BeerBorg

It's been years since I used whole flower hops in any of my beers. All because of the bad experience I had with a Mr. Beer batch. The whole hops weren't the cause of the infection this batch ultimately had. It was the galvanized steel strainer I used to keep the hops out of the LBK. I remember how light and dry those hops were though. Definitely not the case with the locally grown whole hops I brewed with yesterday. This batch of Cascade hops was sticky to the touch and had such an intense aroma. Like I've never experienced with any hops I've used before. Mike Edwards is the owner of Edwards Hop Farm in Wrightstown, NJ. Mike had his 2018 crop of Cascade analyzed at a confirmed 10% alpha acid. Today my thoughts of using whole hops in future beers have come full circle. When Mike's Cascade crop is ready for harvesting this year I'll be placing a much larger order.

I wish I had the availability of hops that fresh locally. They just don't grow well here.
Can't wait to hear how this batch turns out.

How much volume did you lose? I've read that your total water volume has to be increased substantially to account for absorption. And did you have to adjust the amount of grain to maintain all your other numbers.

That's cool, Vince. This year I am going to try and grow my own hops at home so I can have fresh hops, too. I'm looking forward to a wet-hopped beer next year!

BlackDuck wrote: I've read that your total water volume has to be increased substantially to account for absorption.

I wouldn't expect wet hops to absorb a lot of water

Mine do not absorb much when I use them. I use 10 oz of my Centennial for 3 gallon batch, 6 for bitter and 4 for aroma. Comes out like a nice, lite-bite apa. I've used them both, air dried and wet (fresh off vine). The wet tends to leave a very mild grassy background.

BlackDuck wrote:How much volume did you lose? I've read that your total water volume has to be increased substantially to account for absorption. And did you have to adjust the amount of grain to maintain all your other numbers.

I whirlpooled the hops in two bags with each bag holding four ounces. Using silicon gloves I squeezed the bags really hard and was surprised how easy it was to get nearly all of the wort out of them. And there was no pellet hop 'sand' to deal with at clean up time. This was the second 5-gallon batch brewed on my HG 15-gallon system since I got it.

Although I had mash conversion issues, 55% as opposed to 78% when brewing 10-gallon batches, the pre-boil and post-boil volumes came out as expected. At this point, I suspect a bad grain crush caused the low conversion, more to come on this. The hops were picked late last summer and vacuum sealed at the hop farm. I stored them in the refrigerator ever since, not in the freezer, as recommended by the owner of the hop farm. All in all brewing with whole leaf hops was a very positive experience.

FrozenInTime wrote:Mine do not absorb much when I use them. I use 10 oz of my Centennial for 3 gallon batch, 6 for bitter and 4 for aroma. Comes out like a nice, lite-bite apa. I've used them both, air dried and wet (fresh off vine). The wet tends to leave a very mild grassy background.

For wet hops so far the timing hasn't worked out for me. There is a short window between harvesting and brewing that is dependent on the weather. Last summer I couldn't get up to the farm during the week to pick them up. I will make more of an effort this year now that I'm free all week.

Listening to Denny's podcast recently, Drew got a hold of wet hops in a can. I think he's going to try it out in a Saison and use them as dry hops. I don't think this is available for sale but I don't think I'd be interested in that.