Bulk Hops Buying Suggestions

[stosh]

I brew a lot of pale ales and IPAs and I like my IPAs very hoppy so I'm planning on buying 1lb bulk hops for my years supply so I can brew on demand. I'll likely brew small batches of SMaSH beers too so I can tinker with hops and grains.

So far I have Citra, Columbus, Centennial, Cascade, Amarillo. Considering getting Simoe, Galaxy, and El Dorado. I haven't brewed with Dorado or Galaxy yet.

What else would you suggest?

What other hops pair well with these that might be under rated/not so well known?

What hop would you suggest for strictly bittering (if there is any) that pairs well with these?

Some of these are from 2017. What drawbacks are there with hops that old if any?

 

[couchsending]

Under Rated:
Nugget
Bravo
Galena
Ella

Other Great Options:
BRU-1
Strata
Vic Secret
Enigma
Motueka
Kohatu
Mandarina Bavaria
Sabro
Idaho-7
Denali


I could go on and on

 

[day_trippr]

Definitely try the Simoe, Galaxy, and El Dorado, they're big hitters in the hop-forward arena. Since the whole neipa craze set upon us I've been using lots of them (along with the other in-your-face strains).

I would add Chinook as it works great as a FO/WP addition with lots of big strains (Citra/Mosaic/El Dorado/Simcoe/etc) - and is cheap!
For inexpensive bittering additions Galena/Columbus-CTZ/Magnum are good to have on hand.

While some strains store better than others if you keep your hops in the freezer in reasonably airtight packaging they'll last for years with only modest loss of "punch" (both AA% and character). Look up "Hop Storage Index" for more information...

Cheers!

 

[Dgallo]

Just picked up Medusa for the first time. Smells tramendous and samples are solid. Tangerine, stone fruit, dank is what I’m getting so far. Kegging it Monday night, so as long as it carries though should be one I play with for a while. Def can see bravo and summit working well with it. Also a citra and Columbus combo with it