WHAT hop shortage?

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the_bird

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HopsDirect packages still come in "jumbo" size! 1lb Cascades = 1lb, 15 ounces. 1lb Fuggles = 1lb, 12 ounces.

That's still a pretty good per-pound price!

Damn, wish I had batteries for the camera. Also got in the BarleyCrusher today, Cassie insisted on helping me crush the inaugural grain, then helped herself to a nice big bowl of rauchmalt... she's such my child :D

(and the last paragraph was written because she insisted I type her name...)
 
Nice Bird! You're going to love that Barley Crusher.

It amazes me that they're still over filling the hops like that. That's almost twice as much in the case of Cascades!

I better get an order in before they wise up.

EDIT - They're currently sold out of Centennial, Chinook, Columbus, EKG, Fuggle, Hallertau(GR), Nugget, Perle, Tettnanger(US) and Willamette
 
Brewtopia said:
Nice Bird! You're going to love that Barley Crusher.

It amazes me that they're still over filling the hops like that. That's almost twice as much in the case of Cascades!

I better get an order in before they wise up.

EDIT - They're currently sold out of Centennial, Chinook, Columbus, EKG, Fuggle, Hallertau(GR), Nugget, Perle, Tettnanger(GR) and Willamette
They are still over-filling orders, but two things. It is 2006 crop and they have doubled/tripled their prices....still I do LOVE hopsdirect. They are good people.
 
Well, I figure when NB's and seemingly everyone else is out of everything I want, and they sell an honest pound when you buy an honest pound, and THEIR prices have gone up just as much... you can't beat HopsDirect :D
 
That's pretty crazy. They could just fix their scale and then they wouldn't have to raise prices quite as much.
 
I've wondered if they give you more hops to make up for their age (and thus their alpha bitterness loss). I got about 5 lbs of various hops from them a month or two ago, and got around 8 lbs. I am assuming they are still selling last year's crop, which is now about a year old. Any thoughts?
 
Not sure about that, Jon...they've overdone it on my order even when it's brand new stuff from the new harvest.
 
From all accounts, they ALWAYS overpack...

I barely have room in my freezer for these guys! I may end up sharing some of these hops, there's no way that I'll go through two pounds of Cascade in any reasonable amount of time. Actually, I have almost a full pound of Amarillo pellets and more than a half-pound of Centennial pellets; methinks it's time for another MURDER IN THE RED BARN/DOUBLE MURDER batch....
 
I bought the $10 thing, but I'm not loving it. Some of the bags don't want to seal tightly, no matter what I do; put them in the freezer, purged of air, and next time, a little bit has leaked in.

What's the best place to buy a "real" FoodSaver? How much am I looking at spending?
 
Evan! said:
Not sure about that, Jon...they've overdone it on my order even when it's brand new stuff from the new harvest.
the_bird said:
From all accounts, they ALWAYS overpack...
That's good to hear.

the_bird said:
I barely have room in my freezer for these guys!
Heh, tell me about it. I had been using mostly pellet hops when I ordered from hopsdirect. I was really surprised when my shipment came in a HUGE box and then also another medium sized box.
 
the_bird said:
I bought the $10 thing, but I'm not loving it. Some of the bags don't want to seal tightly, no matter what I do; put them in the freezer, purged of air, and next time, a little bit has leaked in.

What's the best place to buy a "real" FoodSaver? How much am I looking at spending?

I got the mini directly from foodsaver: http://www.foodsaver.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productid=4524

With shipping and 4 rolls of bags, it cost me about $70.
 
the_bird said:
I bought the $10 thing, but I'm not loving it. Some of the bags don't want to seal tightly, no matter what I do; put them in the freezer, purged of air, and next time, a little bit has leaked in.

What's the best place to buy a "real" FoodSaver? How much am I looking at spending?

You have a Sam's Club membership? They have pretty good prices. But I don't even know if you have Sam's up there in yankeeland. It's like a different planet! But at least they still have Trader Joe's!

Anyway, you're looking at at least $100, but it's really worth it. I use mine for all kinds of stuff, not just hops. I mean, the fact that all the meat from the 3 deer I killed last thanksgiving has lasted all year in my freezer with no degradation is testament alone. You can buy, for example, bulk chicken breasts, foodsave them, and freeze them for a LONG time. Honestly, it really does save $$, and you make the purchase cost back easily.

But...BUT...check this out. Current bid is only $10. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the new models, but that is the exact same one that I use in my brewery to pack all my hops. Jump on it, dude...hurry, only 48 minutes left. Use auctionsniper if you really wanna keep the price low.
 
As per the website, I can buy it at Wal-Mart on the way home from work!

I think I've got to buy the real deal; the little hand-held thing, I just don't trust it for long-term storage. Maybe we'll use it when packing something unimportant like chicken breasts or something, but for hops and specialty grains - you can't take any chances!
 
