Hop buying at this time

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bosox

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Are there still any places that have large varieties of whole hops for sale? I've tried checking a few of the vendors here and the whole hop selection for this time of the year seems to be pretty small.

Also, is it ok to buy whole hops now? I understand that the vendors take care to store and seal them correctly, but since it's been at least 5 months from most harvests, are they beginning to naturally lose their flavor/aroma/bittering qualities?

I've never brewed with whole hops before, only pellets, but I've been reading more and more that pellet hops lose some of the delicate qualities. But at this time of the year, do the whole hops lose their qualities as well and they're both the same or what?

:mug:
 
Just got back from my local brew shop and the owner who's also a good friend said be ready for another hop shortage. His distributor said that a huge number of new craft beer contracts have created a massive shortage for Simcoe, Amarillo, and Chinook.

My shop which is always well stocked, won't be able to get any more in of these varieties. If you like these types (they are 3 of my favorites) I suggest you buy what you can now. They are going to be hard to find real soon.

BTW, Hops Direct also verified this when I talked with them today. Their new Amarillo crop is already gone.
 
Simcoe was difficult to find in bulk this year, and I did notice a significant hike in amarillo prices. Though I didn't notice a sizable change in chinook. I will have to pay closer attention.
 
Hop shortage!? That's awful. I wanted to try some Chinook too, and I only have about 2 ounces left of amarillo...but I don't know if I'll be using those anytime soon.

What about things like Saaz, Tettnanger, and Hallertau Tradition?
 
The sky is falling, the sky is falling. Enough, there may not be enough hops to roll around naked in, but there's plenty. I just ordered 6lbs of 17 different varieties, of which I got all that were stated to be sold out. I paid an average of 1.25 per ounce, while not dirt cheap, it isn't the $3+ I had to pay last couple of years for hops.

Remember, when there was really a shortage.
 
wildwest450 said:
The sky is falling, the sky is falling. Enough, there may not be enough hops to roll around naked in, but there's plenty. I just ordered 6lbs of 17 different varieties, of which I got all that were stated to be sold out. I paid an average of 1.25 per ounce, while not dirt cheap, it isn't the $3+ I had to pay last couple of years for hops.

Remember, when there was really a shortage.
Click to expand...

Oh give me a break. No one was being an alarmist. I was stating that if you like these 3 varieties, they're going to be hard to find for awhile. And it's true.

Just because it isn't as big as the last hop shortage doesn't mean it isn't worth talking about. I happen to love those hops and I don't care what the charts say, there isn't a good substitute for Simcoe.

So it is a shortage even if it's only 3 varieties. It happens to be 3 very popular hops for the same style, IPA. I'll check with you next time to make sure I'm not panicking when I post something that I found worthy of discussing.
 
Lodovico said:
Oh give me a break. No one was being an alarmist. I was stating that if you like these 3 varieties, they're going to be hard to find for awhile. And it's true.
Click to expand...

Well, at this moment, they're available all over the place. A little bit of planning will ensure you have all the hops you need.


If this isn't an alarmist statement.....
Lodovico said:
I was just giving everyone that hadn't heard a heads up that you won't be finding them in a month or so I bet.
Click to expand...
 
I always like to stock up in the Fall for Winter/Spring brewing particularly when I am getting my leaf hops from Hopsdirect. They keep great in the freezer and I reseal the vcuume bags after each use. Montanaandy
 
Lodovico said:
Just got back from my local brew shop and the owner who's also a good friend said be ready for another hop shortage. His distributor said that a huge number of new craft beer contracts have created a massive shortage for Simcoe, Amarillo, and Chinook.
. . .
BTW, Hops Direct also verified this when I talked with them today. Their new Amarillo crop is already gone.
Click to expand...

I just ordered 2 lbs of Amarillo from HopsDirect yesterday. No info on the website or the order confirmation that they are not available.

