Fresh Hop Homebrew Guide

Recipe Links: Wet Hopped Red | Hops of Mass Destruction

When the hop cones ripen on the vine, that means only one thing: soon homebrewers can brew with fresh hops right off the plant. If you live near hop farms or are able to grow hops in your backyard, you owe it to yourself to brew a batch of fresh hop beer (also called wet hopped beer). Here's your guide to getting the most out of the fresh hop seasonal harvest.

Farm-Fresh Hops

When it comes to brewing with wet hops, first you have to find them. Some homebrewers grow hops in their yards. (The topic of growing hops is beyond the scope of this article, but if you want to learn more about growing hops, consult the book The Homebrewer's Garden.) If you don't grow your own, your first step is to locate a nearby hop farm.

Homebrewer adjusting hop vines on a trellis system.

Commercial hop production in the U.S. is primarily in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, according to the trade organization Hop Growers of America, but technically hops can be grown in a range of climates between 35 and 55 degrees latitude. States such as New York, Maine, North Carolina and Michigan are developing hop agriculture programs.

Organarchy Hops located in Oldtown, Maryland has recently opened it's doors as the first USDA organic hop farm in Maryland and it offers nationwide shipping for hop rhizomes, potted plants, whole cone hops and fresh wet hops when in season.

Organarchy Hop team harvesting whole cone hops.

When sourcing fresh hops, proximity is important. Fresh hops are highly perishable. You'll want to get the fresh hops from the farm to your brew kettle as soon as possible-typically within 24 hours of picking. Traditionally, shipping is not a good option; it takes valuable time, climate conditions while shipping may spoil the hops, and given that most of the weight of fresh hops is water, it can be prohibitively expensive, but farms like Organarchy are trying to make the shipping experience better.

Whether or not you can get fresh hops from the farm, depends on the farm. Farms have different policies about who buys their hops. Some sell their entire yield under contract to breweries or distributors, and do not offer hops direct to the public. Some farms have programs where the public can come and pick their own. Contact farms in your area to see what your options are. When contacting them, find out:

Do you sell direct to the public?

What hop varieties are you growing?

What are the Alpha Acid Units (AAU, also known as Homebrew Bittering Units, or HBUs)? This provides an indication of the hops' bittering potential.

When are the hops expected to be ready to harvest?

If no farms in your area offer hops direct to homebrewers, you may have other options:

Contact your local homebrew shop to see if they are ordering fresh hops for sale to customers.

Contact your area craft breweries to see if they would consider making any of their fresh hops available to homebrewers.

If you are a member of a homebrew club or know other homebrewers, see if you can go in together on a larger order of fresh hops.

Once you have your hops

While fresh hops are the starting point for all other hop products-dry hops, hop extracts and pelletized hops-brewing with wet hops nonetheless is different from using hops in any other form. Here are some important tips to keep in mind:

Think aroma, not IBUs

Here's how the Brewers Association describes Fresh "Wet" Hop Ale in their 2013 Beer Style Guidelines:

"Any style of ale can be made into a fresh hop or wet hop version. These ales are hopped predominantly with fresh (newly harvested and kilned) and/or undried ('wet') hops. These beers will exhibit especially aromas and flavors of green, almost chlorophyll-like or other fresh hop characters, in harmony with the characters of the base style of the beer. These beers may be aged and enjoyed after the initial 'fresh-hop' character diminishes. Unique character from 'aged' fresh hop beers may emerge, but they have yet to be defined. The manner in which fresh 'wet' hops are used should be identified by the brewer. To allow for accurate judging the brewer must identify a classic, hybrid/mixed or experimental beer style being elaborated upon. Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging."

Other characteristics such as gravity, alcohol by weight, bitterness and color are all dependent on the overall beer style.

Add your fresh hops near the end of the boil for aroma extraction. Fresh hops provide aromas that you cannot get with other forms of hops, including dried whole flowers. Fresh hop brewing is also more about aroma than bittering, as hop bitterness and flavors develop and intensify as part of the drying process.

When developing a fresh hop or wet hop beer, make sure your recipe accommodates the "green" character of these right-off-the-vine hops. After all, you don't want to brew a beer that masks or loses the characteristics of the very fresh hops you've worked so hard to get!

The unique fresh aromas are key to a wet hop beer. Over time these aromas can fade, and the beer's character will change, just as with any other beer that ages.

6 to 1 Rule

5-7 oz. of wet hops equals an ounce of dry hops. Therefore, many homebrewers use a 6 to 1 ratio as a rule of thumb to determine the amount of wet hops to use in their recipes. (But you can experiment to see what works best for you.)

The difference is due to the additional water present in the fresh hops, which makes them heavier.

Time is of the essence

Breweries make a production out of getting their fresh hops from the farm to the brewery quickly, so as to use the hops at their peak freshness. The same goes for your homebrew operation.

Fresh hops are a perishable agricultural product, and you want to get your hops from field to kettle within 24 hours of harvesting. The best scenario is to brew the same day you get your hops. The longer the hops wait, the more of their freshness will be lost.

Here's a few recipes to get you started.

Savor the difference

Fresh hop beers are known for their green and fresh aromas. If you adapt a recipe for wet hop brewing, remember to savor the difference. An IPA brewed with fresh hops will taste and smell different from an IPA brewed with a dried version of the same hop.

Fresh hops, after all, are a once-a-year treat for homebrewers. Your beer will be different, but it will also be unique. Appreciate the fresh, green aromas and flavors-knowing that you are one of the lucky few homebrewers who got to brew with wet hops straight from the farm.

Craft beer writer, Anthony St. Clair is an award winning homebrewer for his Belgian-style Tripel Ale. This is Anthony's second article for HomeBrewing.com. He recently wrote an article entitled In Defense of Bottling: 7 Reasons You Might Want to Bottle That Next Batch. Follow Anthony's brewing on