Did I wait too long to pick

[RandalG]

I'm a first year grower with a small harvest of cascades. I think I may have waited a little too long to pick them. They are mostly whitish yellow with brown tips. Most pics I've seen are bright green. Should I use them in a brew or pitch 'em. I don't want an off flavors in the Cascadian Dark I was planning on brewing. Here's a pic:

 

[B-Hoppy]

Just a shot in the dark but it looks like maybe they got a late start and didn't start forming until later in the season - just not enough time to fully mature. After you dry them give them the rub-n-sniff test. If they smell good, it's your call. By the time those are dried you may end up with .5 ounce at best and that won't really make that much of an impact in the style you're brewing. That's the problem with first year hops, if they don't take right off after you plant them they seem to be trying to play catch-up and sometimes don't get a chance to fully mature. Keep good notes and remember this when you see what happens next year! Hop On!

 

[RandalG]

Thanks.Yeah I did get a late start. They were green a few weeks ago but it's been a little chilly here lately and I just thought I left them on the vine too long. I just picked them today and they weight 3.5 ounces. Is there a rule of them for what I can expect when they are dry? I'll see how it goes and maybe use them for dry hopping just for the fun of it.

 

[day_trippr]

Dry weight is approximately 1/5th of wet - ie: ~20% moisture content is what to shoot for. I dried mine on window screens above a couple of box fans running on medium speed and it took two full days to reach that dry state...

Cheers!

 

[ChrisS68]

As long as the hops aren't all brown and generally nasty looking I wouldn't worry. A few brown tips won't hurt anything. What's most important is the lupulin goodness inside.

 

[mux11]

So this is year two for me and actually harvested this year. There is a lot brown but I picked any way. Set up the screens and fans but now the smell has changed to a grassy smell. I get the hop smell if I open up a cone but am worried I either dried too much or too fast. I also did not weigh them either.
I'm wondering if I should abort and pitch them or keep moving forward?

 

[Retrofit]

Move foward. Finish the process to learn it better. If you think the hops are bad, but aren't sure. Make a small wort/ beer on the stove- a half gallon experiment and hop them. Very fast/ inexpensive and you'll learn if the hops are fine.

My rule of thumb for hops is if I wouldn't put it in my mouth, I wouldn't drink it. A 'little' brown is fine.

 

[Aunt_Ester]

I get the hop smell if I open up a cone but am worried I either dried too much or too fast.

Mux - My first year hops turned out exactly as you described them. I used them for the late addition. I will be bottling this weekend, and I'll report how they turned out