wild hop brew?

[cutnrun]

ok i have found a great stash of wild hops so when they flower i plan on getting a few bags and having a brew.

They are wild and on public ground so not worried about anyone getting upset if i pick a few.. and a couple hundred grams aint going to hurt anyone..

but what would you recomend i brew with them.

I was planning on a small batch of Smash, maybe 1 or 2 gallons
1kg M/o

5g @90
5g@15
5g @ F/O

that should give me a chance to cover the range of flavours and see what to do for a bigger batch?

any suggestions?

anything else i should watch out for? Male/female flowers only? Its not far from a dog walking area so..pick from nice high areas?

 

[BigYin]

I've never come across wild hops, so can't advise on best way to use them, other than to paraphrase Ray Mears - "be absolutely sure you know what the plant is before you use it!"

I do love the point about only using the ones higher up because of the local dog walk :rofl:

 

[evanvine]

MD has wild hops in his garden along with his cultivated ones, but not sure if he has ever used them.
By flowers, do you mean "burrs"?
The cones, I would consider to be the fruit!
Will be interested in hearing your results.

 

[Wendy1971]

They are not ornamental hops are they? The plants tend to be paler colour and produce no cones at all

 

[oldjiver]

I made one brew with wild hops that grow on the back road between Wix and Great Oakley near Harwich, a few years ago. Made an excellent malt extract brew. Very delicate flavour. I wasnt sure what the weight difference was between dry and fresh hops was so I put 75g in 5 gallons. Aroma very good. My mate made some with hops from a different place and they turned out foul he said. So maybe I was lucky. The hops have been at Wix for years but disappeared last year?? I havent checked this year, been too busy.
(PS the ones with seeds in must be female I presume, so what a male hop looks like I havent a clue?)