Introduction #
This post is intended to document the process followed and the results achieved in a hop harvest that was completed in 2021. Due to the large time difference between this write-up and the original activities, some details are no longer available.
The Harvest #
The harvest included 4 different varieties of hops:
To do the harvest, the hop bines were lowered and the hops were picked and placed in to cardboard boxes and plastic buckets.
Drying #
Drying was done in a three-season room where the hops were laid out on old window screens. The screens were propped up with chairs, boxes, and buckets to allow airflow to reach both sides of the hops. A dehumidifier was running to lower the moisture of the air in the room and an overhead fan circulated air in the room.
After drying, the total weight of each variety was:
| Variety | Dried Weight (oz) |
|---|---|
| Saaz | 15.7 |
| Magnum | 6.5 |
| Chinook | 10 |
| Cascade | 10 |
Packaging #
After drying hops are vacuum sealed and frozen to maintain them for an extended period. To do this, I sourced a Geryon Vacuum Sealer from Amazon and some bags. The hops were put into 1 oz packages for convenient use in 5-gallon recipes.
Advanced Analytical Research (AAR) #
Advanced Analytical Research is a company in Madison, WI, USA that offers lab analysis at affordable rates (down to $35 for hop acids and storage index as of this post). For this service, 1 oz of the hops needs to be bagged up and sent in. Since I didn’t want to spend over $100 on this experience, I picked only the Saaz hops to send in.
The Numbers #
The report from AAR comes as a two-page PDF document, with the first page containing the brewer’s values and the second page documenting the hop quality. To simplify the presentation and to remove personal information (the PDF is signed by a certifying officer), the following contains my numbers that were extracted from the PDF. Note that for HSI, the typical range was not given on the AAR lab report but instead comes from the Czech Saaz referred to here.
| Measurement | Value | Typical Range | Evaluation |
|---|---|---|---|
| % Moisture | 7.2 | 8 - 12 % | LOW |
| % Dry Matter | 92.8 | ||
| Hop Storage Index (HSI) | 0.243 | 0.208 - 0.391 | NORMAL |
| Cohumulone (% of total AA) | 32.6 | 30 - 35 % | NORMAL |
| % Alpha Acids | 9.00 | 5.0 - 8.0 % | HIGH |
| Colupulone (% of total BA) | 51.3 | ||
| % Beta Acids | 8.45 | 5.0 - 8.0 % | HIGH |
| a/b ratio | 1.07 |
In addition to the numbers from the report, AAR was also very helpful in suggesting that my hop sample is likely a Great Lakes “Super Saazer” which is a Saaz variety that has higher alpha acids than I would expect from a more traditional Saaz hop. This was very useful information to have to avoid over bittering beers that used this hop.
