Bulk hops order... opinions?

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joepfohl

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Hey all... I'm looking to place a direct order of hops from hops direct and am thinking of getting 5 pounds. I want at least 1 high alpha acid, 1 medium, and 1 low and possibly 2 general purpose hops. I like pale ale's and IPAs but am also love trying other styles (recently have done a stout, porter, brown ale). I've already got Cascade and Citra on my mind but really haven't thought of anything else. I'd like to have hops that can be substituted for other things and that would allow me to brew a wide variety of stuff.

All that being said... :cross:

What 5 hops would you order if you were gonna be stuck with 5# for a while?

- j o e p f o h l
 
Hey all... I'm looking to place a direct order of hops from hops direct and am thinking of getting 5 pounds. I want at least 1 high alpha acid, 1 medium, and 1 low and possibly 2 general purpose hops. I like pale ale's and IPAs but am also love trying other styles (recently have done a stout, porter, brown ale). I've already got Cascade and Citra on my mind but really haven't thought of anything else. I'd like to have hops that can be substituted for other things and that would allow me to brew a wide variety of stuff.

All that being said... :cross:

What 5 hops would you order if you were gonna be stuck with 5# for a while?

- j o e p f o h l

Columbus, Citra, Centennial, Cascade and Warrior.

If you like pales and IPA's those will do ya well. Warrior is an insanely clean bittering hop. Columbus is a high AA% that can be used multipurpose. Citra is studly. Centennial may be my favorite hop of all and is a great multipurpose. Cascade is a good medium AA% and general purpose. Low AA% hops are generally pretty cheap and should be easy to find. You could also substitute either columbus or warrior for Amarillo too. That hop is crazy good.

Bottom line, there are a ton of options and you cannot go wrong. Go to google and type in "Characteristics of Hops" and you'll get a ton of information about how different types are used and the AA% on average. Good luck! :rockin:
 
Yes, Yes! I'm loving it! Keep em coming! (waiting for everyone to get out of work for more replies)
 
Very impressed with New Zealand's harvest this year. Wakatu and Pacifica stand out. You won't be dissapointed
 
Hard to say. But I use willamette cascade and centennial allot so those 3 for sure. Then most likely Amarillo and goldings.
 
I just bought

Citra - for my blonde ales and american wheats
Fuggles- for most things British. Really wanted EKG but they were out
Saaz- Little spice for my belgian ales
Hallertau- german stuff

I want some centennial now
 
So thus far here's the list (not counting my own original 2):

Amarillo x2
Cascade x3
Magnum
Willamette x2
US Goldings x2
Columbus
Citra x2
Centennial x3
Warrior
Wakatu
Pacifica
Fuggles
Saaz
Hallertau

Any more out there?
 
Got my hop order. 11 lbs Cascade, 5 Citra, 5 Columbus, 5 Sorachi Ace, 5 Magnum, 2 Centennial, 2 Willamette and 1 Waimea. Good to go for the next bit. Waimea is for trial purposes. It is supposed to have an amazing grapefruit pop.
 
From my local Hops Direct distributor, Bob Latimer of Beer and Wine Filter.
 
Hops direct is fantastic also

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Home Brew mobile app
 
Got my hop order. 11 lbs Cascade, 5 Citra, 5 Columbus, 5 Sorachi Ace, 5 Magnum, 2 Centennial, 2 Willamette and 1 Waimea. Good to go for the next bit. Waimea is for trial purposes. It is supposed to have an amazing grapefruit pop.

What do you use the SA for. I have some slowly aging in the freezer that I don't know what to do with them.
 
Very impressed with New Zealand's harvest this year. Wakatu and Pacifica stand out. You won't be dissapointed

I got 1/2lb of Wakatu from Yakima Valley and it is indeed fantastic. I made an English IPA (might be more like an ESB) with it:

11lb Crisp Maris Otter
4oz British Dark Crystal 150L (Simpson's, I think?)

.4oz Magnum @60
.7oz Wakatu 7%@60
1oz Wakatu @10
1oz Wakatu @0
1.3oz Wakatu Dry Hop in Keg

WLP002
45IBU, 1.060 OG, 1.015 FG.

Wakatu is like a fruity (citrusy?) take on a Hallertauer Mittelfruh. It's really really nice. It seems like a very versatile hop - could go in just about balanced or hop-forward style.
 
