My latest article for The Bulletin came out the previous Sunday, in which I write about the best time of year: fresh hop season! This time around, I touch on using fresh hops in a brew, from the commercial with Deschutes Brewery’s Robin Johnson (Bend Pub head brewer), to using them in homebrew.

The hop harvest and fresh hop beers are not exclusive to commercial breweries. Many homebrewers grow their own hops (or know someone who does) and brew fresh hop beers this time of year as well. I recently harvested the hops from my own backyard plants, dried some of them, and brewed a fresh hop pale ale with others.

My method of brewing with fresh hops are similar to Deschutes’ Johnson’s. I add them within the last few minutes of the boil, as well as adding a “whirlpool” addition — letting them steep for 15 minutes at about 170 degrees after the boil is complete.

My rule of thumb for measuring fresh versus dried hops by weight for a homebrew recipe is a five-to-one ratio; five ounce of fresh hops for every one ounce of dried that the recipe calls for.

And a quick note on the homebrewing front: I used Johnson’s rate of hot-side hopping in my beer—20 pounds of fresh hops per barrel, which equates to about 3⅓ pounds per five gallons. If you’re planning to “dry” hop on the cold side, go with 1⅔ pounds instead (half the amount).