Is anyone else buying hops in bulk?

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Poindexter

Poindexter

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I don't think I am a nut. I was in the LHBS Sunday, hops plugs were $4.95/ounce. Pellets were $4.95 / ounce. Leaf and whole hops were $4.95 / ounce.

But if I joined the "hop club" I could get ten ounces. For $12.50. So I asked the guy, "Is Hop Club membership still $12.50?" And he says yes, but you got to buy leaf or whole hops to get that price, if you want pellets or plugs the new club price is going to be $40.00, we just haven't changed the sign yet.

I mean, I got a freezer at home, you know?

So I got a pound of Hallertau in the foil bag, and 2oz of Saaz and 2 oz Sterling, all for $25.00 plus tax. I feel like a hops tycoon already, but I get paid again Friday.
 
There was a thread about this recnetly. I've got almost 9lbs in the freezer now. I'll use it all within 8 months though, so it's actually a better deal for me even if hop prices weren't going up.
 
Made an order a month or so ago:
1lb Kent Golding
1lb Hallertau
4 oz Simcoe
4 oz Chinook
4 oz Centennial
2 oz Columbus

I am glad I did, none of the big 4 online stores have Kent Goldings at the moment and Hallertau has gone up in price quite a bit. Given the fact that most English and German beers use moderate to low hops levels and the rate I am brewing these days this will last me the rest of the year (well, probably not really).
 
I got 25 lbs in my freezer now of my favorites..Centennial, Simcoe and a few others i ordered online last week.... The next day, one of the places i ordered from was out of almost everything (Northern Brewer) and the other place had doubled their prices and limited quantities to ounces instead of pounds (morebeer.com)...
I have a feeling homebrew shops are going to not see ANYTHING of many varieties of the 2007 harvest, as many pro brewers cannot even get them, and are desperately buying whatever they can find, where-ever they can find it.
There is a serious hop CRISIS, and there will be for at least the next 2 or 3 years. Seriously, buy whatever you can still find and stick them in your freezer.
 
http://brewsupplies.com/cgi-bin/quikstore.cgi

This is where I got mine. Real small time place I guess bc they haven't updated their prices.

The catch is that they don't actually have them in stock and have to order them from the supplier so it took a few weeks.

I spent around $50 and have a lb of:

Cascade
Centennial
Fuggle
EKG
Hallertau
 
Yeah I realize I messed up the link its just www.brewsupplies.com then click on bulk 1 pound hops under ingredients for making beer

I dunno, I didn't call in...she called me though to ask if I still wanted them bc she was going to have to order them from the supplier and it would take a while

Good luck
 
Wow are you serious? I guess I got my order in on time then!! :D

EDIT: HOLY CRAP! Wow yeah I just checked the site....I guess they did get with the times!
 
Glad I ordered my bulk hops when I did. Just checked HopsDirect, where I got them, and everything has at least doubled in price since I ordered them...and it wasn't that long ago. This is crrrrrazy!
 
Have about a lb. of various pellets in the freezer and just ordered another lb. of various pellets from AHS with some beer line I needed. It will take me a little while to work through 2lb of various pellets - I have about 10 varieties in those 2 lb so I can make a ton of different styles also...

I'll worry about the hop shortage in about another 6 month. :)

EDIT: The "hop-suey" pellets from AHS look attractive at $.50ish per ounce now. Hahaha... In seriousness, I didn't buy any. But I thought about it...
 
I have about 6 pounds right now. That'll last me quite a while. Looks like Freshops is one of the only places with any sort of variety and I'm sure they'll be bought out soon. Microbreweries are probably getting ready to buy out anyone with anything left.

Midwest is just about out of everything.
Northern Brewer - same.
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_21_93_70 - still has a good variety of hops left.
MoreBeer - almost out.

The lesser known guys still have hops left, but prices are getting out of control.
 
Just read this at the Midwestsupplies.com site:

[FONT=Tahoma, Arial]Update on Hop availability[/FONT]

Dear Midwest customers.

This letter is to inform you of the current situation of hop availability for the rest of 2007 and 2008. The hop harvest typically occurs during the middle of September. This year’s hop harvest will not yield enough hops to meet the world’s demand for hops. Factors include farmers changing to more profitable crops, farmers selling land to developers, lower than anticipated 2007 harvest, and demand for particular hops in the Craft Brewing Industry. There are two things that will affect the home brewing industry. One is that prices are going up immediately. Second is that the selection of hops will decrease by almost 30-40%. High alpha hops will be in the shortest demand.

