my hops smell like hay

[boobookittyfuk]

Last year i put a hallertaur rhizome in and got a single bine that made no hops.

This year, the little fucker grew like a weed. I think I got about 2-4 oz of dried hops off of it so far. The batteries on my scale are dead so i can't weigh them yet.

If i rub some hops in my hand, thus breaking open the lupulins, it smells like it should. But, if i just smell the hops, they smell like hay. did i pick them too early? or is it more likely that they are super low in alpha acids?

I plan on using them in a couple of years for a lambic so i don't really care if the acids are low. I wonder if the "hay aroma" would add more barn-yardness to the brett.....? ?

p.s.

[BadRock]

Like I posted on another thread, from what I have read, you should make sure your hops are ripe, or even a little over ripe. Otherwise you end up with the "green" flavors and aromas. Hay or grass is apparently pretty common. What did they look and feel like at harvest?

[boobookittyfuk]

they felt sort of dry. they broke quite easily from the main stem.

I am betting that I may have picked them too early.

[BadRock]

Were the beginning to brown around the edges?

[boobookittyfuk]

Were the beginning to brown around the edges?

not brown but slightly yellow some.

[gbob]

Boob, I'm scouting out a place in backyard for hops next year. I would be interested in getting some tips from a fellow Buffalonian. Lemme know how they turn out so that I can pick your brain come springtime.

[boobookittyfuk]

I'll help however I can. But I may not be your best source for answers. For Buffalo, all you need to do is put the rhizome in the ground (horizontally of course) and let mother nature do the rest.

[t-rocket]

Were the beginning to brown around the edges?

not brown but slightly yellow some.

Sounds like they were ready, but so early in August seems a bit too soon. I think the climate has something to do with when to pick, but for the most part the primary weeks to harvest in US are last weeks of August up to mid-September. I've picked a few handfuls, but for the most part, mine will not be ready until first week in Sept.

Dwayne