First Gold - sources, U.S.?

[user 246304]

Picking up some very old pieces, looking for First Gold; can't quite tell from searches here and online, whether it's still available in the States. Any suggestions appreciated. This is for a Northern style strong bitter, with challenger and northdown. Thanks.

 

[ba-brewer]

It is fairly slim picking for UK hops these days in the US.

If you got some time Home Brew Store | United Kingdom | Crossmyloof Brew ships to the US.

 

[user 246304]

It is fairly slim picking for UK hops these days in the US.

If you got some time Home Brew Store | United Kingdom | Crossmyloof Brew ships to the US.

Awesome, thanks!

 

[AlexKay]

Northwest Hop Farms is my go-to for hard-to-find hops:
First Gold
Never a problem with an order. It can take a week or so to get from Canada to the Midwest of the US.

 

[Shenanigans]

Beer Mavrick gives links to shops when you look up a hop

https://beermaverick.com/hop/first-gold/
This is near the top of the page.

I'm in Europe so I don't know these suggested shops so I can't recommend any of them based on price, quality or service.

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

Beer Mavrick gives links to shops when you look up a hop

https://beermaverick.com/hop/first-gold/
This is near the top of the page.

View attachment 833811
I'm in Europe so I don't know these suggested shops so I can't recommend any of them based on price, quality or service.

Those companies are all well known in the US, and reliable.

 

[ducati]

I just checked "annapolishomebrew.com". They have UK grown First Gold Prima Donna in stock. Harvest year isn't listed.

 

[passedpawn]

So Eden sank to grief, so dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.

 

[Steveruch]

I just checked "annapolishomebrew.com". They have UK grown First Gold Prima Donna in stock. Harvest year isn't listed.

I recently got nine different British hops from them. They carry quite a good selection.

 

[user 246304]

Fantastic. Thanks guys. Northwest has many of them and shipping is very reasonable. Thanks for the beermaverick resource as well, Shenanigans.

 

[user 246304]

So Eden sank to grief, so dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.

Andy! Hey man! Still making cheese? Baking?

 

[Broothru]

Northwest Hop Farms is my go-to for hard-to-find hops:
First Gold
Never a problem with an order. It can take a week or so to get from Canada to the Midwest of the US.

+1.

Needed First Gold for a recipe, and ordered (1st time) from Northwest Hop Farms. A little expensive with foreign shipping, and it took a little longer with customs. But everything arrived with plenty of time to brew for a competition. Only took 2nd Place in British Golden Ale (41 pts!), but the winner in category won Best of Show.

I’m a happy customer.

 

[passedpawn]

Andy! Hey man! Still making cheese? Baking?

Not baking, but still making cheese. I quit for a year after a terrible event with a Jarlsberg that shook me, but then recently made an awesome (and VERY spicey) habanero cheddar.

(I would have sent this direct, but oddly there was no option to send via private message with you).

 

[user 246304]

Not baking, but still making cheese. I quit for a year after a terrible event with a Jarlsberg that shook me, but then recently made an awesome (and VERY spicey) habanero cheddar.

(I would have sent this direct, but oddly there was no option to send via private message with you).

Sorry you went through that man, hope there hasn't been any lasting effects. Not sure on the pm? I'll have to look into it.

Well, howdy Andy. Good to see you again.

 

[bwible]

I made an English IPA at the end of 2020 primarily using First Gold. Its a great hop and that beer was really tasty. At the time I bought a bunch of them on clearance from Northern Brewer. I haven’t seen First Gold at any of the big online shops and thats true of other British hops, too. Challenger, Target, Admiral, Pilgrim, etc. They have all been hard to get. I’m also noticing a trend where many hops of the past couple years seem to be lower than average in Alpha Acid. I’ve gotten Hallertauer and Tettnang both recently under 3%. 2.7% or something ridiculous like that. A few others. I wanted Tettnang to make a Doppelbock, but I can’t use 6 oz in a 3 gallon batch.

 

[ba-brewer]

The lower alpha acids can be weather related, I recall a while back @Northern_Brewer mentioning something about it.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I made an English IPA at the end of 2020 primarily using First Gold. Its a great hop and that beer was really tasty. At the time I bought a bunch of them on clearance from Northern Brewer. I haven’t seen First Gold at any of the big online shops and thats true of other British hops, too. Challenger, Target, Admiral, Pilgrim, etc. They have all been hard to get.

Part of that is just going out of fashion a bit - less demand means less gets stocked, part of it is UK farmers stringing fewer hops due to pubs closing in lockdown, part of it is some not great harvests. And then you've had the fact that British exporters have had their hands full with Brexit so may not have been paying so much attention to markets outside Europe, but even in the UK we've had some problems with even our "core" hops.

I’m also noticing a trend where many hops of the past couple years seem to be lower than average in Alpha Acid. I’ve gotten Hallertauer and Tettnang both recently under 3%. 2.7% or something ridiculous like that. A few others. I wanted Tettnang to make a Doppelbock, but I can’t use 6 oz in a 3 gallon batch.

That's nothing, I've heard of Saaz going down to 1%. The 2022 heatwave really hit European hops - yields were down 30% or more, and alphas were down as well. Modern varieties cope a lot better with the heat than the traditional landraces, so look at the likes of Spalter Select etc or eg Liberty which are less affected.

PS Hey G, long time no see, hope you're well. The DM thing may be something to do with your profile being private?