Gathered wild hops today!!

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oldjiver

Landlord.
Joined
Aug 25, 2012
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North Essex
The wild hops on the Oakley/Wix road looked ready for picking today. So armed with my homemade hoppicker (see picture) I set off. As they are set behind the ditch and I am disabled it was not an easy task, But by twisting them around the hook I managed to drag some towards me. Picked a bag and set off home. In the kitchen I found the only way to separate the hops from the stalks was to cut each one off individually with scissors. I got 130grams of cones which I have put in the freezer as I have the grandchildren for a week and I want to get this experiment just right. They smell of a cross between new mown grass and Goldings. There was not a lot of "gold dust" so as before I will use one and a half times the normal dose in the brew. I havent reset my camera so the dates are wrong!

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31bb3 said:
You need to dry them before you can use them good find be interesting to see how they tastein the brew
Click to expand...
Why would I need to dry them just before I wet them again?? I can see the point if I was storing them but using them fresh?
 
oldjiver said:
31bb3 said:
You need to dry them before you can use them good find be interesting to see how they tastein the brew
Click to expand...
Why would I need to dry them just before I wet them again?? I can see the point if I was storing them but using them fresh?
Click to expand...

You can make a wet hopped ale but if you wanted to use them for later on dry them and vaccum seal them helps them to stay much fresher for longer.
 
Devonhomebrew said:
oldjiver said:
31bb3 said:
You need to dry them before you can use them good find be interesting to see how they tastein the brew
Click to expand...
Why would I need to dry them just before I wet them again?? I can see the point if I was storing them but using them fresh?
Click to expand...

You can make a wet hopped ale but if you wanted to use them for later on dry them and vaccum seal them helps them to stay much fresher for longer.
Click to expand...
Yes thats good advice. As I only picked 130grams its enough for 1 brew so I wont be keeping any. I did a brew with hops from the same spot many years ago. They were boiled within hours of picking and if my memory serves me right is was very good. Very fragrent. They are starting to brown and look a bit rough, so I doubt they would keep well. Still its nice to try something different now and then. I will report back.
 
Brewing today (now!) with the wild hops.
3.2kg pale
75gm crystal
To make about 15/16 litres (I bottle so it isnt crucial.
Will put 40 gms of hops in and taste after 1 hour then adjust as necessary.
 
Just collected wort. Tasted at one hour into the boil (I added 40gms at 30 minutes) and it lacked a bit so I added 20gms more . 60 gms altogether sounds a lot for 15 litres, and I think it might just be that!! Tasted the wort as it is cooling and it is BITTER!! Not a lot of aroma. If my memory is correct with the brew I did 20 years ago the aroma was the best bit?
Watch this space. (Has anyone else tried wild hops recently?)
 
Checked wort 15 litres at 50deg. not bad. No discernible hop smell. Still as I mashed at lower temp than usual should be nice and alcoholic!
 
Tried it. Bittering about right, nothing special regarding taste though. Totally lacking hop aroma. Pleasantly malty, typical maris otter taste. I have mixed it 50-50 with another hoppy ale I have and its fine. I just pour the two brews in the glass together.
All in all an interesting experiment, but proves to me the value of properly bred hops.
 
Tried again today. Really quite delicious. The lack of hop aroma brings out the maltiness, and the basic bittering is delicate in a way that I have not achieved with commercial hops. Well worth trying, a bit "different" but thats what our hobby is all about!!
 
I wonder if any one out there can look at Hop bine and decipher the variety ???. With hundreds of lost varieties out there.... but it could be Fuggle... great stuff.
 
A friend of my wife has said she's seen lots of hops at a gym she attends, with a sign saying "please take", so she's going to grab a bag or two. No idea of the variety, but it'll be a fun little brew I'm sure.
Defining a variety by looks and examination must be a very specialised and highly trained horticultural ability! In relative terms the different varieties don't seem to be very different, unlike say roses or Clematis which should be much easier to define.
 
Picked nearly 1/2 carrier bag from a lane on my daily dog walk. Made a SMaSH a couple of days later using pale malt and half wild hops, dried the other half in low oven. Tried 1 bottle, two days ago, very pleasantly surprised by result, maybe a bit citra tasting
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oldjiver said:
Tried again today. Really quite delicious. The lack of hop aroma brings out the maltiness, and the basic bittering is delicate in a way that I have not achieved with commercial hops. Well worth trying, a bit "different" but thats what our hobby is all about!!
Click to expand...
Hi,if your around the Maybush next weekend give me a reply if you want to chat about brewing.vince
 

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