What hops should I buy?

Thursday night I went and had a recipe made up for me (just an extract porter) and without yeast (harvesting from previous batch) it cost me about $50

OUCH!

I know all-grain is cheaper but sometimes I don't have 3 hours to spend brewing I'm just feeling lazy, or don't want to go outside - but one thing for sure Hops are not cheap when you buy them by the ounce.

I'm planning on doing a bulk hop buy (probably through hopsdirect)

What hops should I buy? what do you guys suggest to keep on hand?

Here is what I mainly brew:
browns (prefer English but american is fine in my book too)
porters, stouts, general "hodge-podge" recipies that is sort of just made up of anything or everything in similar families. Session beers in general
thinking of brewing:
a barley wine, a cream ale, maybe a pilsner while the temps are down, a SMaSH (will do an All grain).

I'm not a hop bomb kinda guy pale ales are bout my limit and I like to keep them toned down - not a hop head, I like my taste buds too much to abuse them. So definatly no IIIIIIIIIIPAs will touch my mouth and even then IPAs are just not my thing too often (I know how dare I say such a thing)

what do you guys suggest, just get 2# fuggles and call it a english day or what would be good and versitle

 

2 lbs of hops is a ****-ton of one variety. If you want to just brew English styles, maybe get a pound of fuggles and a pound of EKG.

 

If you're looking to get 2lb, I'd get a lb of Fuggles and a lb of Magnum or some other high-AA bittering hop, since you'll be able to use 1/2 as much for your first additions. I'd make my 3rd lb some strain of goldings.

 

True: Didn't see EKG on Hops direct (just domestic) I guess I could just make more hodge podge ales and americanize alot of them

I figured 1# would last me through like 6 batches or so even more if I do alot of small beers (so then 12 batches) but then again the same hop profile for the next year or so would get boring.

 

look at the last few recipe's that you have brewed, and buy them. But you can't go wrong with EKG, and Fuggles. I also like Hallertauer, Tettnanger, and Sazz.

 

Just made an order last month, the madness to my selection went like this:

Magnum - A high alpha clean hop just for bittering, saving my others for flavor and aroma. If you're not going to make bitter beers then do without.

Amarillo - I had to have a citrus/grapefruit hop for some classic American flavor.

US Goldings - Got to have a Goldings for the classic British flavor.

Willamette - At $6.75 a pound and a mild aroma/flavor, couldn't afford not to get some.

For my lagers got some Saaz and Hallerau.

This pretty much covered all my bases. It's a good bit of hops for me and will probably take me to 2012 but the price was right. I'm currently still working on hops from the 2006 harvest that I got at $10 lb before the 2007 shortage and they still pack a decent punch.

 

I've used willamette in some earlier brews, if I can get a decent price like $6.75 I'll add that - good suggesstion, def. will help the shipping cost per ounce.