Buying hops... how do you know what you are buying?

[jambop]

Exactly as the title. You need hops and order some of the variety you need but how do you know what you are getting ? I have just bought some Fuggle leaf hops from Braumarkt they arrived and the package says 11.3% alpha acids ! I do not believe that figure the British hop growers website give a range of between 3.5 and 6.5 % . I have asked the supplier for clarification . However when you order leaf hops are you confident you are getting what you ordered ? I am really doubtful . I have thought for some time that to get the hops you want you need to buy pelleted hops as these are the type most often used by brewers and you are more likely to get the variety you ordered. The only thing about that is they are very messy to use forming a sludge in the copper and wasting beer but I think I am going to have to bite the bullet. What are the thoughts on hop buying?

 

[day_trippr]

I pretty much cast my fate to Yakima Valley Hops - Premium Hops for Sale | Retail & Wholesale Hops while assuming they wouldn't mess around with their reputation.
As for the leaf vs pellet observation I suspect the conclusion is likely correct that broad availability favors the latter. When I started brewing whole leaf was actually more available but that rapidly changed the other way and I've been using pellets exclusively for well over a decade now...

Cheers!

 

[jambop]

I pretty much cast my fate to Yakima Valley Hops - Premium Hops for Sale | Retail & Wholesale Hops while assuming they wouldn't mess around with their reputation.
As for the leaf vs pellet observation I suspect the conclusion is likely correct that broad availability favors the latter. When I started brewing whole leaf was actually more available but that rapidly changed the other way and I've been using pellets exclusively for well over a decade now...

Cheers!

They certainly seem to have a rep but I live in France and their hops are limited . I use hop cones primarily because they are less messy to use but I think I am going to have to use up what hops cones I have and then move over to pelleted hops. I have about a years worth of cones left though

 

[JohnDBrewer]

I wish the hop growers would date their hops, so you at least know what crop year you are getting.

 

[jambop]

I wish the hop growers would date their hops, so you at least know what crop year you are getting.

Well the packs I buy have a year of harvest on them and a variety as well BUT you are taking that at face value. I am a skeptic as to the accuracy of the info for leaf hops. I think you have a better chance of getting what you asked for with pellet hops because they are so widely used by professional brewers.

 

[grampamark]

I wish the hop growers would date their hops, so you at least know what crop year you are getting.

I order all my hops from YVH and they specify the harvest year on their website, so you know what you’re ordering, and on the package, so you know what you’ve received. They also specify the %AA, which can vary quite a bit from year to year. Hops, like any other crop, are affected by the growing conditions in any particular year, and those conditions will affect the various quality metrics that are of interest to end users.

 

[mashpaddled]

That seems odd for Fuggles. I would wait to see what the supplier says if you can. Does the package say it's Fuggles or just AA%?

I've never opened a package of hops and not had it be what I expected. I've never thought about whether I might receive the wrong hops.

 

[day_trippr]

I'd never expect Fuggles to be useful as a true bittering hop
Something's gotta be amiss. I grew Fuggles for almost 7 years and 11.3% is double what I'd expect - like, up in Chinook territory.

Cheers!

 

[jambop]

I'd never expect Fuggles to be useful as a true bittering hop
Something's gotta be amiss. I grew Fuggles for almost 7 years and 11.3% is double what I'd expect - like, up in Chinook territory.

Cheers!

You may have grown something but it was not Fuggle hops at 11.3 % AA
I can find no reference to Fuggle hops being anywhere near 11.3 % AA The British hop growers assn give AA as being somewhere between 3.5 and 6.5 % AA www.britishhops.org.uk/varieties/fuggle/ I use Fuggle hops to make English Bitter they have been used for a very long time for both aroma and late copper hopping.

 

[JohnDBrewer]

Never bought hops which didn't specify the type and alpha %. Need to look closer at my packages to see if it does specify the crop year. Never seen it on the hops I usual buy which is usually BSG, Yakima Chief.

 

[mac_1103]

You may have grown something but it was not Fuggle hops at 11.3 % AA
I can find no reference to Fuggle hops being anywhere near 11.3 % AA The British hop growers assn give AA as being somewhere between 3.5 and 6.5 % AA

He said that 11.3% AA is about double what he'd expect for Fuggles, not that he grew Fuggles with 11.3% AA. So IOW, he was agreeing with you that there's something wrong with what you received.

 

[jambop]

He said that 11.3% AA is about double what he'd expect for Fuggles, not that he grew Fuggles with 11.3% AA. So IOW, he was agreeing with you that there's something wrong with what you received.

Agreed totally misread the reply

 

[jambop]

Never bought hops which didn't specify the type and alpha %. Need to look closer at my packages to see if it does specify the crop year. Never seen it on the hops I usual buy which is usually BSG, Yakima Chief.

The hops I buy are always labelled with year of harvest and % AA only this time there is something wrong with the %AA .

 

[DBhomebrew]

I have asked the supplier for clarification

Any update?

 

[jambop]

Any update?

Nothing yet. I have never had a problem with the info on my hop packets before this. I still wonder if we get what we have asked for though but may be I am being a bit unfair to the suppliers but it makes you wonder when something like this happens.

 

[DBhomebrew]

It's one anecdote and you don't have their response yet. I wouldn't cast doubts on the entire industry just yet.

 

[G_robertus]

They've listed the same value on their website. It could be that they accidentally copied a value belonging to another hop. I wouldn't put it past Braumarkt to make weird errors. Best to await their reply and possibly steep some hops in hot water and compare them to other hops with known AAs. E.g. ~4.5 as would be typical of Fuggles and ~11 as would be typical of Target. You can then determine if the bitterness matches the lower or upper end of the spectrum.