Best time to harvest ?

[daddies-beer-factory]

Fellow beer lovers,
I have 2 hop plants which are looking not too bad - 1 goldings & 1 fuggles.

The cones are roughly 1/2" - 1" in length (one plant looking better but dont know which way round as the labels i pinned up have faded in the sun)

when to pick is the question ? I have read the 1st week of september but do I need to judge it a bit better than that ?

also what is the consensus after picking - ie where to dry, then bagging and freezing ?

Many thanks in advance

Daddies Beer Factory

[Charles1968]

They're ready when papery and just starting to brown - see YouTube for videos. First or second week of September in my experience (SE England).

[boingy]

Depends where you are. Have a look in the base of the cones. The more yellow lupulin, the better. When the tips of the cones start turning brown it's usually about right.

I have a Cascade and a Prima Donna which I typically harvest in the second half of September but this year the Prima Donna looks like it will be ready a couple of weeks before that. I should add that we live at a reasonably high altitude so plants tend to be a couple of weeks behind those in the lower lying areas.

The brewing highlight of my year is the couple of brews I do with green hops, fresh from the bine. Despite not knowing the %AA or the moisture content of the hops I've never had a bad brew with them.

Any surplus I dry in big newspaper "envelopes" with an open top, shaking them regularly to stop mould. There is probably some science you could apply but I just wait until they look and feel "right" then vac pack and freeze them.

[daddies-beer-factory]

Hi Boingy,
I have just picked a large cone from the more developed plant and had a closer look.

there is a fair amount of yellow lupilin in the base & a few leaves are turning brown at the tips

does this tell me its time to harvest the largest cones ?

[boingy]

Pretty much. I tend to wait until a few have "gone over" then harvest the lot at once rather than pick as they ripen. It's just easier to cut down the whole bine and sit in the garden picking them off. If you are planning on using them fresh be sure to leave them spread out for an hour or two so that the spiders and bugs can make their escape.

Rather annoyingly this year the house martins have decided to build yet another nest under the eaves and have chosen a spot above my Prima Donna so I reckon about 10% of the harvest will be lost to bird poo.

[robbarwell]

mine are only just starting to really come on here in Dronfield, cones are about 1/2 inch at moment but I am sure will develop into real juicy buggers

I reckon I am at least 2 weeks behind you and will be picking towards the end of September. I have only one Bramlin Cross plant but the growth this year has been like topsey. Its absolutely loaded with flowers this year, about 50% more than last year...(Which coughed up 2.5kg of hops)..