I was also going to suggest hopsdirect.com. Keep in mind that when you bulk order, you should also have a vaccuum sealer to portion out smaller amounts and not ruin the rest.
 
you should also have a vaccuum sealer to portion out smaller amounts and not ruin the rest.
A cheaper method is to buy mylar bags and O2 absorbers and repackage the hops. Though if you're going to make annual bulk purchases a vacuum sealer will be less hassle and probably cheaper in the long run. The only downside is most home models do not seal mylar and their vacuum bags are not O2 barriers
 
A cheaper method is to buy mylar bags and O2 absorbers and repackage the hops. Though if you're going to make annual bulk purchases a vacuum sealer will be less hassle and probably cheaper in the long run. The only downside is most home models do not seal mylar and their vacuum bags are not O2 barriers

Get attachment for all jars, they are.
 
After a cross country move I'm back in the game six months later. Just ordered chinook, crystal, ahtanum, and simco-licous from yak-valleyhops. Time to hook up my kegs and taste the stored brews this weekend. Pils should be okay, pale ale I don't know.

I finished pounders of cennt, Amarillo, Willamette, and galena. Have to say I became very found of Willamette as a partner hop, thus the ahtanum order above.
 
Cascade
Willamette
Fuggles
Saaz
Hallertau


I think citra is overrated personally.
 
This year I ordered #s of Amarillo, cascade and chinook. Last year it was magnum, Amarillo, cascade, centennial and citra.
 
From my local Hops Direct distributor, Bob Latimer of Beer and Wine Filter.

I see... I'm thinking somehow that ordering from Canada as I'm in the states won't exactly be the most cost effective.

Keep in mind that when you bulk order, you should also have a vaccuum sealer to portion out smaller amounts and not ruin the rest.

I'm going to use my father's foodsaver (the heated kind, not the ziplock kind) and split an order with a few guys.

Get attachment for all jars, they are.

I've seriously been intrigued by the idea of using jars in the freezer but have read a few places that you can't get 100% of the air out like you could in the bags. Does this really have any affect on the hops? I can't seem to find conclusive evidence either way. I scale a lot of recipes down to 3 gal AG recipes so being able to pop a jar open, pour out an odd number of grams of hops and reseal sounds really great to me!

Thanks for all the replys guys!
 
I use the jars with a little rubber tab that seals a pin hole under vacuum. The only problem is that occasionally the temp change or moisture from freeze thaw compromises the seal. I didn't notice a huge difference but it pisses me off, mainly because it only happens to my most prized aroma hops for some reason.
 
A year and a half ago I stocked up on hops since I was at a LHBS that had what I wanted in stock. Those I didn't use right away I left in the sealed foil containers from HopUnion and put them in the freezer. The ones I used right away were sooo good but by the time I got to the last of them a year later, their aroma had faded considerably. From now on I'll buy hops as I need them, stocking enough for a month or 2 at most.
 
Is it just me or does anyone else find that when you have extra hops in the freezer that you "accidentally" add at least 2 ounces more for dry hopping than your recipe called for ? Love me some dry hop aroma!

+1 on cascade, Citra, simcoe, Columbus , and centennial
 
To cover all bases you'll need:

Bittering hop: I like Bravo and Columbus (Zeus, Tomahawk)

Noble Variety: Tettnanger is nice

Flavor/Aroma: You'll inevitably use a ton of these, so stock up. Centennial and Citra are my favorite. Also good are Simcoe, Cascade, Amarillo...

I use the pump-n-seal with mason jars for storage. As mentioned, if you let the temperature swing, you can lose the seal, but it works great if you keep them frozen and it's really cheap.
 
Got my hop order. 11 lbs Cascade, 5 Citra, 5 Columbus, 5 Sorachi Ace, 5 Magnum, 2 Centennial, 2 Willamette and 1 Waimea. Good to go for the next bit. Waimea is for trial purposes. It is supposed to have an amazing grapefruit pop.


Nice assortment there Ben. Just curious, how much do you brew that you order 36 lbs of hops at a time, or this an order for a bunch of brewers coming together to purchase in bulk and save some dough?


Also...no love for the Nugget hops? Surprised no one has mentioned them yet.
 
What do you use the SA for. I have some slowly aging in the freezer that I don't know what to do with them.


