Cedar Rapids Brewing Society

I used some Boadicea Hops that I have had stored in the fridge, unopened for about a year. I bought them to try, they are a low alpha British hop....description is earthy, floral.

They are very different on the nose....I asked Marilyn to describe its aroma, and she picked up lavender, which covers the floral portion.

What is earthy....they definitely have an earthy smell - almost a mushroom like smell. The package was not vacuum packed, which is unusual for Yakima Valley. BUT, I also had a package of Perl that has been open for about as long as I had the Boadicea hops, and the Perl was just fine.

So, I am hoping these earthy hops are the real deal and do not happen to be oxidized hops....of else I am going to have quite a bit of beer to either dump or refactor.

Thoughts?

I wouldn’t worry about them being bad, just different. The earthiness could definitely be attributed to oxidation but it also sounds like it is part of the profile of this hop. Lambic brewers age hops on purpose for years in unrefrigerated sacks to attain these flavors. Depends on what kind of beer you are trying to make I suppose.


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Thanks Mike. I do have some of those 'debittered' hops, but I have not used them yet. So at this time, I have no comparison.

What I can say, is that the Bodicae hops do not have that typical fresh smell that I recall from all of the other hops I have used.....but earthy is a good description for them.

What is done is done, the final proof will be in the tasting, in a few weeks.

Could be a dumper....could be ok.....or better than ok....only time will tell.

Tx.

Will be interested in sampling at the "great reveal."