Homebrewers Hop Quality

[MMP126]

Hey everyone.

Wanted to start a thread to talk about hop quality amongst homebrew suppliers, and what everyone is seeing, and from where. I think the mind hive method here would be beneficial to us all, and sharing this info would help us make better beer as homebrewers.

As homebrewers, we are typically not able to get the cream of the crop when it comes to hops. In all seriousness, we are probably near the bottom of the list to major hop suppliers. Not to say we cant get some amazing lots, but its a roll of the dice each time we spend $25 for a pound of hops.

I have been working to make a world class NEIPA for years now, but seem to stumble when it comes to hops. I have made amazing beers, and I have made some really bad beers. With that, I have had amazing bags, and some really terrible bags. I think mostly all aspects (grain bills, water chemistry, pH, cold side practices, yeast, fermentation, etc.) have all been mostly figured out. I think the only outlier left is the quality of hops that are available to us. And I think that this can make or break a batch of IPA.

I've seen many comments like " 2021 Galaxy smells like feet and cheese and dirt" and "2022 Galaxy smells amazing!!!!". And this pretty much goes for all varieties of hops. And its a really killer when this happens.

Seeing as these beers (IPAs, NEIPAs) feature hops on the center stage, it may be beneficial to share our experiences with suppliers, varieties, and crop years as a single thread, so we can share what is good, and what may ruin a batch for us.

Let me know what you think.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

My store sold me some Mandarina Bavaria that had started to turn brown, so I would advise anyone buying locally to look very carefully at their pellets before brewing. The beer was gross. I guess the same advice applies to Internet hops.

 

[MaxStout]

Few purveyors of hops state the harvest year on the packaging, which clouds the issue for us. It's not just brew store repackaging; some of the producers are guilty of it, too.

 

[tdf]

There is a huge range of quality not just between years but also within the same year. I have a couple of strategies here:

• You can buy "select" hops from some breweries. Bell's has a section in their online (and I assume physical) store: Select Hops .Some other breweries may be able to do this if you ask. Ballast Point Home Brew Mart, for example.
• Lupomax and similar products tend to be more consistent in quality. They are more expensive and tend to use the best of the crop.
• If you buy less popular hops you are more likely to get a good batch. The mega popular neipa hops get picked over completely by commercial breweries and you get what is left over. Less popular and/or new varieties don't have this problem.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Forget Cascade, I guess!

 

[bobtheUKbrewer2]

in UK , my supplier marks all hop packs with year of harvest and use before date..

the-home-brew-shop.co.uk and they ship to USA....

 

[AmarikinBrew]

It would be nice if they would just put on their site BOTH the AA% and the crop year at least!
That don't mean they were stored properly tho.

Here are two I found so far that show at least
the AA% :

https://wineandhop.com/products/ultra-pellet-hops-1-oz-tenacious-badger-hops
https://hopsdirect.com/

 

[MMP126]

My store sold me some Mandarina Bavaria that had started to turn brown, so I would advise anyone buying locally to look very carefully at their pellets before brewing. The beer was gross. I guess the same advice applies to Internet hops.

Yeah, and that is the issue I see with HB stores as well. If you live in a small town, or a place where homebrewing is not super popular, the store's stock does not move very fast. And a lot of places will just keep around what they have. And hell, most of them do not store their hops properly.

I trust most big places online (AIH, YCH, YVH), but even still, I have got some not so great stuff from all these places. Which is unfortunate for the local stores, but I want to buy the best I can so, so I do so online.

 

[Unicorn_Platypus]

My general practice is always to have backup varieties of hops on hand to substitute in case a particular bag doesn't smell right on brew day.

In my experience Morebeer.com is generally a very reliable source. They don't disclose the year, but all of their bags are nitrogen flushed and packaged in mylar. Nitrogen flushing is far superior to vacuum sealing for long term packaging so the crop year doesn't matter as much as you would think. They also generally provide hops from higher tier lots (similar to what pro brewers get). I've never gotten late harvest garlic/onion hops from them for example. Also, if I ever do get a stale batch from them, they refund it no questions ask if I reach out to them. This happens relatively rarely, maybe 1/10 of my orders. They turnover inventory quickly, so generally what they would have would be fresher than a Local Home Brew Store.

Yakima Valley Hops is also generally very good supplier, but I'd throw out some caveats on them:
The Good (YVH):
-Lowest Prices out there!
-Great Selection!
-Publish the Year of the Crop
-Vacuum Seal in Mylar (but not nitrogen flushed)
-I've had great and consistent experiences with their Lupomax varieties
The Caveats (YVH):
-They don't Nitrogen Flush
-Certain batches of some varieties have smelled like the leftovers lots pro brewers opted not to buy. However, most varieties are generally fine, and prices are SO CHEAP you can't go wrong! Just give em a sniff before using them. I've gotten the occasional late harvest (or batches that just didn't smell in line with what you would expect for the particular variety). I'd say I typically find issues with 1/5 of the batches I receive from them

 

[CascadesBrewer]

It is a good topic.

I feel like I have gotten a lot of variability from 1 oz homebrew store packs. Not always bad (I made a GREAT 1 gallon hop sampler with a 1 oz pack of Amarillo). I have gotten hops that I was very happy with from online vendors like YVH, MoreBeer, and Northern Brewer. The last 3+ years, the vast majority of my hops are 8 oz of 1 lb bags purchased online.

I don't know I have enough data points to come to any conclusion. I might buy a 1 lb bag of Citra or Mosaic and it takes me 2 years before I finish it up. I don't have 3 different bags of the 2022 crop year to compare, or multiple bags from different vendors to compare. Most of the time I am brewing different recipes or making tweaks from batch to batch. There are so many variables in brewing that it would be hard for me to point at a specific vendor or crop year. It might also be the first time I am using a new hop, so I don't have any real basis.

I have been wanting to play more with hops other than T90 pellets. Is that a good way to get more consistent hops? The same quality of hops using by professional brewers? I just always seem to get sucked into sales on pellet hops, and have several lbs in the freezer.

 

[ncbrewer]

I bought hops from Ritebrew - they were nitrogen flushed and packed in oxygen barrier material.