Hey Calder, are you aging them to make a lambic? I thought you wanted to put them in an attic or something...since freezing preserves them, wouldn't it take super long to achieve the aged effect in a freezer rather than an attic? Perhaps I'm missing something here.
 
I recently got a rival vacuum sealer for half the price of the foodsavers. It is like a new toy. I've vacuum sealed all my hops and then went on to all my good steaks; porterhouse, NY strips,etc.

I like the idea someone else had with the hops. Buy the roll of mylar not the separate bags. After opening a pound of hops and using some, you put the remainder hops in a bag that is 2x the size you need. Then you can open it several times and just clip and reseal the same bag.
 
Hey all... I'm looking to place a direct order of hops from hops direct and am thinking of getting 5 pounds. I want at least 1 high alpha acid, 1 medium, and 1 low and possibly 2 general purpose hops. I like pale ale's and IPAs but am also love trying other styles (recently have done a stout, porter, brown ale). I've already got Cascade and Citra on my mind but really haven't thought of anything else. I'd like to have hops that can be substituted for other things and that would allow me to brew a wide variety of stuff.

All that being said... :cross:

What 5 hops would you order if you were gonna be stuck with 5# for a while?

- j o e p f o h l

WORD OF WARNING:
-Amarillo is giving lots of grassy flavor/aroma this year, particularly the stuff from HopsDirect. I'd recommend avoiding.
-I smelled onion/garlic in my Citra this year from HD, but haven't used in a beer yet.

High AA - Magnum (clean bittering)
Medium AA - Nugget (med-high AA, herbal, spicy, earthy)
Low AA - Mt. Hood (noble-like, Hallertau sub, versatile)
2 All purpose - Cascade (citrus, floral, versatile), Columbus (citrus, spicy, dank)

With that selection you should be good for APAs, IPAs, IIPAs, Ambers, American Browns, Cream Ales, Light Hybrids, and probably much more.
 
WORD OF WARNING:
-Amarillo is giving lots of grassy flavor/aroma this year, particularly the stuff from HopsDirect. I'd recommend avoiding.
-I smelled onion/garlic in my Citra this year from HD, but haven't used in a beer yet.

This is the god's honest truth, as much as it hurts to say. Lots of savory IPAs going around this year.
 
I wouldn't buy 5# without the recipes first. Decide what you wanna brew first, then buy the hops to match.
 
I'd buy a pound of a noble-type hop (Hallertau is always a good choice, as is Tettnang, Mount Hood, Sterling, Liberty) and a pound of a British-type hop (UK Goldings or Fuggles, or you can go with Willamette or US Goldings). Then a pound of an american high-alpha hop (I like Columbus, which you can also use a a flavor/aroma hop, but you could pick Magnum or Warrior) and then 2 more pounds of american hops (Cascade and Centennial are classic choices, but you could also do Simcoe, Citra, or any of the more trendy varieties).

Then you should be set to brew just about anything. Any british style can use goldings all the way through. Any continental style (except maybe Czech pils) will be good with a noble hop, except for belgians which can go with either british or noble-type hops. For your American styles, use your American hops.

Easy-peasy. Might not be the most exciting, though.:mug:
 
I wouldn't buy 5# without the recipes first. Decide what you wanna brew first, then buy the hops to match.

Yeah I like this thought. I'm splitting the order with a few other guys (I don't brew too often so I'll probably end up with 2ish pounds and doing a series of SMaSH brews to better familiarize myself with hop flavors.
 
Hey Calder, are you aging them to make a lambic? I thought you wanted to put them in an attic or something...since freezing preserves them, wouldn't it take super long to achieve the aged effect in a freezer rather than an attic? Perhaps I'm missing something here.

No. I have plenty of hops for sours. I keep them in the cupboard.

I used some of the SA in a mix with Cascade in an IPA, and didn't really like it, so I haven't used any more.
 
Nice assortment there Ben. Just curious, how much do you brew that you order 36 lbs of hops at a time, or this an order for a bunch of brewers coming together to purchase in bulk and save some dough?


Also...no love for the Nugget hops? Surprised no one has mentioned them yet.

They are all mine. Mwuhahaha... My wife and I brew 20 gallon batches every 2 weeks and now I have a third fermenter so we can brew more.:D
 
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