On a peripherally related point, they only allow 1 lb of Centennial per order. This has been the case since the fall.
 
wildwest450 said:
Well, at this moment, they're available all over the place. A little bit of planning will ensure you have all the hops you need.


If this isn't an alarmist statement.....
Click to expand...

All over the place? Please post me a link tonight to a website where I can get Simcoe and Chinook in the bulk prices I was getting a month ago, which was .85 cents an ounce. Hops Direct who most would argue is a big distributor for home brewers is out of all 3 varieties at the moment.

How is this an alarmist statement? It came from the folks at hops direct and our two local brew shops can't get them at the moment. I'm not saying they're gone but for those of us that brew a lot of IPA's, it could become an issue.

If you aren't worried about it, then stop wasting your time replying to the thread. You don't have to believe it, but I think hearing it from two local shops and two of the largest hop distributors warrants it worth talking about.
 
carp said:
I just ordered 2 lbs of Amarillo from HopsDirect yesterday. No info on the website or the order confirmation that they are not available.

On a peripherally related point, they only allow 1 lb of Centennial per order. This has been the case since the fall.
Click to expand...

From Hops Direct website tonight:


Amarillo® VGXP01 c.v.Pellet Hops New Crop SORRY *SOLD OUT*
A/A 7. 8 - 10.7%
Type 90 Hop Pellets.
Aroma Hop
Aroma is floral and citrusy
Typically brewing use - American Ales and IPA
Domestic Variety

You must have gotten some of the last ones. I'm surprised people are acting like I'm making this up. I'm not saying no one is going to have hops to brew with. I'm simply saying that the really potent hops that a lot of us like for IPAs are going to be harder to get or more expensive for awhile.
 
Lodovico said:
I'm surprised people are acting like I'm making this up. I'm not saying no one is going to have hops to brew with. I'm simply saying that the really potent hops that a lot of like for IPAs are going to be harder to get or more expensive for awhile.
Click to expand...

I just check with one of the biggest (if not the biggest) supplier in the Midwest and Ahtanum, Amarillo, Hallertau, Simcoe are all sold out.

By looking at there catalog, all hop prices are going up a little for the next two years.
 
Northern Brewer is now out of Simcoe and Amarillo, according to their website. They had them last week, and I'm kicking myself for not spending my gift certificate then. I just threw away a pound of simcoe that I got on ebay. They ruined my CDA (cheesy feet taste and smell). They unexpectedly came from russia. Be careful if You are thinking about buying Simcoe on ebay.
 
Fresh hops still has all of the "short supply" hops listed as available. Their still a reasonable price.

Did everyone honestly think we we're going to be wading waist deep in dirt cheap hops? Especially after the last few years? There's still plenty of GREAT deals out there, comparatively.


And BTW, Hops direct is still selling Amarillo and Chinook in 25lb and 50lb bales, respectively.



_
 
Just wanted to check back in and say unfortunately I was right about the Simcoe. A few of you busted my balls in this thread saying that there won't be a shortage on any of these varieties.
Good luck finding Simcoe pellets in any sort of quantity at the moment. The shortage for this hop is already here, so I wasn't being dramatic. :)

I'm having trouble even finding a couple ounces of it. Anyone else had luck finding some Simcoe pellets?

And please don't suggest substitutions for Simcoe because I truly don't think there is a suitable one. Thanks!

2011 Hop Shortage: http://rogue.com/rogue-wire-service/blog/2011/01/14/not-again-a-new-hop-shortage-in-2011/
 
Lodovico said:
Just wanted to check back in and say unfortunately I was right about the Simcoe. A few of you busted my balls in this thread saying that there won't be a shortage on any of these varieties.
Good luck finding Simcoe pellets in any sort of quantity at the moment. The shortage for this hop is already here, so I wasn't being dramatic. :)

I'm having trouble even finding a couple ounces of it. Anyone else had luck finding some Simcoe pellets?

And please don't suggest substitutions for Simcoe because I truly don't think there is a suitable one. Thanks!

