Hop shortage a good thing?!

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Good morning. Positive Yuri here again...

After dry hopping my pale ale this weekend with a combination of pellets and whole hops, I remembered how much more effective pellets can be when dry hopping. It got me thinking...and I think someone else may have said something similar...

I use almost exclusively whole hops, but now I can't get all the varieties I want without using some pellets. Using some pellets got me thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of different forms of hops. Whole hops don't make that nasty green ring around the boil kettle. Pellet hops get better utilization. Whole hops are easier to strain. Pellet hops give a more pungent aroma when dry hopping. And so on... Those of us who are bent on using only one form of hops won't have that luxury anymore. We may (re)discover the merits of using a different type.

Then I started thinking about hop varieties. The less popular varieties will suddenly become the most popular just based on availability. New recipes will result. New tastes will be discovered, palates will change...

...and...techniques may change! We'll start finding ways to maximize the use of our hops. First wort hopping may become more popular. The use of bittering hop oils may begin to gain momentum with homebrewers. The list surely goes on...

Folks, it's not a hop shortage, it's an opportunity!

(group hug?)
 
If you want to be really positive, think of how much fun it'll be to experiement with some of the varieties that are now reaching market because of the shortage.
 
I agree Yuri, its an opportunity. I use pellets almost all the time, but I've got some homegrown whole-leaf Cascades. I don't mind the standard varieties being rare, as long as there are substitutions. New hop varieties mean new possibilities. I look forward to improvising...
 
This weekend O'Flannigan, Ryan1801 and I were talking about just that. It will be great to see the new rush of recipes. I for one am very excited to create something with a new flavor profile.
 
I'm really hoping to see more commercial brown ales become available at the local grocery store or beer stop.

Not sure where exactly, but I read that pellets are harder to dry hop with and provide less flavor by weight. Maybe the pellets degrade faster, so you have to make sure they're very fresh or stored properly?
 
That is a great point, about the experimentation, i have to admit that i stick to a few standards with a couple of other varieties that I have played with. This will provide me with the opportunity to try new things.



Cheers
 
It won't change my brewing style or those of my favorite breweries, but it may force the hopheads to branch out a little.

Hophead: "There's no hops in this."
Me: "Yes, there is. The style is focused on malty, not hops."
Hophead: "I only make IPAs."
Me: "So, spit it out."
 
I've also looked at this as an opportunity to try out different hop varieties, and I have to say that I'm pretty excited about it. This is just like the old days, when you never were quite sure what would be available. The most significant difference, though, is that the quality is much higher!


TL
 
Beeriffic, I saw those Bravo hops at Hops Direct and was a little afraid - those are SERIOUSLY strong at 14-17%, arent they?

I can't wait to try some Amarillo pale ale. Look forward to brewing this one.
 
the_bird said:
Maybe it'll encourage more micros to experiment with flavors other than hops (smoke and sour, in particular).

Maybe it will encourage (American) Micros to use something other than cascade and Northern Brewer too.:D


Cheers
 
david_42 said:
Hophead: "There's no hops in this."
Me: "Yes, there is. The style is focused on malty, not hops."
Hophead: "I only make IPAs."
Me: "So, spit it out."

That almost made me clean my monitor. :ban:
 
Yuri_Rage said:
... Pellet hops give a more pungent aroma when dry hopping. ...

Now, see - I have found just the opposite to be true. I never got the aroma from pellets that I do from whole when dry-hopping!:confused:

I was thinking about this the other night. I think new varieties and new recipes will be formed b/c of this. And I believe we may see hops being grown in regions that have never been considered hop regions before. New York used to produce the most in-demand hops in the U.S. Half of all hops used back in the mid-1800s were from NY until blight began to shift the balance in the early 1900s.
 
SERIOUSLY strong at 14-17%

Summit checks in at 18% & the University's (Oregon) high alpha hop program has a 19.8% AA hop!

I can see people making 5 gallons of an IPA with 1/2 oz. of bittering hops.
 
chriso said:
Beeriffic, I saw those Bravo hops at Hops Direct and was a little afraid - those are SERIOUSLY strong at 14-17%, arent they?

I can't wait to try some Amarillo pale ale. Look forward to brewing this one.

If I make an order, I am going to get some.
 
Rhoobarb said:
I was thinking about this the other night. I think new varieties and new recipes will be formed b/c of this.

I bet we see new varieties, but I fear they will only be ultra-high AA varieties. That makes things difficult on a small, homebrewing scale, where a 0.25 oz difference in amount can lead to a staggering difference in IBUs. Of course, we can minimize that by shifting bittering to later additions, which seems to be the coming trend.

However workable that may be, though, I also fear that we will lose some popular and lovable low alpha hops, such as Liberty.


TL
 
chriso said:
I can't wait to try some Amarillo pale ale. Look forward to brewing this one.

I have an all-Amarillo pale on tap right now. The keg is about 2/3 to 3/4 done. It's good stuff, although it's a little one-note due to only using one hop variety.
 
TexLaw said:
I bet we see new varieties, but I fear they will only be ultra-high AA varieties. ...TL

Good point; I wouldn't doubt that for a minute. Makes me glad I planted Cascades three years ago. They are a nice mid-alpha hop and are very hardy. And I'm not in a hop growing region.

I bet you'll see a lot of people scooping up rhizomes this coming season!:)
 
That's kinda how I've been taking it. Yeah, it sucks that availability is changing, but it'll kinda force people to experiment more. It's a little lame that I chose to start brewing right as this shortage started, but hey, it'll get me into making my own recipes sooner than I would have otherwise!
 
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