I was about to post that too!!!
First Gold is Wonderful
- Thread starter AlexKay
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I just ordered 6 oz from them, along with a few other things. My supply of UK hops is low and I want to brew some bitters and porters this winter.
BrewnWKopperKat
ʘ‿ʘ
continuing on a slightly off topic side topic 
Any insights into Fawcett vs Briess for crystal wheat?
Time to brew an English ale, as soon as my order from The Malt Miller arrives. Thanks for this tip, @Gadjobrinus.
No idea about Briess, unfortunately. My experiences with UK crystal have been so uniformly good that I don’t think to look elsewhere anymore.continuing on a slightly off topic side topic
Any insights into Fawcett vs Briess for crystal wheat?
duncan_disorderly
Well-Known Member
First Gold is a very English hop, well suited to English ales. I've drunk a lot of American hopped stuff since the late 90s but I've reverted to drinking mostly English stuff now.
I'm finding English hopped ales harder to find here in England. And I'm wondering how the growers are getting on, especially with the loss of so many key breweries via the Marston's sell out to Carlsberg and the subsequent closure of key breweries. Sales of cask ales here have fallen since Covid, and a large proportion of cask now features imported hops.
First Gold is one of my favourites. I usually have it in stock. I like it with Northdown, another favourite. Others I like to keep in stock are Golding, Challenger, Pilgrim, Progress, Fuggles, Bramling Cross, Endeavour, Admiral and Target. That's eleven hops, I only have 6 of them currently.
I make sure I have at least one of Pilgrim, Admiral and Target. At least one of Golding, First Gold and Challenger. One of Bram X, Northdown or Endeavour, and one of Fuggles or Progress.
I buy other English hops but not the newer fruitier varieties like Jester and Harlequin. I like old school varieties. I've had some nice beers with these newer hops, but I prefer the floral, herbal, spicy hops. I'm hoping you Americans will keep buying them, to keep the English hop growers in business!
I'm finding English hopped ales harder to find here in England. And I'm wondering how the growers are getting on, especially with the loss of so many key breweries via the Marston's sell out to Carlsberg and the subsequent closure of key breweries. Sales of cask ales here have fallen since Covid, and a large proportion of cask now features imported hops.
First Gold is one of my favourites. I usually have it in stock. I like it with Northdown, another favourite. Others I like to keep in stock are Golding, Challenger, Pilgrim, Progress, Fuggles, Bramling Cross, Endeavour, Admiral and Target. That's eleven hops, I only have 6 of them currently.
I make sure I have at least one of Pilgrim, Admiral and Target. At least one of Golding, First Gold and Challenger. One of Bram X, Northdown or Endeavour, and one of Fuggles or Progress.
I buy other English hops but not the newer fruitier varieties like Jester and Harlequin. I like old school varieties. I've had some nice beers with these newer hops, but I prefer the floral, herbal, spicy hops. I'm hoping you Americans will keep buying them, to keep the English hop growers in business!
Haven't used First Gold before, looking forward to trying it in some upcoming brews. Usually it's been EKG or Fuggle.
In 2017, I contacted Williams Brewing about their hops packaging. It turned out they are not vacuum sealed (as of 2017). I don't have any more recent information.
Maybe they're filled with inert gas, like Yakima Chief.
Otherwise, I'll be sure to vac-seal mine once I receive them.
I checked and found cryo hops that are nitrogen flushed.
https://www.williamsbrewing.com/Home-Brewing-Supplies/Hops/Cryo-Hop-Pellets/Cryo-Amarillo-Hops
Northwest Hop Farms invested in a fancy nitro-flush and seal rig (north of $10K iirc).
What I've received since has been "package perfection", fwiw...
Cheers!
What I've received since has been "package perfection", fwiw...
Cheers!
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