Is this the worst its been?

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EamusCatuli

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So around my town (Champaign, IL), the LHBS's have a pretty strict hop policy of 2oz per week for ungodly prices. I understand the policy and for the most part, I abide. However, I called my main hop LHBS today and they just got in a new shipment, great! Or maybe not.....and i quote -

LHBS - "Yes, we are putting them on the shelves this afternoon and they are all priced, but the policy has changed."

Me - "Changed?"

LHBS - "Yes, you now have to buy malt [Not grains, malt extract] in order to buy hops"

Me - "get the fuc* outta here"

So now a regular trip to the LHBS for 2oz of hops has turned from about $7 to $18 :mad:

What is it like in your towns? Is this the worst you have ever heard of?
 
EamusCatuli said:
LHBS - "Yes, you now have to buy malt [Not grains, malt extract] in order to buy hops"

Seriously? What's an AG brewer supposed to do?

My old LHBS (I moved) has a similar policy, with some flexibility towards "regulars"; but garins made you "eligible" for hops, too.
 
Last time I was in the LHBS, they didn't have hops I wanted...very few choices. So that's why I've been shopping online...
 
My LHBS limits hop purchases to 1oz of hops per pound of base grain, with a maximum of 3oz of hops per "batch". So, if you wanted to do an IPA with 6oz of hops, you'd need to buy enough grain for one batch + 3 extra pounds, and put all the hops into one batch.

They think of 5-gallons as a batch, so if you brew 10-gallons at a time, you are brewing 2 batches and can walk out with 6oz of hops for that 10-gallon batch.

They let you carry over unused hop purchases. Today, for example, I bought two sacks of grain but no hops (I have enough in my freezer). So they gave me a voucher for several ounces of hops that I can use in the future.
 
My "L"HBS has some kinda "must buy malt" policy, but I don't think he had ANY hops last time I was there (last week). He did say that when the Argentinian hops come in, he'll just be marking them up enough to cover shipping.

Either way, if you're paying that much for hops, you need to just buy them online. I bought 20oz from Freshops yesterday for less than $2/oz average.
 
Thats interesting because thats exactly what my LHBS would not do. If you dont buy em that day, youre SOL.
 
For better or worse this hasn't hit me yet. I walked into my LHBS last week and bought 200G of EKG and 200G of Fuggles. I didn't enjoy the price but I wanted the hops and they had them.
 
My LHBS has a limit of 8 oz. per customer per week and you can only buy up to 4 oz per 5 gallon grain batch. The last couple times I've gone in to buy grain, I've picked up 4 oz of several different hops so I have a pretty good supply right now. And 4 oz. is $10.95...
 
my LHBS has a must buy a malt policy. However I found another store that is selling "not the freshest" hops in 4oz packs for $4. not vacuum seal. and in a cooler that must be 50degF...but gausse? lambic?
 
My LHBS, although sometimes poorly stocked (don't carry Vienna malt!) raised their prices a little, but not much. 2oz hop bag is ~$3. I'm picking up a pound of Fuggle today for $16.
 
As soon as our LHBS got wind of the change, they jacked the prices up on all of their hops, including the stuff they've had sitting around for probably over a year. Grain has started to follow as well, though not as sharp.

Their policy is that you can only buy hops if you are buying a can / bag of malt extract and even then its limited to I believe 2oz. (I don't recall because I don't shop their too often because I don't agree with some of their business practices i've noticed)
 
MriswitH said:
As soon as our LHBS got wind of the change, they jacked the prices up on all of their hops, including the stuff they've had sitting around for probably over a year. Grain has started to follow as well, though not as sharp.
That's not bad business, it's just economics. Demand is exceeding supply, so prices increase. A lot of homebrew supply shops operate on pretty small profit margins. An opportunity to increase profit is probably very welcome to the average LHBS owner. Sure, it hits you in the wallet...but it's like that everywhere.
 
Its a good thing I stocked up from online sources. I never buy recipes. I buy larger quantities and then put together recipes from what I have on hand when I want to brew. I might buy a few specific ingredients for a batch but not usually.

Hops store quite well in a freezer and will last for a year or more. Consider buying a big purchase from a good online store like Freshops and then just purchase your other ingredients from the LHBS.