2011 Hop Shortage: http://rogue.com/rogue-wire-service/blog/2011/01/14/not-again-a-new-hop-shortage-in-2011/
Click to expand...

After I initially read your post I did a bit of searching and did indeed find that several of the suppliers that I have used in the past were indeed out of Simcoe. Since Simcoe is one of my go-to hops in my IIPA's and since I have to have a hoppy beer on tap at all times I did stock up and am all set for a long whiie. I also stocked up on a bunch of different leaf/pellet varieties from Hops Direct this Fall (Amarillo, Pacific Gem, Centennial, Columbus, etc.) because their prices are reasonable and I just throw them in the freezer where they keep just fine. The Stone blog article was interesting. A belated thanks for bringing this to my/our attention. Montanaandy
 
Montanaandy said:
After I initially read your post I did a bit of searching and did indeed find that several of the suppliers that I have used in the past were indeed out of Simcoe. Since Simcoe is one of my go-to hops in my IIPA's and since I have to have a hoppy beer on tap at all times I did stock up and am all set for a long whiie. I also stocked up on a bunch of different leaf/pellet varieties from Hops Direct this Fall (Amarillo, Pacific Gem, Centennial, Columbus, etc.) because their prices are reasonable and I just throw them in the freezer where they keep just fine. The Stone blog article was interesting. A belated thanks for bringing this to my/our attention. Montanaandy
Click to expand...

You're welcome. As a token of your gratitude, please mail be 4 oz. of Simcoe at your earliest convenience.:D
 
I was at the LHBS this afternoon to get a few things and I asked the owner about the hop shortage, specifically about the availability of Simcoe. I mentioned that I have found many suppliers to be out of Simcoe and that there appears to be a shortage of some of the higer alpha hops such as Simcoe. He indicated that he had access to Simcoe and that was because he gets his hops from both East Coast and West Coast suppliers (he is not partial to either because he apparently gets stiffed on the shipping either way). I will say that he has every hop imaginable in the freezer (2 oz vacuume pacs - $3.50 which is up from $2.50 not that long ago...)

Another thing that he suggested and which I had not thought about is to talk to a local craft beer producer about purchasing some hops if you cannot obtain them/order them. Most buy in bulk in advance. He mentioned that a local craft brewery just got their normal shipment of Simcoe (44 lbs) for their IIPA's and that they would likely part with some if I couldn't get any/there was a shortage. Something to think about. Montanaandy
 
great idea on talking to craft breweries. im still pretty new to brewing. I guess when i started is when the hop crops were being picked and had no trouble finding bulk hops at good prices. I tried to find simcoe by the pound a few days ago and found it quite hard to find a place that had them in stock! I think i will be ordering some simcoe rhizomes this year. i ended up paying 2.25/ounce for simcoe. All the other hops i ordered were quite a bit cheaper.
 
Simcoe is (was) proprietary until this year I believe so one grower held the patent/could control the plantings. I think that it was scheduled to come off patent this year although the outfit I get my rhizomes from does not list them but they may not carry them. If they are available I am going to plant several rhizomes. Montanaandy
 
Nope - Chinook & Horizon come off patent this year but apparently not Simcoe. One grower suggested blending Chinook & Horizon to approximate Simcoe. Don't know about that one.

Came across a very interesting blog post @ Indiehops about the "Yakima Cartel" and Simcoe and other proprietary hops (Amarillo, Citra, etc.). Well worth reading and pondering. Montanaandy
 
Man am I kicking myself right now. I was going to place an order for 1 lb of amarillo, citra, and simcoe leaf hops a couple weeks ago but my wife gave me a bunch of grief so I didn't.

The ones I really want are the citra for the DIPA I have fermenting right now and both hopsdirect and freshhops are out. I'd rather not dry hop with pellets but that looks like what I might have to do.

Glad I bought half a pound of simcoe pellets before Christmas, gonna have to convince her to let me buy more and shell out for some of the rarer hops that seem to all be sold out here.
 

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