Wait a minute...

The "compact model":

The perfect starter appliance! Its compact size makes it ideal for kitchens with limited counter space. The FoodSaver® Vac 420 appliance features easy press-and-hold operation, and works with 6 inch and 8 inch wide FoodSaver Rolls, Pint and Quart-size FoodSaver Bags, as well as FoodSaver accessories.

Is the "Foodsaver® VAC 420 "?

Does it work with dimebags, as well?
 
the_bird said:
As per the website, I can buy it at Wal-Mart on the way home from work!

I think I've got to buy the real deal; the little hand-held thing, I just don't trust it for long-term storage. Maybe we'll use it when packing something unimportant like chicken breasts or something, but for hops and specialty grains - you can't take any chances!

That was my thought too...that Reynolds thing just didn't look like it could do much. I mean, even using the real foodsaver, it takes like 3 or 4 minutes of constant suction to get the air out of my big ol' bags of hops...I can't imagine trying to vacuum-seal 7 pounds of hops using that little thing.

Jump on that auction!
 
the_bird said:
I bought the $10 thing, but I'm not loving it. Some of the bags don't want to seal tightly, no matter what I do; put them in the freezer, purged of air, and next time, a little bit has leaked in.

What's the best place to buy a "real" FoodSaver? How much am I looking at spending?

Craigslist, Bird. I bought my food saver and got 6 rolls of bags for $45. Works like a charm.

Just remember that you're eventually going to want to create 5 pound bags of grain, so don't get too excited over that compact model.
 
Cheesefood said:
Craigslist, Bird. I bought my food saver and got 6 rolls of bags for $45. Works like a charm.

Just remember that you're eventually going to want to create 5 pound bags of grain, so don't get too excited over that compact model.

I thought you were gonna try the reynolds contraption, Cheese...
 
Evan! said:
I thought you were gonna try the reynolds contraption, Cheese...

Might be for um... personal use.


Costco has Foodsaver. It's more $$, but I think it's packaged with more bags or plasticwear or something.
 
Evan! said:
I thought you were gonna try the reynolds contraption, Cheese...

Yeah, wife never ended up picking one up and i found the one on CL for $45 and decided to go with the preferred solution. The Reynolds contrap looks decent, but I just thought that I liked the option of creating my own bag size and heat sealing it shut.
 
the_bird said:
Incidentally, am I the only person who thinks that the Reynolds contraption looks like an old-school "personal massager"?

That's actually the first thing I thought of when I saw it. The little suction port does look a little like the "business end" of one of those things...at least from the photos.
 
the_bird said:
Wait a minute...

The "compact model":



Is the "Foodsaver® VAC 420 "?

Does it work with dimebags, as well?

You know it. I've gotta do something on the side to pay for all my homebrewin' expenses.

I used the 420 and put all my hops in the 8 inch bags with 2 oz in each. Works well. I haven't tried with the Evan method though (2 lbs in a huge bag).
 
iamjonsharp said:
I've wondered if they give you more hops to make up for their age (and thus their alpha bitterness loss). I got about 5 lbs of various hops from them a month or two ago, and got around 8 lbs. I am assuming they are still selling last year's crop, which is now about a year old. Any thoughts?

Yes they are still selling last years crop. Some of the businesses that have these hops had contracts with growers so they have gotten priority from a supply standpoint. I think some of the bigger suppliers will continue to have these hop varieties in stock. We just may have to pay more for them.
 
I heard someone asked them about that since they always seem to get more hops than the pound they ordered. Apparently they don't weigh the hops, they just fill the bag and seal.

Pretty sweet deal for us, seems like they could be making some extra cash if they weren't.

I ordered some Nugget from MoreBeer last week with a few hardware things I needed. I got an auto-reply e-mail the next day saying they were out of the 2oz of Nugget and to e-mail back or call to cancel, or if I wanted to wait (though they didn't know when they'd be getting any) not to do anything and wait it out... so I e-mailed to cancel the order. They call me an hour later and say they looked in the back and found a 4oz pack of Nugg they'd be willing to send me for the price of 2! Sweet deal, thanks 3B!
 
If I had someone nearby that I could share an order with I would consider hopsdirect. But you have to buy whole pound and I'm afraid that I would not use them within a year or so.

For example I use about 2 oz of Spalter in my Alt. With a pound of these I could brew 6 batches, which would take me about 2 years or I have to use them in other batches as well thus limiting the variety of hops that I will be using.

But they have a lot of hops that I don't get at my LHBS anymore.

Kai
 
We might need to do a hops trade. I personally did the hops direct thing, great deal. The freezer is full, but with only 4 types of hops.
 
hop_shortage%20029a.jpg


box one of a two box - 20 lb shipment - i prob came away with neigh 25 lb or so. i usually pack mine in 2 oz food saver bags each and store them for the rest of the brewing season
 
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