Bulk Hops Question

I'm thinking of buying my hops from Hopsdirect but since I'm new to brewing I'm unsure what to buy. I'm looking to buy some versitle hops to be used in Barleywines, IPA's, and Pale Ales. If I was going to buy three different kinds, which three would provide a good overall hop profile?

Thanks,

Galena (bittering), Cascade (all-round), and Willamette (aroma) would probably cover your bases pretty well.

Each of us will have a different answer! It really depends on what you make the most. I make mostly APAs, IPAs, and a few steam beers.

So I bought amarillo, northern brewer (for my steam beer), cascade, magnum (for bittering) and willamette. I have no idea why I bought the willamette, as I never use it, but it was $9.25/pound and I thought I'd give it a try.

If you make more English styles, you'll want fuggles or East Kent Goldings. If you're a Belgian fan, you'll want Styrian Goldings. For mostly German beers, you'll want hallertauer or tettnang. If you're a pilsner nut, you'll want saaz.

Generally, for American style beers, a couple of "c" hops: centennial, cascade, chinook- are what you'll need. I have grown to love amarillo hops in my IPA, so I use that often. I also use tons of cascades.

I also brew a lot of IPAs -- I'd buy a high-alpha neutral bittering hop (magnum) and a couple of nice aromatic, citrusy American hops (cascade, amarillo). Amarillo is my favorite... I have 4 pounds of it in my freezer right now.

But those are just my favorites; as Yooper said, everyone will answer differently.

YooperBrew said:

I have no idea why I bought the willamette, as I never use it, but it was $9.25/pound and I thought I'd give it a try.

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Funny, i did the same thing with my Galena. Used it once. Maybe we should trade.

To the OP, if you know what beers you might might in the near future, you can see what kind of hops you will use. I bought a lb of cascade last friday because i know i'm going to be using at least 2 oz in the next two beers i'm making. At less than $9 for the lb, it made sense to buy the whole lb and find more beers to make with it later. If you like the american beers then the C's are good hops, if you like english beers then stay away and get the goldings.

Limited to what hops direct sells and assuming the American variant of the three listed styles:

Amarillo, cascade, centennial

assuming the English version:

Target, Styrian Goldings, UK Fuggles

Assuming a mixture of both

Cascade, Centennial, Styrian Goldings

I would really rather have Kent Goldings than Styrian Goldings, but hops direct doesn't carry them.

I would go with cascade, amarillo, and either fuggles or US Goldings, (the american version of East Kent Goldings). Cascade and amarillo for all my APAs and IPAs, goldings for stouts/porters.

shortyjacobs said:

I would go with cascade, amarillo, and either fuggles or US Goldings, (the american version of East Kent Goldings). Cascade and amarillo for all my APAs and IPAs, goldings for stouts/porters.

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+1, plus simcoe and warrior from nikobrew.

I would buy fuggles...simply because I laugh every time I say it!!

+1 for the "c" hops...chinook, centennial, cascade..amarillo also...i'm a little biased though because i love ipa's.

thebamaking said:

+1 for the "c" hops...chinook, centennial, cascade..amarillo also...i'm a little biased though because i love ipa's.

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Add columbus to the "c" list. I just made a pale ale with all columbus and I think I'm in love.

I am in the same boat as Berock, but my question is "leaf" or "pellet?" I have only ever used pellets...is one better than the other? Thanks in advance for dealing with the n00bness of my question.

I would think that pellets are more stable for longer term storage.

MistyMountainHops said:

I am in the same boat as Berock, but my question is "leaf" or "pellet?" I have only ever used pellets...is one better than the other? Thanks in advance for dealing with the n00bness of my question.

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Pellets store longer, take up less space, and have higher utilization.

Pellets are also made with compression and heat, so some brewers do not like the effect this can have on the oils, etc.

This interview with Deschutes' head brewer has an interesting explanation as to why Deschutes uses only whole flower hops and not pellets.




That all said, there are plenty of brewers that exclusively use pellets, including my favorite brewpub in the entire world: Seattle's Big Time Brewery.

Personally, I get whole flower hops because they are available from hopsdirect before pellets are. Does anyone know if the current selection of pellets from Hopsdirect and made from 2009 hops? I haven't bothered to call them since I have a freezer full of '09 whole hops.

I like pellets best. I find them easier to handle and store, and they don't absorb as much wort as whole flower hops.

OHIOSTEVE said:

I would buy fuggles...simply because I laugh every time I say it!!

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Hey! That's my joke! I say that every time I teach the homebrewing class I help lead.