my dry weight was about 1/3 of the wet weight.

However, from what I've read, you need to use about 4x the amount of wet hops as dry hops for a recipe.

Also, keep in mind that it's a bit of a crap shoot when you're using hops that haven't been analyzed for AA%. I usually just use the default value from BeerSmith when I use my homegrown hops, but I also usually just use them for flavor and/or aroma. I'll usually brew at least one batch with all homegrown hops just to do it.

The_Professor · Post by **The_Professor** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 8:10 pm

Deschutes has their Hop Trip Beer.
Not sure about the recipe for it.

John Sand · Post by **John Sand** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 10:04 pm

Last year I used my homegrown Cascades in an APA. I dried them first, but used them for flavor and aroma, all in the boil. Bittering hops were commercial. Brewer's Friend has an option for "fresh" hops in their recipe calculator.

bpgreen · Post by **bpgreen** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 10:47 pm

The_Professor wrote:Deschutes has their Hop Trip Beer.
Not sure about the recipe for it.

Any way you can do that so it doesn't need flash? I don't know if I have a device that still allows flash.

The_Professor · Post by **The_Professor** » Mon Aug 10, 2015 10:49 pm

bpgreen wrote:Any way you can do that so it doesn't need flash? I don't know if I have a device that still allows flash.

Does just a link work, like before?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... y-1dhQ#t=0

Kealia · Post by **Kealia** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 1:04 am

I'd also focus on the dry hop since you don't know the AA. If it were me I would brew a tried and true pale ale recipe and just use them to show off the aroma.
If you have some tolerance for give and take with flavor you could certainly use them for flavor, too. Ooh, now that I think of it I might be really tempted to use them in a hop stand, too.

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mashani · Post by **mashani** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 1:28 am

I'd do flavor, aroma, hop stand, dry hop, any or all the above. The wet hopped ales I've had have all been delicious, but the flavor/aroma is where all that goodness was focused. Which is as it should be.

JSSTR8 · Post by **JSSTR8** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 1:38 am

I have a recipe (maybe two) for a wet hop ale from a hop growing book that I have. I will try to dig it up and post it tomorrow.

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JSSTR8 · Post by **JSSTR8** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 7:50 am

The book (Homebrewer's Garden) suggests using we hops for aroma and dry hopping only because the full flavor is developed during the drying process. They suggest using 6 times the amount and warn that many people report a grassy flavor from wet hops. I thought they gave two recipes, but one is for a wild hop honey ale and doesn't use wet good.

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