A little help for a hop virgin

[Union Brewer]

I have some hops growing really well but I am not sure when I should harvest them. Is it possible to harvest them too late? I just read where someone said you should harvest them when you pinch them and they sound like tissue paper. I just don't want to pick them too early or too late. These are first year hops but they are growing really well and I have lots of cones. I am pretty impressed. I would like to think I am doing something right but I pretty much just put them in the ground and watered them. I will post some pics later. Took a few tonight but they didn't turn out very well. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[tfries]

Sorry that I can not be real specific, but if you break open a cone and it looks like this, then you are ready to pick.

http://www.tomandteri.com/brewery/IMG_0869_resize.JPG

[christo]

Sweet b'jesus, I just had an accident when I saw that! Time to go wash up.

[Ó Flannagáin]

Sweet b'jesus, I just had an accident when I saw that! Time to go wash up.

lol, same here. Beautiful pic tfries

[ben the brewman]

when they are ripe you will notice some of them have a little browning around the edges, and the feel very papery. if you squeeze them they should have a sound similar to tissue paper. if they arnt ready the will still be very green and when you squeeze them they stay compressed for a bit. you definatly dont want to pick them to early because they will smell like tea or straw not like hops as for to late im not sure. they say there is a 1 week window of when they are ripe and thats it but who knows.

[Union Brewer]

Thanks for the help. Here are some pics of my hops.

http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/picture.php?albumid=208&pictureid=1579

http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/picture.php?albumid=208&pictureid=1578

http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/picture.php?albumid=208&pictureid=1577

http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/picture.php?albumid=208&pictureid=1575

http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/picture.php?albumid=208&pictureid=1574

http://www.homebrewchatter.com/board/picture.php?albumid=208&pictureid=1573

[DrunkenSatyr]

Those are not ready yet. Give em another week or 3. Keep smelling them. They should smell like hops but to a lesser degree when you pick em. You want to split a few open and look for the luplin.

[Union Brewer]

Kool, thanks. I really just don't want to pick them too early. They really don't smell like anything right now. I will be patient.

[ben the brewman]

they wont smell like anything at all until you crush the luplin glands. your best judge of when there ready is gonna be the sound they make not how they look or smell.

[vtchuck]

Wow, your plants mature early. I'm just seeing burrs on my more mature plants (3rd year) Last year I harvested in late August / early September.

[Union Brewer]

Wow, your plants mature early. I'm just seeing burrs on my more mature plants (3rd year) Last year I harvested in late August / early September.

Never planted hops before, so I am not sure if this is usual or not. I know we have had a lot of rain around here for this time of year. Usually it is hotter and drier, so I am assuming that is the reason. I am pretty stoked though.

I think I will wait a few more days and pick one and cut it in half to see if it looks like the picture that tfries posted.

[Dreamer]

Do you dry them after you pic them?
Would a food dehydrator work, or just set them in our 100 deg sun?

[ben the brewman]

they need to be dried right after they are harvested. a food dehydrator works good on the lowest setting but if you put them on a window screen in a hot garage that works well too.