Great HOP pricing going on!

[oswegan]

This from their website:

Nearly every variety that is available in whole hoops will be pelleted when we complete our harvest. We begin to run our mill the day after we have taken down our last vines from the fields. As far as how long they last, I believe that is an impossible question for us to answer. We have looked over historical data and there are really no relevant trends to pull from past homebrewer purchases.

 

[dontman]

Does anyone feel a little bad (maybe a little) for the micro farmers who invested in setting up an acre or two with trellises based on hop prices of recent history? At current prices those producers will never recoup investment.

I'm thinking of a recent vendor on this site selling undried hop pounds for $25. This equates to better than $50-60 / lb for his hops once dried. Sounds like my HBS' ounce prices.

 

[magnj]

Got my 4lbs this morning but had to run out, massive weighing session to ensue tonight. Do you guys break it up to the ounce or what?

 

[HoppyDaze]

most people break it up into 2oz packages

 

[oswegan]

Does anyone feel a little bad (maybe a little) for the micro farmers who invested in setting up an acre or two with trellises based on hop prices of recent history? At current prices those producers will never recoup investment.

My friend down the street invested in a bunch of starts and trellises last year, granted not an acre. We are both still pretty stoked and had a great fresh hops brew session last week. There's nothing quite like picking pounds of fresh hops and tossing them into the boil hours later.

 

[Buffman]

Got my 4lbs this morning but had to run out, massive weighing session to ensue tonight. Do you guys break it up to the ounce or what?

Not me. Unless the packages are not vacuum sealed when they arrive (I believe they are), I'll leave them as-is until called upon for a brew. I'll divide the remainder into 1-2 oz. packages then. Why expose the hops to the air untill necessary?

 

[bkov]

"Why expose the hops to the air untill necessary? "

i figured i would do it on the day they arrive since it will happen eventually, and there already thawed out.

 

[oswegan]

I am a little torn on this. I really want to buy a bunch of pellets, but I don't want to buy 08 pellets instead of 09 pellets unless there are major savings to be had.

Does anyone know how far these prices have dropped at this supplier or any experience with how much the new crop prices for pellets might rise above the current 08 crop prices?

 

[AstroBrew]

These prices are so cheap! $20 a pound is a good deal, but this is insane!

Ordered 1 pound each of Magnum, Cascade, Willamette and Crystal yesterday. Anyone have an idea how long they're taking to ship the hops? I have a feeling this thread has triggered a run on their remaining selection...

 

[BA_from_GA]

how do you guys thing this would work for storing the hops? This will be the first time i've purchased more than needed for a single brew.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=15637358

 

[agusus]

Does anyone feel a little bad (maybe a little) for the micro farmers who invested in setting up an acre or two with trellises based on hop prices of recent history? At current prices those producers will never recoup investment.
....

Not really (I don't feel bad). That's the nature of the beast if you're going to get into the agriculture business. Crop prices can swing wildly from year to year.
For a moment I felt bad for Puterbaugh farms for having to sell their hops at such cheap prices but then I realized there's no reason to feel bad because they got a larger harvest this year and the increased volume probably makes up for some of the price drop.

Anyway, are there really that many micro hop farmers? That's the first I've heard of such a thing.

Also, this could be good for the beer industry. High hop prices in past years have pushed beer prices higher and/or made margins slimmer, especially at microbreweries that make high IBU beers.

The only ones I do feel bad for are my LHBS's. There are three within 20 miles of me and all are selling hops at $4/oz rates. They're going to need to either adapt to the new supply/demand point or they're going to lose business. I'm willing to pay a small premium for convenience and to support them, but $64 per pound when I could get it at $10 per pound is simply crazy.

 

[Bobby_M]

Frankly even the online places need to adjust. I'm sure it sucks for them having to sell at a break even point due to what they paid but the market is in flux. I mean, even if you were just buying enough cascade for an IPA, you'd be into $20 if bought by the ounce. We're paying about half and getting twice as much. Even if you threw out the other 8 ounces, you'd be ahead.

 

[Zen_Brew]

The small frmers will adjust. The hop prices needed to come down. There were som micros that had to take high hop beers off the brewing list due to prices. Just imagine how we cringe at the high prices for a couple ounces, and then imagine you want to brew several hundred gallons and needed 50 lbs or more at those higher prices. There were beers they just couldn't make money on anymore.

 

[dontman]

I was looking on ebay last night and hop prices there have not come into line with Puterbaugh Farms. The Buy it Now prices were all up in the $25 range and as high as $40.

I got my hops today. This is actually the first time I've purchased leaf hops by the pound. Big bag. 3 more pounds to add to the 4 in the freezer already and the wife is starting to get miffed. Especially since I have a 90 cubic foot fridge in the basement. I have half the basement filled with grain and equipment and now this fridge and she can't squeeze a pint of ice cream into our freezer. Oh well. I guess I need to do a couple IPAs to get that volume down a bit.

 

[chefmike]

I would think the LHBS prices will come down slowly... I would not expect them to drop immediatly, only as there is public outcry. I think the population here is a little more informed than the average.

And I do not fault them for slowly dropping prices, they need to recoup what they have in them. I would expect to see people hitting $2/oz over the next few monthes. I would wait for the christmas rush myself. Drop it to $2.50 and then bring it down again after January.

But I am not a retailer... I think more like a consumer I guess!

 

[cuinrearview]

Finished up the home/wild grown season last week when I shut the freezer door on 40oz. of hops. I still couldn't resist a lb. of Amarillo, especially after they had '09 crop for $13.50. My wheat pale demands it! I expect to see stable LHBS hop prices in our area because they never got near the $4/oz. mark. I'd like to say we had it good but in the big picture it was a pretty significant spike. Barring a weather disaster hops will be back to being an insignificant ingredient cost-wise about this time next year for bulk buyers. I'm still going to hedge my brewing with home growing.

