unknown hops

Hey everyone, I’m new to this homebrew, in fact I’ll be doing my first ever brew tomorrow.
(Partial mash) Just a little background. Ran into a friend I see every so often and he told me
he hops growing out back of his place and offered me some that he has in the freezer.
He doesn’t know what kind they are, they were just growing there so he bagged them.
How does one discern what type of hops these are, does it matter. Thinking I’ll be moving on to
all grain brewing. We live at 9000ft. Can anyone help out a newbie?

[quote=“AL_Richard”]Hey everyone, I’m new to this homebrew, in fact I’ll be doing my first ever brew tomorrow.
(Partial mash) Just a little background. Ran into a friend I see every so often and he told me
he hops growing out back of his place and offered me some that he has in the freezer.
He doesn’t know what kind they are, they were just growing there so he bagged them.
How does one discern what type of hops these are, does it matter. Thinking I’ll be moving on to
all grain brewing. We live at 9000ft. Can anyone help out a newbie?[/quote]

Did he dry them before bagging? How have they been stored and for how long? They may not be worth using.

Good questions Denny. I’m not sure if if he dried them. What would be the downside.
Probably a ziplock but unsure. Guessing this year maybe last year. He’s not a brewer,
just found them growing. I’m a newbie so I didn’t kow what to ask. How can you tell
what type they are?

Telling the type is pretty difficult, but not impossible. I know there are some websites with pics of different varieties, but unfortunately I don’t have links at hand. even with pics, it’s not easy to tell what type. In addition, there are some varieties that are only ornamental and not good for brewing. Unless your friend dried the hops, sealed them tightly (vacuum sealing is best) and kept them in a freezer, they may not be in very good shape. If it was me, I’d tell him thanks for the offer but skip it. Or you can just be adventurous and brew with them and hope for the best.

Thanks Denny, guess they’ll grow back next year. Maybe I’ll have a few all-grain brews
under my belt by then to roll the dice or figure out the type they are. The advice and info
are much appreciated.

Given all the unknowns, and the relatively low cost of purchasing hops, I would just scrap them, and not chance brewing a batch that doesn’t come out the way you want it. If you’re that interested in using whole hops, you can buy whole hops, or this spring order some rhizomes and grow your own. A rhizome costs maybe $5 per variety, and it’s a fun rewarding way to integrate your beer brewing passion into your new gardening passion :wink: