Look for lupulin, the visible, thick yellow substance on the outside of the cone.
The hop should be springy, dry and papery on the tips, and sticky to the touch.
If the lupulin turns orange and smells rancid, you’ve overshot your window. If it makes a cricket sound, this also means they’re ready to harvest. If it has a pungent smell between cut grass and onion, it’s time to harvest.
Pick a cone, roll it in your hands and smell it.
When they feel light and dry-and spring back after a squeeze-they’re ready to be harvested. If the cone stays compressed, it’s not ripe enough. Expect a fuller harvest in the second year, and a big leap in hop yield the third year. If these are first-year hops, expect a small harvest-most of the energy throughout the growing period is used to develop the root systems, making it difficult for cones to reach their peak yield. You want to pick over-ripe hops rather than under-ripe hops, otherwise you’ll deprive them of those awesome alpha acids.ĭepending on location, harvest occurs between mid-August and September. A common mistake is picking the cones too early. You’re starting to see those cones grow up the vine and you just can’t contain your excitement! Curb it just a little longer. You’ve planned, pruned, monitored, cared for and put in the hours for you homegrown hops all summer. This post is a follow-up to How to Grow Hops at Home. By John Moorhead, American Homebrewers Association
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