The hop industry has already reacted and has increased the amount of hops planned for planting in 2008. Things should be almost back to normal by next year at this time. The bottom line is that the cost of hops for a 5 gallon batch of beer will go up $1.00 - $2.00. Things could certainly be worse. Midwest will have plenty of hops available for 2008. The only thing different will be the decreased selection. There is already a little scare amongst the homebrewing community. Please don’t over react to this hysteria.

We will be sure to keep you updated on this situation. Currently we do not have pounds of hops available. We are only offering ounces of hops. We have a limit of 4 oz. per variety for each order. Some customers are trying to stock up. Once again we have been reassured by several distributors that we will have more than enough hops for 2008, however they will cost a little more and the selection will not be as large.

We will put any updates regarding hop availability on this page.

Stay calm and have a homebrew.
The crew at Midwest
 
You know how it used to be cool to have a big SUV, and then gas prices started to jump and now SUVs are faux pas?

Hoppy beers are going the same route. Soon, Pliny will be the H2 of the beer world. Heavily hopped beers are going to be considered wasteful.

As for availability, it looks like we're going to be reduced to noble hops only. Plenty of C hops available still, but specialty hops will be difficult to track down. If you use Amarillo, buy a years worth now.
 
our club buys in bulk - additionally we buy pallets of grain - bulk.. much cheaper that way
 
greenhornet said:
Wow are you serious? I guess I got my order in on time then!! :D

EDIT: HOLY CRAP! Wow yeah I just checked the site....I guess they did get with the times!
Click to expand...

A couple of observations....

1. Currently they have cascade at 2.20/oz in one ounce bags or $39/pound in one pound increments, meaning it is cheeper to buy in 1 oz. bags. Although there is a limit of 5 1oz. bags per order.

2. Based on the pics they buy from Crosby&Baker and L.D.Carlson. Both are large wholesalers that supply homebrew shops. I'm going to call them Friday and see what their thoughts are on hops for the coming year. (I work part time at my LHBS on Fridays & Saturdays) It is possible that they are large enough that they have locked in contracts already and may be in a good position for the coming year.
 
Cheesefood said:
You know how it used to be cool to have a big SUV, and then gas prices started to jump and now SUVs are faux pas?

Hoppy beers are going the same route. Soon, Pliny will be the H2 of the beer world. Heavily hopped beers are going to be considered wasteful.

As for availability, it looks like we're going to be reduced to noble hops only. Plenty of C hops available still, but specialty hops will be difficult to track down. If you use Amarillo, buy a years worth now.
Click to expand...

So I cant drink IPA's while I am driving my H2?
 
Ó Flannagáin said:
That was quick. Must have just not updated his website. Were you able to get some brett?
Click to expand...

I tried, put in an order for 2lbs of cascades.

We'll see what happens. :eek:
 
Code: 
Brett, thank you for your order. The attached file is your Sales Receipt. We 
will ship via UPS Ground. Eileen Leverentz. www.leeners.com - 9293 Olde 
Eight Road - Northfield Ohio 44067 - 800-543-3697 

 
SALE RECIPT: Leeners - 9293 Olde Eight Road - Northfield Ohio 44067 - 
ORDER:      0710-3018-0051          10/31/2007    940025 
 
SOLD TO: 
Brett Burton 
Bellevue, NE 68123   USA 
 
SHIP TO: 
Brett Burton 
Bellevue, NE 68123   USA 
 
   Qty  Product Description                                             Unit$     
Extend$ 
     2  018504 1 LB. Cascade Hop Pellets                                  9.2       
18.50 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TOTAL                   $18.50 
SHIP VIA: UPS Ground                $7.25 
OHIO SALES         $0.00 
TOTAL CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT                  $25.75

:ban:
 
Cheesefood said:
As for availability, it looks like we're going to be reduced to noble hops only. Plenty of C hops available still, but specialty hops will be difficult to track down. If you use Amarillo, buy a years worth now.
Click to expand...

Looks like more Central European hops are available now - some of the varieties NB mentioned getting in are Polish, I believe. Wondering if there were decent crops there, or if these are hop varities that don't typically make their way into the U.S. because they aren't as desirous.
 
I just put a big order in myself:

1 lb fuggles
1 lb centennial
1 lb styrian goldings
.5 lb willamette
.5 lb saaz
.5 lb amarillo
.5 lb chinook
.5 lb Hallertau Hersbrucker

That should keep me going for a while.
 

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