Fresh hops for sale

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I have been growing Centennial, Columbus and Cascade hops in Southern Oregon for 4 years and am wanting to establish a market to sell them. They are extremely healthy, aromatic and have been grown with no fertilizer or other chemicals. I would be happy to ship samples anywhere for free, just to establish an ongoing relationship with brewers.
 
Why aren’t you using fertilizer? Hops have huge nitrogen requirements. By not using a high nitrogen fertilizer (organic) you are really hurting your potential yield.

now to your specific question, if I were you I would contact every micro brewery in a radius your willing to visit and bring the brewer samples. That’s going to be your best bet for selling them quick especially when they’re wet!
 
Thanks for the input. I’ll look into a high nitrogen fertilizer. My yield has been great however. I have picked, shrink wrapped and frozen my crops and have about 1000 oz stored from last year. The bines are vigorous this year. I’ve contacted many of the local small breweries and they all want pelletized hops. I’m at a loss unless I sell to a pelletizer.
 
I’m surprised no one around wants to do a wet hop ale after you harvest. @Qhrumphf @VikeMan do either of you need or know anyone in the industry that uses wholecone

It's funny, but I don't know anyone personally who is still using whole cone (aka leaf) hops.
 
People who use fresh hops want them, well, fresh. They should be used within a few days of picking, or dried and then frozen. [...]
Exactly!
Mostly smaller breweries tend to brew fresh hop beers, specifically to showcase those.

It's very, very seasonal, as they obtain them from (local) hop growers as soon as possible after they're harvested. Those beers are also sold rather quickly as that freshness needs to be savored as early as possible.

Some late summer, early fall beer events may showcase fresh hop beers, as an exclusivity.
Those in the know, look for them and love em all. I do!
 
I have been growing Centennial, Columbus and Cascade hops in Southern Oregon for 4 years and am wanting to establish a market to sell them.
Pay for a sponsor membership here on HBT and cram as many as you can into those flat rate USPS boxes and sell them here on HBT?
Either sell one box all one variety or have all three varieties in a box? Maybe you could get 3 lbs in a box and charge $10 pound? (note, I'm just using that as an example, the hops might bring more or less $ than that) More beer sells whole cone cascade for $14/lb.
 
Thanks everyone. Just to be clear. Mine are all dried then shrink packed and frozen. How long do they stay viable? I’ve got crops from 18, 19 and 20. Any body want some?
 
Ebay has some cheap pelletizers.
 

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There are plenty of brewers who prefer whole hops (flowers) over pellets.

Pellets have less surface area, so they may keep better than flowers. But properly dried flowers, N2 flushed or vacuum packed, in O2-barrier (mylar or multi-layer) bags and stored deep frozen should be fine for at least 2-3 years, likely much longer. I still have some commercially processed flowers packed like that from 2012. I should give em a try and finish them up.
 
Just a quick google and saw they have a hop pellet cooler so they must use heat in the process.
 

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Just a quick google and saw they have a hop pellet cooler so they must use heat in the process.
Pelletizing (hops) generates heat, because pushing/squeezing/compacting the resinous hop pulp through the narrow arbors takes energy, that resistance turns into heat. Most industrial pelletizers are cooled with liquid CO2, IIRC to prevent heating the pellets too much as heat degrades the hop oils.
 
Kurt,

If you want to send some out for free for people to try and evaluate, I'm game.
I like all three that you listed and would like to brew an IPA/IIPA at about 80 IBUs or higher when I return home.
I've had Menace 2 Sobriety in Tracy, California, it was supposed to be 340 IBUs.

Jeff
 
$4,500.00 for this one which is actually for hops isn't bad if your running a business of selling hops. It was the cheapest one I found on their website.
 

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Pelletizing (hops) generates heat, because pushing/squeezing/compacting the resinous hop pulp through the narrow arbors takes energy, that resistance turns into heat. Most industrial pelletizers are cooled with liquid CO2, IIRC to prevent heating the pellets too much as heat degrades the hop oils.
Saw a video on one of the sites that sells them. They were temping the hops coming out of the pelletizer at 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
 
I have been growing Centennial, Columbus and Cascade hops in Southern Oregon for 4 years and am wanting to establish a market to sell them. They are extremely healthy, aromatic and have been grown with no fertilizer or other chemicals. I would be happy to ship samples anywhere for free, just to establish an ongoing relationship with brewers.

i would love some
 
Hey Kurt, I'd be interested in trying out your Centennial and Cascade. I grow 4 varieties in my back yard, but Centennial isn't one of them (been kicking myself for years) and my yield on Cascade has been abysmal the last couple of seasons. I'll shoot you a message with my address.