These reports of hops being left to decay on the bine are bringing a tear to my eye.

 

[Bobby_M]

Think of it like a commodity or stock. If you try selling at a price above market value because it's what you paid, those looking to buy will go to the people selling the same exact item for the actual market price.

 

[EuBrew]

Haven't decided if I'm pulling the trigger yet or not, but what I do know is there's no chance in hell one of the 2 LHBS here in Columbus will ever see another dime from me. Her hop prices START at 3.99 an ounce.

I'll probably talk myself into a couple pounds of some staples for IPA's

 

[dontman]

Haven't decided if I'm pulling the trigger yet or not, but what I do know is there's no chance in hell one of the 2 LHBS here in Columbus will ever see another dime from me. Her hop prices START at 3.99 an ounce.

I'll probably talk myself into a couple pounds of some staples for IPA's

This past Winter when I bought my first bulk order from Puterbaugh I did so because I had just come home from my LHBS and he was charging $6 per oz. I knew this was expensive but wasn't sure how much. An hour later I had four pounds on the way for $1.25 / oz shipped.

It actually pissed me off. Like someone else said I am willing to pay a premium for the convenience of shopping down the road but there is a point where he is just insulting my intelligence.

 

[EuBrew]

I don't mind paying a little extra for convenience, but there are 2 LBHS here, both the same distance from me. One charges 2.99 for everything and is a great place to shop and ask questions, everyone is very nice and interested in helping you out. The other charges an extra buck an ounce, I guess it's so she doesn't feel bad about acting like such a bitch, ignoring you or acting like you're interruting her silence when you ask questions.

 

[oswegan]

When I paid $3.50 an ounce for four ounces of Hallertau at a LBHS on Monday I told the owner lady about the directhops prices and she gave me a really pissed off look - like I had totally blown her cover.

I bought five pounds today so I guess she won't see me for a while.

 

[mac1jw]

You're all a bunch of hop hoarders!.

I emailed hopsdirect to have them drop a pound of Cascades from my order. They sent me an email saying they are running behind on their internet orders as they have had a HUGE increase of internet purchases the last two weeks. Go figure!

 

[JoMarky]

You're all a bunch of hop horders!.

I emailed hopsdirect to have them drop a pound of Cascades from my order. They sent me an email saying they are running behind on their internet orders as they have had a HUGE increase of internet purchases the last two weeks. Go figure!

After reading the two or three recent threads about hops direct I placed an order (like everyone else) and made sure to mention HBT in the comments section. Now they will know where all the business is coming from instead of thinking its some global scheme to hoard hops and drive up the prices again like the speculators did with oil.

 

[samc]

Received my order and noticed the bags were not at all vacuum sealed. Does anyone know if they flush the bags with gas after filling or are they just rushing things a bit here? I am guessing I need to repackage these for long term stability.

 

[magnj]

And here they are. Waiting on a foodsaver before I open them up.

 

[dontman]

Received my order and noticed the bags were not at all vacuum sealed. Does anyone know if they flush the bags with gas after filling or are they just rushing things a bit here? I am guessing I need to repackage these for long term stability.

The leaf hops are nitrogen washed. The pellets are vacuum sealed. If you are seeing different from that (i.e. a pellet bag that has not maintained a vacuum seal or a leaf hop bag that is vac sealed) I'd be interested to know.

Nitrogen packaging is a great way to preserve hops. Don't be so quick to open that package up if you don't need to.

 

[stevea1210]

4 of my pellet bags are vacuumed good and tight. However one of them either has a hole in it, or had a poor vacuum seal to begin with.

I haven't opened it yet. When I do, if they smell cheasy, I'll contact them. However I think they are probably going to be fine.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

When I paid $3.50 an ounce for four ounces of Hallertau at a LBHS on Monday I told the owner lady about the directhops prices and she gave me a really pissed off look - like I had totally blown her cover.

I bought five pounds today so I guess she won't see me for a while.

Hahaha..... Did you make sure to yell it really loud so everyone else in the store heard.

P.S. Why did you buy them from her when you could have got a full pound plus some from hopsdirect for cheaper? Perhaps you needed them ASAP.

 

[JKoravos]

My guess is that very few homebrewers would think to buy hops in bulk, people who are spending their time on homebrewing forums are not your average homebrewer. So, while HD is cutting into some LHBS profit, it's still a small amount is my guess.

The person at the LHBS is probably pissed off for two reasons, one, that you know where to get hops at a fraction of their price, and two, their distributor is probably still charging them more than HD is selling for. All these LHBS's are buying through distributors (LD Carlson, CrosbyBaker) and the distributors are taking their cut as well. So when you buy hops (or anything) from your LHBS there are likely at least two people taking a profit between you and the manufacturer. With HopsDirect, we're getting these hops right from the source. No middle men.

 

[Ksosh]

I also bought hops from my LHBS, only a couple ounces of 2 varieties that I only use 1/2 oz on a single recipe. Couldn't justify another $30 for 2 pounds when I already have 9 here/on the way.

One of my packs from my original order of 4 pounds (pellets) seemed to have lost it's seal, so I simply put them in another handi-vac package. The other 3 pounds were fine.

I also mentioned the hopsdirect prices to my LHBS, but as a "hey, in case you need to stock up...." and he sortof blew me off and said he already had some suppliers, and then told me about the hail storm in europe and how some varieties like northern brewer are getting hard to find. I just smiled and nodded, knowing I have 2 pounds of NB hops sitting in my freezer, and that I paid < $1/ounce for them.