Banner

Monday, August 29, 2011

Fresh hops...get your fresh hops here!

Just got back from awesome weekend wedding in Telluride (congrats Jon and Mary-Todd!) and we stopped by Rising Sun Farms in Paonia where Glen grows organic hops. Unfortunately, they were planning on harvesting the day we showed up and I couldn't grab any hops. I told them we'd swing back through on the way back to Boulder. The weekend went by too fast and we had a great time! We rolled into Paonia and the hop farm on Sunday (after some peach and pear picking) and saw that they had been trying to repair the harvester all weekend! Glen then graciously allowed us to go out and pick some fresh hops. We gathered about 2 pounds each of Chinook and Cascade through the clouds of mosquitoes (thanks, Phil, Erin, and Sally). I traded Glen some of my imperial saisons I brewed and after some good conversation we were on our way back to Boulder. When I got back, I vacuum sealed the hops and refrigerated them. I brewed 10 gallons of a Wet Hop Harvest Ale on Labor Day with the hops we picked in Paonia and threw in whatever I had in my hop garden at home. I've never brewed a wet-hopped ale, so I was excited for it. Here I am harvesting my Chinooks in the backyard. I got about a 1/2 pound of wet hops from the vines. This photo is from today, good color and final gravity on the harvest ale. It finished out around 1.010, right where I wanted it. Now time to throw some more hops in for dry hopping...although they will be wet hops...so maybe it is called wet hopping.