Harvesting Hops

The hops are ready.  They are sounding dry and crinkly when you squeeze the cones between your fingers.  When you gently pry one open, the pollen inside is bright yellow, like the lines down the center of the road.  The hops oils transfer to your fingertips, smelling green and making you crave a beer.

We are novice hop gardeners.  Our first harvest was two years ago, a meager dozen cones or so.  Not enough to brew with, just enough to say "look, we actually grew these!"

Last year we got 32 ounces from our Cascade vine.  The one we planted in 2009 that actually survived (unlike the Williamette, Centennial or the fourth variety, name of which I forget). 

This year, it looks like we will easily get double that.

Here's how we harvest our hops:

On a dry day, we hand pick the hops cones into paper bags. You want to do this at a time of day when the dew has had time to evaporate; the hops need to have no moisture on them.

When we've picked all we can that day (or 2-3 bags worth), we fill a window screen with the cones.  That screen either sits outside on a dry day, or on sawhorses in the garage on wet ones, until the cones have dried completely.

Then, we weigh them out into the desired quantity (last year it was 1 ounce packages, this year it is 4 ounces), place in vacuum sealer bags, and vacuum seal them.  Then they are marked with amount and type of hops,the date of packaging, and put into the freezer.

You don't want to leave the hops piled in bags long, or they may get moldy from retained moisture.  That is why we only pick a few bags at a time, harvesting more once the first batch has been fully dried and packaged and the window screen is available for more.

It's that easy.