8 replies to this topic

[Hines]

My brewboard searching skills may be lacking.   Has there been a thread about the best time to harvest your hops?  I'm not finding anything.

[MyaCullen]

when the cones feel springy and papery when squeezed, the lupulin is turned orangish and the tips of the cones just start to brown, just a hint

 

is my input

[positiveContact]

when the cones feel springy and papery when squeezed, the lupulin is turned orangish and the tips of the cones just start to brown, just a hint

 

is my input

 

orangeish?  really?  I think perhaps I've been harvesting too early.

[Hines]

Crap.   About 2 weeks ago I pulled a cone and crushed it in my hands.  The "lupulin" (didn't know it was called that) was definitely orange.  Crap Crap Crap.

 

I had hoped to harvest and brew in the same weekend, but that looks unlikely now.   Maybe I will harvest and put them in the freezer?

[MakeMeHoppy]

yes I had one and got the same advice as above. It's hard to describe the papery feeling, but when it gets there you'll know. My problem was that once I let my bines down the ones in reach were perfect the high ones were all opened up and looking well past their prime. Good news is I got a bumper crop of chinook in its second year so I just discarded the bad ones.

[MyaCullen]

yes I had one and got the same advice as above. It's hard to describe the papery feeling, but when it gets there you'll know. My problem was that once I let my bines down the ones in reach were perfect the high ones were all opened up and looking well past their prime. Good news is I got a bumper crop of chinook in its second year so I just discarded the bad ones.

it's kinda like a small loosely wadded up ball of newspaper

 

 

those opened up ones may have been fine too, unless they got too sunburned

[MakeMeHoppy]

it's kinda like a small loosely wadded up ball of newspaper

 

 

those opened up ones may have been fine too, unless they got too sunburned

the opened ones were all brownish and just didn't look or smell the same. Interesting problem for next year as the hop cones seems to start at the top and work down and with my setup it would be very hard to lower the bines to harvest the top and rehand the bine. I may consider a ladder especially since I can lean the ladder against the house and basically climb up the length of the bine (even though I hate ladders).

 

I think I did a lot better job of drying them this year. I thought they were dry enough last year, but there was a lot of freeze burn for the ones I tried to use this spring. I gotta tell you there is nothing like the smell of the garage as the cones are drying.

[Stout_fan]

When they go all brown, the time is well passed and thy have become composter fodder.

Sorry to hear this.

[MyaCullen]

the opened ones were all brownish and just didn't look or smell the same. Interesting problem for next year as the hop cones seems to start at the top and work down and with my setup it would be very hard to lower the bines to harvest the top and rehand the bine. I may consider a ladder especially since I can lean the ladder against the house and basically climb up the length of the bine (even though I hate ladders).

 

I think I did a lot better job of drying them this year. I thought they were dry enough last year, but there was a lot of freeze burn for the ones I tried to use this spring. I gotta tell you there is nothing like the smell of the garage as the cones are drying.

likely you can find a midpoint of when the top and the bottom are good enough to harvest at once