Growing Chinook and Centennial - when to harvest, what should I look for?

[Stu]

This is the first year I've grown hops.

The centennial are looking great, although not that big - the size of a £1 to £2 coin.
I picked one earlier and followed the guide that someone else put up yesterday
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/how-to-harvest-prepare-and-store-homegrown-hops/
They're kind of springy, but they still feel very wet and mostly grass like, rather than any hop aroma.

I keep reading about lupulin, but I'm not sure what I'm looking for. At the moment, if I roll them, or take them apart, I can't see anything other than green leaves. Is this the yellowy stuff on the inside?

My phone has made them look more yellow than they actually are. They're almost entirely green.

I'm thinking that we have a whole week of sunshine left in August, so should I leave them for now?

The Chinook plant has grown quite well, but I've absolutely no hops on it. Just lots of growth. I take it once it dies back, I just trim it back?

 

[Sandimas]

Leave them, even the British hops aren't anywhere near ready yet and the "C" US ones will be even later. My Cascade are noticably behing my Challenger and Goldings, I'll probably be picking the latter in around 2 weeks time, the Cascade a week or two later.

The idea is to pick them as late as possible to allow the aroma via the lupulin to develop, this only happens towards the very end of their life. Watch for them just starting to turn brown. And do as you have done, crunch one up and smell it every few days: it should be noticably better as the days progress.

 

[Stu]

Leave them, even the British hops aren't anywhere near ready yet and the "C" US ones will be even later. My Cascade are noticably behing my Challenger and Goldings, I'll probably be picking the latter in around 2 weeks time, the Cascade a week or two later.

The idea is to pick them as late as possible to allow the aroma via the lupulin to develop, this only happens towards the very end of their life. Watch for them just starting to turn brown. And do as you have done, crunch one up and smell it every few days: it should be noticably better as the days progress.

Thank you. This is super helpful.

 

[Monkhouse]

Leave them, even the British hops aren't anywhere near ready yet and the "C" US ones will be even later. My Cascade are noticably behing my Challenger and Goldings, I'll probably be picking the latter in around 2 weeks time, the Cascade a week or two later.

The idea is to pick them as late as possible to allow the aroma via the lupulin to develop, this only happens towards the very end of their life. Watch for them just starting to turn brown. And do as you have done, crunch one up and smell it every few days: it should be noticably better as the days progress.

Mine are the same too, no aroma other than grassy but all the other tell tale signs are there such as colour and paper sound when rolled with fingers. First time I’ve ever grown them too and wishing I knew more!