Subject: Harvesting Hops

From: [email-masked] (Suzanne Brecht )
Date: 10 Sep 1995 14:12:39 GMT

This is the first year that I have attempted to grow hops vines. They
are doing well.  My question is, when do I harvest the hops cones?  Do
I wait until they dry on the vine?  Thanks.

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From: [email-masked] (Betty Cunningham)
Date: Mon, 11 Sep 1995 13:45:06 GMT

These notes about hops are based on it's use for dream pillows,
sachets, and such like.  I never used mine for beer, so I'm not sure
when is the optimal time is for beer harvest.

The active material in hops is lupaline, which is in the bright yellow
pollen.  This material breaks down over time, so actually you'd want
to harvest before the cones drop this stuff on their own.  The cones
are best harvested while they are green, dry, papery, and the pollen
is at it's brightest.  If you wait long enough to have the pollen
drift out on it's own, you haven't got as strong a pollen.

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>I wait until they dry on the vine?  Thanks.
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Betty Cunningham--illustrator, animator, 
        and likes to collect dead things
([email-masked] in the studio)
([email-masked] at work)