Confirmation - Northwest Hop Farms under New Ownership

[user 246304]

Just got the following e-mail from Nathan, new owner of Hop Farms. The former owner being a total lowlife, this brings substantial good news and they have my full support.

A personal note from us​

Some of you have worked it out already!! Northwest Hop Farms is under new ownership. We were going to wait until our 1st anniversary in September to announce it but the super sleuths amongst you have beaten us to it. We have been overwhelmed with the positive feed back we have been getting so thank you for that. It is very much appreciated. So, the people behind the current and planned changes are husband and wife duo Phillip & Debbie Salisbury, and Phil's youngest son Nathan Salisbury 'the tall one' (Picture taken in a cottage in the UK, yes he is that tall) Phillip and Nathan are from New Zealand and Debbie is from the UK. We bring a background in hospitality, sales and service which is driving the changes at NWH's. We have invested in new equipment and moved into larger premises. This has allowed us to carry more stock and improve turn around time for processing orders. There is still more work to be done before we can turn our focus on longer term goals but we are getting there! Keeping it real; we have had our fair share of hiccups along the way and thank you to the people who have given us feedback even when we didn't get it right. We love what we do and believe in our products and service. So thank you for sticking with us, and thank you to the new customers who have joined us. Phil, Debbie and Nathan​

 

[elproducto]

Great news. I kind of knew already based on rumors, but I can attest that my last order from them was processed as one would expect with prompt communication, shipping and tracking.

 

[day_trippr]

I've been working with Phil since the beginning of the year to get their hop handling straight. Once they brought in a $10K nitrogen bagger/flusher/sealer in early May I think they got that part squared away. I posted the bad followed by the good in this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/experience-with-northwest-hop-farms.652708

Phil contacted me a couple of weeks ago to tell me they have some kind of supplier deal reaching into NZ and he sent me these which arrived yesterday:

I have to come up with a recipe for these now. If I hadn't already been set up for today's Fantastic Haze neipa brew I'd have given these a try.
Anyway, if their price is a win vs YVH I intend to give Northwest my next hop buy, which won't be far off...

Cheers!

 

[user 246304]

I've been working with Phil since the beginning of the year to get their hop handling straight. Once they brought in a $10K nitrogen bagger/flusher/sealer in early May I think they got that part squared away. I posted the bad followed by the good in this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/experience-with-northwest-hop-farms.652708

Phil contacted me a couple of weeks ago to tell me they have some kind of supplier deal reaching into NZ and he sent me these which arrived yesterday:

View attachment 853805

I have to come up with a recipe for these now. If I hadn't already been set up for today's Fantastic Haze neipa brew I'd have given these a try.
Anyway, if their price is a win vs YVH I intend to give Northwest my next hop buy, which won't be far off...

Cheers!

Oh, sorry, I just noticed Phil in the e-mail I got. I do recall your issues (and I had mine), so Phil was who I dealt with as well so this information is a bit dated, though relevant, I see. Still, glad to get their e-mail and I hope it's smooth sailing for all of us, and them as well. Thanks for the info.

 

[day_trippr]

Interesting comparison - these two hops could hardly be more different from each other. Plus the spider chart for Rakau doesn't totally match up with the description - the "pine and resin" are a long reach away, and the chart for Wakatu doesn't reflect the stated fruity characters. Gonna have to do more research to see if these two can actually play together as first impression is "probably not"...

Cheers!

 

[Northwest Hops]

Here you go Dave, Rakau and Wakatu. I'll email you the PDF to give you full break down. Can I ask a question of everyone, is this information helpful? I have put all the NZ hops from this grower in this format on our page and plan to do the same over time with the other hops. Personally I like it but if people feel something else is preferred I'll adapt it. Cheers Phil

 

[day_trippr]

Hi Phil! I received the pdf (attached) before I saw your post above. Very helpful - especially when it appears our friends at Beermaverick may have missed the mark plotting these two NZ strains (the conflict in their text vs graphic is already suspect). As I said in my email reply this evening their plots make the two appear radically unrelated while Pikimai's makes them look like siblings.

I think it's super helpful to have those spider plots available - especially if the data is from the growers so there's some reason to believe them. Otherwise exploring new strains is bound to be much more hit and miss.

Cheers - and thanks again!

 

[elf_brewery]

I'm trying to understand hop aromas, etc. I love the graphs. How do they help me pick out companion hops, though?

 

[day_trippr]

I use the plots to identify shared characters and avoid obvious conflicts. Like, I generally wouldn't use a hop that exhibits spicey, earthy and herbal characters, with one that provides citrus and fruity notes...

Cheers!

 

[elf_brewery]

I use the plots to identify shared characters and avoid obvious conflicts. Like, I generally wouldn't use a hop that exhibits spicey, earthy and herbal characters, with one that provides citrus and fruity notes...

Cheers!

Ta, mate!

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, I need to replenish my Citra, Azacca, Idaho 7 and Strata hop inventory, a pound of T90s each.
Comparing YVH and Northwest, the latter was cheaper by $2 today, so the order went to them...

Cheers!

[edit] Order has already shipped! Great start!

 

[day_trippr]

Hops arrived today and the packaging is first rate. And yes, they have the AA% printed on the labels

Cheaper than YVH and with a reasonable coast-to-coast delivery = happy customer!

Cheers!

 

[hilljack13]

about 90% of the hops I have came from them. I ordered several 1lb packs when they had a great deal. Fully support these folks!