Hops question

As a new homebrewer who lives 2.5 hours away from the nearest LHBS, I'm looking to stock up on things that I will use frequently.

Currently, I'm considering buying some bulk hops. I'd like to stock 2 kinds which would be versatile, and possibly a 3rd.

I love hoppy IPA's, and really love the citrus of the Cascade, so that's a no brainer. Just wondering what another 1 or 2 hops to buy in bulk.

Considering Centennial/Chinook?

Maybe Nugget and Mt. Hood. Nugget is a good bittering hop that makes a mean IPA all by itself and Mt. Hood is similar to Fuggle for English beers.

what kind of styles do you normally like brewing?

I buy Magnum for bittering. I get all my hops from www.nikobrew.com

Well.. I'm very new, and have only brewed one batch. Like my post said, I love Hoppy IPA's, but I plan on brewing a wide variety of beers. I'd just like to avoid having to buy 1oz. packages of hops all the time, especially when I live so far from the LHBS.

I just placed 2 different bulk orders. In #1 I got 1# of each Citra and Simcoe. Simcoe is AWESOME in an IPA and I cant wait to try Citra in one as well. In order #2 I got 2# of Cascade, 2# of Willametes and 1# of Saaz. My hops drawer will be over flowing again soon (I break them down to 2oz vacuum packed baggies and freeze them)

Thanks all. If I buy pellets and divide them up into say 1 or 2 oz. packages, how well do they freeze/keep?

Simcoe/Centennial are great for hoppy IPA's. Saaz/Hallertau or other Noble hops would be better for bavarian style beers/lagers etc.

elproducto said:

Thanks all. If I buy pellets and divide them up into say 1 or 2 oz. packages, how well do they freeze/keep?

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If you can vacuum seal them, with a foodsaver or the like, they'll keep a LONG time. Like a couple of years! If you don't vacuum seal them, they will last quite a bit less.

I like magnum for bittering, and cascade is one of my favorite hops, too. I also bought a pound of northern brewer (a stand by for my steam beer), a pound of amarillo, a pound of chinook, and a pound of simcoe.

For west-coast style IPAs, magnum and cascade are my #1 hops. I use the amarillo for many others.

Amarillo, amarillo, amarillo, then
columbus, cascade, chinook

+1 on Magnum for bittering.

I love Amarillo and Centennial for IPA's.

magnum is excellent for bittering. if you can't get magnum, i would say chinook. for flavoring as far as ipa's are concerned, centennial in high doses has always been my favorite. i also like ahtanum alot..it is a very mild, but flavorful, unique funky floral hop...

OK, I'm working my way through the 4 pounds of hops I bought earlier, and am ready to order some more.

I'm going to start brewing some European beers, Belgian/German/Sours, etc.

What would a good bulk hop to have on hand? Was thinking Hallertauer/Tettanger

My favorites:
Hallertauer
Saaz

Anyone know a good web page listing hops and info on them. The one I found does not list them all.

I'm partial to Styrian and EKG. I can't get enough - so I'd better grow some!

B