what hops would you buy in bulk?

So I'm looking into buying a few lbs of hops this fall when the new crops are available. I just got into brewing and really haven't brewed enough to figure out what hops I like and what I don't. That being said I plan on brewing a lot of APA and IPA's and would like to have 5-6 variates of hops in my freezer. I've been looking threw recipes and was looking for feed back of what type of hops you guy/gals keep in your freezers? It's looking like i'll buy Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, Magnum, and Columbus in bulk(1lb bags). would you add or remove anything? another question, does hops shortages change from year to year or is there always a variety that seems to "dry up"?

You may already know, but Cascade does not have the best storability. You're likely to use it in a high percentage of brews though. So, it comes down to how often you brew.

That's kind of tough if you don't know what you like, exactly. I'd opt for 1-2 higher alpha bittering hops (something like Magnum, Warrior, Horizon) that give a fairly neutral bitterness. That way they'll be more likely to play nicely with others. The rest can be a variety of hops with some good flavor/aroma. If you don't have much experience using any, just read some descriptions to see what you might like, or get a variety of the more popular hops in the styles you brew (APAs and the like, but anything else?).

aggieactuary said:

You may already know, but Cascade does not have the best storability. You're likely to use it in a high percentage of brews though. So, it comes down to how often you brew.

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No I Didn't know that. I plan on brewing a lot this summer and trying a wide variety of hops. I bet i'll gain 10lb of fat from all my "hops tasting", but i dont see another option:cross:

I use columbus, cascade, and centennial for a ton of of my beers so i completely agree with getting them. The other 2 are not bad choices either. Amarillo are always a great hop. While magnum i don't use that often because i bitter a lot with columbus but it is always a good hop for when your looking for more neutral bitterness. So your choices seem pretty solid to me. Also i had never heard about cascade not storing well but i have not had to much of a problem with them. But also i think i use them up pretty fast since i use them in so much of my beers.

how long in the freezer do you run into problems with cascade i guess is the real question then.

I don't think they would last a year with as much as I've been brewing and the type of beer I like.

Cascade, centennial, and Amarillo are all good choices if you brew a lot of American styles; especially if they are mostly hoppy styles. I you brew a lot of English styles, holdings or fugues are a good choice.

I buy cascades in bulk, as I use a ton in most of my beers.

My last hop buy included:

Cascade
Fuggles
East Kent Goldings
Hallertauer
Pacific Gem

Like others have said, it depends what you plan on brewing. I brew mostly English style ales, so I buy East Kent Goldings and Fuggles in mass quantities.

look into sorachi ace. in small quantities, it can be very effective in belgians and in larger quantities it makes a killer APA when paired with amarillo and centennial

I would buy what you seem to use the most.

For me, I have a couple of recipes that I do on a regular basis so I would choose:

Amarillo
Centennial
Cascade
Fuggles

Possibly add Simcoe to that list.

Saaz and Cascade, but I think they both suck for storage.