Hops smell like garlic ?

[Glynn cleaver]

Hi I got some hop runners last winter now I've a few cones on them but I'm getting a garlic smell as well as pine have I wasted a year or is this ok

Thanks for any help

[Ralph]

Mmm garlic beer!

If they look like hops they probably are hops. It may be that the variety you have is not especially good for aroma, but might be good for bittering or something?? Do you know what variety they are? 

You could find out how they are likely to taste in the beer by making a hop tea. Boil some water and add the hops in to steep for a few minutes and then taste the water... if they taste good then go ahead and use them in your beer!

[Glynn cleaver]

Thanks for your help Yes hop tea tastes bitter good with a aroma not unlike something I smoked a long time ago not as strong garlic aroma a lot more pine.

Don't have enough for a brew this year but with 4 plants next year is looking good time to get my brew gear ready for next year

[Dale Cooper]

Hi Glynn,

If this is the first year the hops have been planted then getting any hop flowers are a pretty good sign. You are too late to collect the hops for this year, from what I understand they are harvested in March, exactly when in March requires some judgment on the growers part. My hop bines have done their dash and have gone dormant already. I have heard garlic comes about from hops that have been hanging around too long so I guess thats why you get that from yours.

It a bit hard for amateurs like us to get the harvest at exactly the right the but the best advice I have heard is to keep feeling them and when they start to be not so soft but get a bit papery that is the time to pick em. Tough call though as they never all feel or look the same!

Cheers

Dale

[Glynn cleaver]

Yes we have had a crap summer out here in sunny Kirwee the cones are just starting to go papery and have the yellow parts inside try for next year working on cider till i get my beer gear up and running thanks for the help

[Glynn cleaver]

Found this good with the photos

Mine look most like fuggle

http://usahops.org/userfiles/file/HGA%20BCI%20Reports/HGA%20Variety...

[Kelly Milligan]

Garlic/Cheese/Onion is what they start smelling like once they're past ideal picking time. I have some Sticklebract bines and they smell like awesome citrus/pine (picked just as things were starting to get garlicy), but some of the remaining flowers developed an uncanny garlic smell towards the end of march. I'm not sure how good late hops will be for your average beer, however some belgian recipes ask for 'aged' hops or 'oxidized' hops. Aging develops these cheesy/garlicy flavours in the hop and is suitable for some beer styles :)