A Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine reader recently asked us the following question:
I grew some fresh hops in my yard this year, and I’m about to harvest them. What’s the best way to use fresh hops in my beer?
You have two options for using fresh hops in your beer. Most commercial hops are picked and then immediately dried down to a moisture level of about 8–10 percent, which puts them in a form where they can be sealed, stored, and used later. One method for drying hops is to use a food dehydrator as it operates at low temperature but keeps a good airflow around the hops, or you can build your own hops drying rack (see beerandbrewing.com/diy-hops-dryer/). Keep the temperature below 140°F (60°C) and avoid exposure to sunlight. Dry hops until they are brittle enough for the cone to snap in half.
The other option, which can be more interesting, is to immediately use the hops in a beer. Hops in this form are often called “wet hops” because they haven’t been dried. In fact, a wet-hops cone has about 80 percent water by weight versus only 8–10 percent for dried hops. The downside is that wet hops are highly prone to molding and oxidation, so you should plan to use your wet hops within 24–36 hours of picking if at all possible. Also, your brewing schedule needs to be flexible because you want to time the harvesting of hops for peak ripeness.