Gauging an Unknown Hop AA Value

[AHarper]

Is there anyone out there that knows a way to estimate the AA value of an unknown hop?

I have been given some hops of unknown strain and have nominally given them a value of 8 - which looks to be about the average value - but is there a better way? I am not going to send them to a lab for some scientific evaluation but is there some handy amateur guide?

I could make a tea of some of my known hops already in my store and make a taste test. That may be the only way but there may be a wizard out there that knows a better way?

 

[Nosybear]

Brew a small batch with it and use your Mark 1 palate to tell you how it works. A gallon batch should do. And when evaluating remember, our sense of taste is really only good for movements of about 5 IBUs.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

You really can’t gauge the AA%. Use a known hop for bittering and add the unknown hop in a flameout or a whirlpool. There is no way of knowing what the AA% is at. If you guess at the AA% in the flameout or whirlpool there is a lot more wiggle room.

I’ve done this with hop hash and it seems to work.