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Hops from the farm

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  • Hops from the farm

    Well, I'm going to try one batch using Cascade hops grown on a small farm in NY state...I want this to work, but am unsure as to the quality of the final beer. It's a risk I'm willing to take. The price is higher than what I can get from my main supplier, so this is more of a one time novelty trial.The hops are hand picked, sun dried, etc. I'd like to support these guys. On the other hand, I have responsibilities here to meet. We have accounts who depend on our product. Business is business.

    So the question is, does anyone have any experiences brewing 10+BBL batches with small farm hops? I'm not so worried about alpha acid content accuracy since these will be primarily added at the end of the boil.

  • #2
    Boil some water and make a hop tea out of them first. That way you can get a better idea of what you have in terms of aroma and it sould point you in the right dicetion for qunity needed for a gallon.

    oh and watch out for a cheese flavor; hops that have been exposed to lots of O2 can leave a cheese flavor.

    jamie

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    • #3
      Who are you buying from? beermail me I might have some info for you

      K

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      • #4
        Hops that are OLD and have been exposed to O2 for a long time after picking get cheesy.

        Honestly, if you get the hops from the farm quickly, they will be nice and fresh, and might have a better aroma and flavor than the hops you get from your supplier (of the same variety). Of course, that relies on the farmer actually caring about the quality of his product, lazy farmer might mean bad hops.

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        • #5
          I brewed a fresh hop beer with hops from a NYS farmer. I used 30# in a 7bbl batch, and used them from 30 min on. I put them in big nylon bags and tthrew em in. I bittered with pellets, because I didnt know the alpha acid content and made a base beer of a pale ale. As the sacks were boiling, I kept pushing the bags into the wort with my mash rake, trying to saturate. The last thing I did, and this was pretty dangerous, so be careful, I pulled the sacks out after the whirlpool with my mash rake, they were really heavy, and strained the sacks with a giant collander into a stainless pot, squeezing out the juices. I then added the juice I collected back into the kettle. The result was a nice, freshly hopped pale ale, with a hop charachter that was spot on. A drinkable unique beer that the customers are loving!! Good luck!
          Tim Butler

          Empire Brewing Co.
          Syracuse, NY

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          • #6
            4lbs

            Well I got 4lb of NY State Cascade hops as a gift. I've put them in the freezer and plan on using them in an IPA soon. Perhaps I can call it "Upstate IPA"? Anyway, the smell is nice, but predominantly piney and not really like the Cascade I know from out west. I'm betting it will make a great beer.

            Although some of these new hop farmers probably got into the business after seeing the high prices last year, I'm wondering how many will stay. Hat's off though to them for pursuing this and I will support them when I can.

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