Craig
 
There's 2 kinda HBSs here in Corpus. One SUCKSSSS and the other is just starting so they don't have TOO much stuff (NO base grains at all...strickly extract and steeping) but they do have hops for not too bad of prices, $2.50-$3 an oz and they've got Fuggles EKG Cascades and the like.

The other shop actually has a lot of hops....but they've been there FOREVER and aren't refridgerator/frozen or anything. They are in the silver vaccume bags though. How bad do you think these hops are? :confused: would it be worth trying them?

I do have about 4lb of hops in the freezer though so it's not like I'm dying for them...
 
Experiment with different hops:

Sterling
Crsytal
Willamette
Hallertau

All are in supply enough that you can buy a pound at a time.

On line suppliers are generally much cheaper than the smaller brick and mortar stores.
 
There are two LHBS 30 minutes from where I live. One charges $2 per ounce, the other $3 per ounce. Both require you to purchase ingredients for a batch and limit you to 3 oz per 5 gallon batch. I bought 4 oz last weekend along with 21 lbs of grain for a 10g batch. I have no problem with their policy. It keeps them in stock with a decent selection at a reasonable price.
 
Alamo_Beer said:
The other shop actually has a lot of hops....but they've been there FOREVER and aren't refridgerator/frozen or anything. They are in the silver vaccume bags though. How bad do you think these hops are? :confused: would it be worth trying them?

I do have about 4lb of hops in the freezer though so it's not like I'm dying for them...


Try em, couldnt hurt if they are simple bittering hops, usually any off tastes would be boiled off if you boiled them the full time.


BTW, Im going to my LHBS and im going to see what they have and what they try and pull on me, ill let y'all know the goods....or bads
 
Alamo_Beer said:
...

The other shop actually has a lot of hops....but they've been there FOREVER and aren't refridgerator/frozen or anything. They are in the silver vaccume bags though. How bad do you think these hops are? :confused: would it be worth trying them?

My understanding is that hops lose AA quickly if they are not frozen, or at least refrigerated. So, these hops not being kept in the fridge/freezer probably aren't worth anything at all for bittering. Though, they might be useful for aroma, maybe dry hopping, not sure.
 
Arneba28 said:
my LHBS has a must buy a malt policy. However I found another store that is selling "not the freshest" hops in 4oz packs for $4. not vacuum seal. and in a cooler that must be 50degF...but gausse? lambic?
Arneba, could you offer me some info on those "not the freshest" hops? I'm doing primarily Belgians and some cheaper hops with compromised freshness is fine by me. Thanks!
 
Beerthoven said:
My understanding is that hops lose AA quickly if they are not frozen, or at least refrigerated. So, these hops not being kept in the fridge/freezer probably aren't worth anything at all for bittering. Though, they might be useful for aroma, maybe dry hopping, not sure.

Hmm good point. Like I said I'm in no dire need of these hops but it could be cool to try 'em out.
 
I will probably end up on the hated list....

My LHBS sells 2oz bags of leaf hops for $3.50, excellent selection, vacuum sealed and refrigerated. Before the "shortage", he was selling them for $2 a bag. I think he was one of the few homebrew suppliers that actually negotiated a hops contract.

You can share in the savings if you move up this way, then we can all hang out and brew.
 
From Alamo_Beer's link:
* Best known as a relaxing nerve tonic. Problems of insomnia (sleeplessness) have been helped by hops when nothing else has.
* Promotes sleep
* Relaxes the liver and gall ducts.
* Increases the flow of bile and urine, and bowel function.
* Increases capillary circulation and heart action.
* Decreases desire for alcohol.
* Reduces high fevers.
* Reduces pain and inflammation.
Sounds like what a beer does!
 
* Increases the flow of bile and urine, and bowel function.
Ain't that the truth :drunk:

* Decreases desire for alcohol.
Sure....:D
 
Yes, the hop supply is tight. There are a couple threads from last Fall discussing the reasons. One of the local hop yard owners said they are scraping the resin off the floors and conveyor belts.

Some LHBS don't want to go through the hassle of bagging small quantities. Most of mine buy pre-bagged hops. Some of them buy 220 lb bales.
 
I haven't tried the lhbs yet, but if it's bad, I'll probably put together a 6 beer variety pack and make the trek to my best friend's parents house (an hour away, but close to my mom's place) and beg her father for some of his hops. He grows them and ends up throwing most of them away because he can't brew that much beer.
 
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