How to approach unknown hops?

Question

I will have about 1kg of wild hops, gathered last week and frozen. It's wild, but probably it's genotype contains Lubelski (closely related to Saaz), Marynka (bittering hop), and who knows what else.

I want to use it. I will use it. But I wonder - what kinds / styles of beer to brew with it to have best idea about it next year? I can brew few batches with it, used differently. But what styles to brew to get most information for future use, in case I would have access to it next years? I mean, only brewing Pale Ales will give me information about it's taste and aroma, but no information about how it plays with dark malts, for example. I can't try a significant part of known styles, so which ones to try?

What styles or techniques will be most representative for ales, in respect to hops usage and effect? And will allow me to take reasonable assumptions about hop behavior in similar / related styles?

Answer 1

Something I've read somewhere and tried myself with a degree of success is this technique:

Go out and buy a six pack of the most bland beer you know of in whatever style you desire (I've used But Light for a lighter beer, but not experimented with darkers). At this point you will need to sanitize the hops (you can probably freeze for more of a dry hopping, or boil for a short time in a very small amount of water for more of a wet hop characteristic... I wouldn't dry them off when done boiling). Then open the beer and put the hops in and reseal and let sit for whatever time you desire, with a minimum of a couple days (probably not too long since the carbonation may not last forever). This should give you an idea of what affect the hops will have on the beer, but is definitely not a definitive way to do it, just cheap and somewhat effective to get a taste of their affect.

Answer 2

Make a tea with the hops (boil a few "cones" in 500 ml water for 15 minutes) and let the tea cool. Then add to a lightly flavoured beer in small amounts until the hops take center stage.

This will allow you to get an idea of the aromas, flavours and bitterness. From there you can build a recipe.

Or just brew an APA, using a known, high alpha hop for bittering. Use the new hop for flavour and aroma. Enjoy.