Which hops to buy in bulk for the year?

[brewblues]

Hi There,

Looking to do a bulk buy of hops from hopsdirect this Friday (or next week, if inventories hold out), as they'll be releasing Citra pellets, which I've been after for a while. These are the pellets that they currently have available:

Amarillo
Cascade
Calypso
Chinook

Citra and Crystal will be available this Friday (11/15)
Centennial and their "Belma" hops will be available next Friday (11/22)

I love big citrusy IPAs, and would love to use plenty of Amarillo and Citra for these. I'll probably also get some Cascade, as it's a nice addition to those, and could be used for bittering as well.

My wife also enjoys wheats, so I'll probably brew up a couple of those for the spring and summer months.

That said, among these options, any recommendations for hops I should definitely get, or stay away from, for that matter? I'm going to get as much Amarillo and Citra as I can for aroma (though I think the limit is 1 lb each, which I'll be splitting with a friend). I'll also probably get a pound or two of Cascade (unless there's another, more versatile option).

If I'm planning on brewing 6-7 IPAs, 2-3 wheats, and maybe another 1-2 random brews, (5 gal, normal OG), is it overkill to end up with more than 1 lb of bittering hops? I think if i use Centennial or Cascade for most of my bittering, I wouldn't have a problem burning through 2 lbs with the IPAs alone, as they can do double duty with aroma. But are those bad hops to use for wheats?

Sorry for the randomness, and all-over-the-place-ness of this. More or less just looking for some general guidance on "here's what you should get to play it safe and have some great hop options for the year".

Oh, btw, I've got a vacuum sealer, so I'll be taking care of the freshness throughout the year!

Thanks in advance!

 

[eastoak]

don't overdo it with buying hops, i just dumped 3+ pounds of hops that i had for 2 years, i just kept buying and buying a pound at a time. i buy the stuff that sells out fast by the pound like amarillo, citra, and simcoe (still have a pound of simcoe leaf from last year and pellets from before that). cascade is available year round so i buy smaller amounts rather than a pound.

 

[badlee]

Amarillo and Citra

 

[zachattack]

If you do a lot of German or Belgian styles, Hallertauer (or something similarly noble) is very good to have around. It can be used as the bittering hop for any type of weizen or Belgian. I did 4 or 5 brews in a row that just used Hallertauer. BDS, then a hefeweizen, then a weizenbock, then a patersbier, etc.