Buying Hops online

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GregoryShmegory

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Where is a good place to buy hops in bulk off the internet? Because I live in Maine is there a good source on the East Coast? I think i'll buy a pound or two because i'm tired of paying $3-5 an ounce. Thanks

G
 
Hopsdirect.com has by far the best prices. The only downside is that they sell by the pound, not the ounce. They also charge for shipping (standard UPS rates. From the farm in Mabton, WA it cost me about $9 to ship five pounds to Olympia, WA on the other side of the state). They have a great selection of both whole hop flowers and pellets. The only problem I have with them is that they do not sell Simcoe, which is one of my favorite varieties. Hopsdirect also sells rhizomes if you want to grow your own hops.

freshops.com sells by 2 ounce increments and does not charge for shipping. They also have a larger selection of varieties but only sell whole hop flowers, not pellets. They have Simcoe whole hop flowers. They also sell rhizomes.

Nikobrew.com has a good selection of hop pellets and charges a flat rate of $5. They have simcoe pellets.

Overall, my advice is to pick three varieties of hops you think you will use the most, buy a pound of each from hopsdirect, then vacuum seal them in oxygen barrier bags in the one or two ounce increments and put them in a freezer, preferably one that won't be opened very often.

It may seem like a lot of hops, but you'll save a lot of money and always have plenty of hops on hand.
 
+1 on hopsdirect! Just recieved 4 lbs yesterday. Amarillo, Cantennial, Citra & Columbus. All 18oz measure so you get some extra. Less than $1 per oz after shipping. Vacuum sealing into 1oz bags is a chore/labor of love!
 
+1 on hopsdirect! Just recieved 4 lbs yesterday. Amarillo, Cantennial, Citra & Columbus. All 18oz measure so you get some extra. Less than $1 per oz after shipping. Vacuum sealing into 1oz bags is a chore/labor of love!

Yeah, repackaging the hops is actually quite a fun experience for your sense of smell.

I also recommend taking the "hop dust" that will likely be left at the bottom of the bags and dumping it into a pint of homebrew IPA.:mug:
 
Hey Alex, does freshops.com individually package hops into 2 ounce bags or do they just increase by those increments?

I have received up to 8 oz bags, resealable with a zip-lock, when ordering from freshops.com. That was the largest quantity of a single hop variety that I ordered, so they may package in even larger bags if you order more.
 
I prefer Freshops over Hopsdirect. Have not read any other comments about it but I think the quality is better. I also find that with my pounds from Hopsdirect I feel obligated to brew things I might not be in the mood for. The thrill of buying by the pound has passed.

I mostly now buy from brewbrothers.biz when I pick up my grain for what I am brewing.
 
I'm not sure what would give you the perception that Freshops.com is better quality than Hopsdirect.com

Hopsdirect.com has fantastic quality (and Freshops is great too!)
 
I just received 4lb of hops from Hops Direct and was pleased with the entire experience, shipping was also cheaper than I thought it would be, only about $7-8 for the 6lb package. I can see how it could make you locked into brews when you have so much of a certain hop on hand. I'm trying the Reynolds handy vac sealing system where you can vacuum seal a pound at a time but open it later to remove an ounce and reseal.
 
I have received up to 8 oz bags, resealable with a zip-lock, when ordering from freshops.com. That was the largest quantity of a single hop variety that I ordered, so they may package in even larger bags if you order more.

Do they have a brick & mortar shop? Their site says they're located in Philomath. If I lived there, they'd probably have to take out a restraining order against me...
 
I am very pleased w/ Hopsdirect, recently ordered 6lbs asst'd...Cascade, Fuggles, EK Golding, Centennial, Willamette..

Packaged A+, and with shipping, an ounce average price came to about .70/ounce on my order.

I live in Pa. , not bad considering the LHBS are @ 2.50-3.50 ounce!!!!

Wow, when you crack open that vac sealed package!!!!....aroma!!
 
+1 Nikobrew.com
We ordered 2# of Fuggles and Nikobrew apparently had an issue with their distributor which caused a delay. They got an email out to us immediately , apologizing and giving us a new delivery date. IMO, they didn't have to do that, a little customer service goes a long way.
 
Do they have a brick & mortar shop? Their site says they're located in Philomath. If I lived there, they'd probably have to take out a restraining order against me...

Their farm is in the area, I haven't tried going out there yet but once my current supplies run out I plan to find out if I can pick them up direct. The LHBS has all their hops but they charge 2$+ per ounce, so taking out the middle man sounds like a good idea.
 
To all;
-We have been gearing up to sell the Consumables: Hops, Malts, Extracts, etc.
-We now have our 11 Lb. bricks of hops available on our site

What year crop are your Simcoe pellets?

Definitely nice price on a hard to find variety.
 
When hops are in short supply retailers are willing to charge the max. When hops are in abundance their prices drop ever so slightly.

Shop hopsdirect.com and then any other shop of your choice and compare price. You'll be in for 2lbs of hops at HD.com, but the reality is that I couldn't buy 12oz's of hop at the lhbs for what 2lbs cost at HD.

Make friends with local homebrewers and swap/share your orders. Personally I'm a full on hop hound and a pound of hops could be my next batch.

Do what you want, just my opinion.
 
Hops Direct is great! I've got 9 pounds in my freezer waiting to be divided up. But they don't have Simcoe pellets. I ordered mine from Nikobrew.
 
I just got a batch from Hops Direct. 4Lbs of leaf ... the lightest one was 20.5 ounces.

I did the math for what I'd buy them for at my LHBS and it came out to about $385. With shipping to Calgary, Canada it was $90. I'll do all I can to support my LHBS, but it's just too good to pass up.

Now what can I make with 4 pounds of hops? :mug:
 
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