Elliot
 
Hello Elliot, I sent you a prepaid post office envelope with about 5 oz of my Cascade hops. They are from 2019 but have been vacuum sealed and frozen since then. Please try them out and lemeno what you think. Thanks Kurt Wilkening, Oregon
 
Hey everyone, I sent some Centennial and Columbus to Elliot in Chicago and haven’t gotten feedback yet. Too early. But I have an awful lot more from 2019 and 2020. This year looks to be great too. I think what I’d like to do is presell this year’s hops at normal prices ( I don’t know what that is) and include with every order, the same amount from previous years for free, plus something for shipping. Maybe $8.00/pound? All of the hops I package are dried, vaccum sealed and frozen. Please let me know if anyone is interested. I should be harvesting in September and my wife desperately wants her freezer space back!
KW Gold River Hops, Applegate, Oregon
 
Actually, cascade is what you sent and it looked great, but I have yet to open or use it. Vacuum packed just the way I do it with my own. I'd have been interested in trying the centennial as well, but I would have sounded distinctly ungrateful if I'd asked for more or other than what you sent me to try.

I had already planned and purchased the grains for my next two brews (a rye ipa and a variant on pliny the elder) and had intended to use my own homegrown hops. Alas, centennial would have been great for the Pliny variant, but it's entire purpose was to use up as much of my own freezer contents as possible. Still, I may teach out to you about the centennial. That's an extremely fair price.

I may rethink one or the other to use the cascade you sent, but I'd probably be better off going back to the drawing board to find or craft a cascade-focused beer recipe. I'm open to suggestions and was thinking that next weekend would be a great time to brew something.
Elliot
 
Hello Everyone! So as I get closer to harvest in my hop yard, I've decided how to offer my 2021 hops to Home Brew members. I will have a large crop this year, probably more than 100 lbs and they are vibrant and healthy. I have Centennial, Cascade and Columbus and have already sent some previous years flowers to members to try.

So, based on research I've done on prices, I'd like to offer our members my Centennial for $15/pound, Cascade $16/pound and Columbus $11/pound. I will charge a flat rate of $10 for shipping which is less than it will cost me. ALSO, for anyone who preorders hops this year, I will include approximately the same amount of previous years' hops for FREE! All of my hops are dried and vacuum packed and frozen. Even the 2018 crop still looks great.

Much appreciation to those who have helped me get started making connections and establishing relationships for the future. Please post your impression of my hops for other members.

KW Gold River Hops, Applegate, Oregon
 
I finally got around to using the 2019 harvest Cascade that Kurt sent me a while back. Sorry it took so long to get around to brewing something up. Occupational hazard, when you have a 2 1/2 year old constantly finding new ways to make sure she has your undivided attention.

Anyway, hops smelled great, in spite of them not being from the most recent harvest. Hops that I'd be happy to have grown myself (but probably won't ever achieve out of my cascade, since like an idiot, I planted the cascade to close to the central air unit).

This is a highly experimental brew for me and I don't have much to report right now. Smells great though. My first crack at a NEIPA, using Omega's new thiolized strain of their British Ale yeast and a recipe inspired by the "average perfect NEIPA" recipe, with the addition of a mash hop and using all homegrown hop varieties for a total of 17 ounces of hops after DHing. Cascade is supposed to have a lot of precursors that can be released in mash hopping, so in addition to this being my first NEIPA attempt, it's also my first crack at mash hopping. 2oz of the cascade went into the mash, along with 2oz of columbus (which is also supposed to be a good source of thiol precursors), and an ounce of chinook for good measure. Completely guessing on this mash hop thing. No idea about the chinook. Cascade, columbus, and chinook aren't your typical flavors for a NEIPA, but we'll see what this new yeast can do. I'm not a complete fan of the style, but I have a freezer full of hops to use and my wife made faces when I described the Pliny-inspired brew I'd intended to make. So, here we go with something NEIPA-ish.

Thumbs up for the hops. I encourage everyone to give them a try.
Elliot
 
Hey there, everyone. As I posted at the beginning of August, my hop yard looks great this year and I seem to have escaped any pests or issues with our forest fire smoke. I'm harvesting and packing Columbus, Centennial and Cascade and will have them all available in a week or so. I'm charging Centennial for $15/pound, Cascade $16/ pound and Columbus $11/pound. I'm charging a flat $10/order to ship although I think that may be less than it costs me.
I also have lots of vacuum packed and frozen hops from previous years (I really never made an attemp to market my hops until this year) and will include the same amount that you order for free.
Please help me empty my freezer! My wife wants to put something silly like hamburger in it.
Doc KW
Gold River Hops--Applegate, Oregon
 
Just got my hops, they look fantastic and are packaged well. I'm pretty sure coming home to the box on the doorstep was the highlight of the month. I cannot wait till brew day, I will post a brew update. Highly recommend doing business with Kurt!
 
Thanks for the good words! I’m out of Centennial but have lots of Columbus and Cascade left. I’ll still be sending out generous amounts of previous year’s crops for free with each order. Please help me empty my freezer so my wife will love me again!

Message me Id like some wet hops!
 
Sure, what can I do for you? I’ve got Cascade and Columbus vacuum packed in 4 oz packages. Give me an email so we can talk. Kurt at GRH
 
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