2 types of hops growing, no idea what they are!

[KRASHED]

Warning: hop growing newb

Hi all, I have been growing one kind of hop that I bought probably 6 years ago. I assumed it was cascade based on a quick article that was telling me what types of hops would grow in my region. I now realize that there's a lot more types that can be grown where I am (Central Ontario) and that they likely aren't cascade. I have a pretty decent harvest of them and I have zero idea what to do with them now.

Secondly I bought new partially started hops from the same greenhouse this year. They are called Golden Hops. I'm not really finding a lot of info on these I fear that they are ornamental. Got a fantastic crop of them this year and hoping to use them.

Would pictures help or are hop plants too similar?

 

[mirthfuldragon]

You may be able to narrow down or eliminate some possible varities based on leaf shape and cluster formation, but you are still going to be left with a lot of possibilities.

Easiest thing to do is brew a SMaSH ale (single malt, single hop), which will give you a solid idea of what you are dealing with in terms of flavor, aroma, and bitterness. You could also do a hop tea.

As for your "golden" hops, they might be Goldings hops, like "East Kent Goldings". East Kent Goldings (EKG) come form East Kent, so Golding hops grown elsewhere would be either named after the local or just called "goldings".

If the cones are ripe and they smell nice, then you are in business. You will have to experiment to figure out what they taste like and how potent they are.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

They probably are golden hops, Humulus lupulus 'Aureus' or similar - which are an ornamental variety with yellow leaves. You can always try brewing with them but I understand that there's not much point, certainly not with Aureus (but there may be some US varieties which are yellow-leaved mutants of brewing hops which will be a bit more worthwhile).

As for the 6yo ones - just brew with them. No point wasting them on bittering, save them for late-kettle and dry-hopping, but allow 6-7x the weight for undried hops versus dried hops.

 

[KRASHED]

So if these are ornamental hops what should I expect to taste flavour wise?

 

[B-Hoppy]

Depending on what exactly it is, it may be a nice hop to brew with. https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/2450/hopcultivars/21697.html. I'm not sure about the parentage of say, 'Summer Shandy' or others?

 

[Northern_Brewer]

So if these are ornamental hops what should I expect to taste flavour wise?

No idea - just don't expect too much flavour! Particularly with the golden hops it may be worth making a hop tea, just boil up a few cones in water - take a sample once it's boiled and another after simmering for half an hour. When they're cool enough to taste, you'll get an idea of the flavour potential (first sample) and bittering (second sample). Maybe do a parallel test with commercial hop cones, ideally something neutral like Saaz, to make sure you're using the right quantities (bearing in mind the 7x conversion rate for wet:dry hops). And/or your other hop.