hops to keep in arsenal

[rustbucket]

After moving and a number of years on hiatus I'm finally getting to the point where ill be brewing a new batch on my new system and in a new home. as hops have changed so much and recipes I'm looking for key hops to buy in bulk to keep in the arsenal for most recipes: looking for recommendations.

btw almost done with my new brew rig after 3 years of development and design and just outright labor and on and off work due to projects on the house. have a few minor things left to complete.

 

[Qhrumphf]

What do you brew? If you're mainly brewing American hoppy beers I'd keep at least Citra on hand, probably Mosaic, maybe another versatile one that'll play in both classic West Coast vs. nouveau juicy like Simcoe, and then supplement with others. Some of the "real" classic C hops (Cascade, Centennial, Chinook, CTZ, etc) would work as well but if you're a hazeboi I don't think they play as well in those. Then supplement with smaller amounts of whatever new varietals.

If you brew English beers, I'd go Challenger, Kent Goldings, and Progress or Fuggles (Progress being similar to Fuggles and in my opinion preferable). Other great British hops like Bramling Cross in lesser quantities.

If you brew Continental stuff (Belgian/French or German/Czech), then it's Saaz and Mittelfrüh. You could add another classic like Tettenanger, and I love Hallertau Tradition, but Saaz and Mittelfrüh will cover the core and you can supplement with smaller quantities of other stuff.

If you wanna cover all three at once, Citra, Kent Goldings, and Mittelfrüh.

 

[rustbucket]

I was huge in IPA's but tend to be leaning towards english pales (so burned out in IPA's commercially); and more of the traditional European styles but with the addition of American pale ales and some hazy IPA; and going lagering. i have been looking at just starting 5gallons again to get back in the swing of things...... then ramp it up when i find something i like. Problem is is in my 3 years off there is so many new hops and what not and i would like to buy bulk with the "standard" hops.

been thinking cascade; centennial; EKG; Saaz; and Hallertau Tradition; but im struggling every time i start to put a cart togeather... for large amounts of hops.

 

[Qhrumphf]

I think that's a good combo if you wanna cover all bases. FWIW Tradition is, in my experience, similar to Mittelfrüh but a bit higher alpha and a bit less nuanced and delicate. A good hop to use instead though. I'd still suggest Citra since it works well in anything hoppy whether new or old school (I'd replace either the Cascade or Centennial with it). You could also pick up a good clean dedicated bittering hop. Magnum has always been my standby. Cleanest bittering from actual hop matter I've used (ie not iso-alpha extract), though not the highest alpha acid.

 

[Jag75]

Man thats a sweet looking rig

 

[Franktalk]

Spalt is a great all-around continental hop. EKG for British and continental ales, and Centennial for that grapefruit/pine American flavor/ aroma.

 

[Bramling Cross]

You could also pick up a good clean dedicated bittering hop. Magnum has always been my standby. Cleanest bittering from actual hop matter I've used (ie not iso-alpha extract), though not the highest alpha acid.

I couldn't agree more. Aside from its great performance in the brewery, it's very stable for long term storage and it's easy and cost effective to acquire. It's not fun having your workhorse bittering hop subject to unreliable storage behavior or commercial availability. That'll throw your entire portfolio of recipes out of whack, and that really sucks!

 

[Stand]

been thinking cascade; centennial; EKG; Saaz; and Hallertau Tradition; but im struggling every time i start to put a cart togeather... for large amounts of hops.

Agree with your list. I'd add Citra, Magnum and Hallertau Mittelfruh

*Edit: I could probably be happy making beer the rest of my life with only Centennial and Hallertau Mittelfruh

 

[NewJersey]

Mosaic is great for normal IPAs or juicies.
Colombia or warrior for bittering.
Cascade and centennial are must haves for me personally as is chinook.
Hallertau mittfruh for pilsners.
Nelson sauvin can be interesting in pale ales/IPAs or lagers.

 

[enkamania]

Centennial is my jack of all trades hop.

 

[AzOr]

Saaz. No need for anything else. Well maybe cascade and a bit of citra.

 

[Immocles]

I’m a smaller volume brewer, so I keep plenty of 1-2oz bags of different types on hand. But there’s four that I’ll buy in bulk. Centennial, mosaic, tettnang, and ekg.

 

[allen3436]

What’s is the best way to keep them once you open a 1 oz package? I am brewing a 1 gallon test batch for a larger batch in a month. I planned it out so I’ll have enough leftover hops for my bigger batch.

 

[KeizerBrewr]

Cascade, Saaz, EKG and Citra. Those will cover most beers for base hop regimes.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

What’s is the best way to keep them once you open a 1 oz package? I am brewing a 1 gallon test batch for a larger batch in a month. I planned it out so I’ll have enough leftover hops for my bigger batch.

Store hops in the freezer. It's often suggested to vacuum seal them. Others just close the bag tightly.

 

[kevin58]

It may depend on what you make. I brew a lot of English style beers so the hop I have the most of are Golding and Fuggle. I also keep a bit of Centennial on hand. As for storing open packages I have two solutions: the fuqit solution which is to just toss the rest of the package into the boil kettle. And the second is to buy a vacuum sealer. They come in so handy with so many other things you will wonder why you didn't get one sooner.