Hops in the garden

[simonind]

I've got a massive hop plant in the garden which smells nice but I've no idea of the variety as the previous owners planted it. It would be nice to use them but don't want to risk spoiling a batch, any ideas on how I can try and identify them? And do I just throw them in for a dry-hop?

Here's a picture of them
https://flic.kr/p/Xy4wRW

Cheers
Simon

 

[Leon103]

Not an expect but it is hard to work out what variety they are and they all look pretty brown. Stick some in a glass of water/beer to see what they taste like. If they taste and smell ok pick them ASAP and get them dry.

 

[Soton]

Get a light tasting beer like Budweiser, put a good dose of hops in there and recap the bottle, leave for a week or so and then sample the beer, you could compare it with a unhopped bottle of Bud
If the hops are ready for harvesting now it might pay to do that now and decide later if you think they are worth keeping