Sheer Genius or Sheer Stupidity? (Sorry, another hop thread)

[EinGutesBier]

After reading about folks on this forum stocking up on hops, I checked Midwest Supply and most of their decent hops went up a good bit, some as many as high as $2.50 per ounce. So while I was price shopping elsewhere, I saw on Austin Homebrew Supply that they were selling Hop Suey for a very nice $0.69 per ounce!

For those who don't know what Hop Suey is (I didn't, when I went to Austin's site), here's the description from the site itself:

"Hop Suey is a constantly changing random blend of hops. The alpha acid averages out to be about 6%. An inexpensive alternative when you just want some beer..."

*Note: I found out today that Austin Homebrew Supply no longer has this item listed*

Seeing this for the opportunity it was, I picked up a hefty 3 lbs. of these hops for $33.12 last night. Now I know that with these you probably will get some interesting, maybe undesired, results and it'll be harder to fine tune a batch, but I couldn't resist. Luckily I still have a couple pounds of other varied hops in storage, so I see these as some basic bittering or finishing hops as necessary. With the hop crisis as it seems right now, I didn't want to be caught with my proverbial brewer's pants down and I think I have more than enough to see me through to the next harvest.

I've never used these hops before, though, and wonder if it was unwise to purchase so many? Also, this thread was meant to be a heads up to other members who were looking to stock up on cheap hops, but that went out the window when AHBS took down the item listing for Hop Suey.

I suppose a good question is, what alternatives exist out there for hop heads? There are such things as aroma tablets, but that's only half of a good hoppy beer. Maybe this will be what beer connoisseurs in the future will refer to as "A bad year for IPAs."

 

[Evan!]

Never used hop suey, but it sounds like it'd be fine for bittering at the very least. As for late additions, the only way to find out is to brew a big ol' IPA with tons of additions, all Hop Suey. That'll give you an amplified, clear picture of what your particular blend is like, and thus, what you can use it for.

 

[the_bird]

Well, from what Forrest says, "hop suey" is all fresh hops but basically all the leftovers, so you wouldn't have any idea what kind of alpha acid % you'd be working with. Of course, you wouldn't know what kind of flavor and aroma properties you'd get, either, but to me it sounds like a lot more fun to play around on the flavor/aroma side.

 

[landhoney]

If they come in seperate packages I'd mix them all together and then re-package. Then I'd brew a two gallon batch, split the wort into 2 one gallon batches, then boil and use only hop-suey for bittering(no aroma and flavor additions) in one, and the other one gallon batch use a well known hop(known IBU). Then compare the bittering in each to judge the IBU's. Or make three gallons, do the above and in the 3rd gallon use the hop-suey only for flavor or aroma to judge that. If they're individually packed they could be different each time, by mixing them you should get a more uniform product. My .02, make sense?

 

[mrfocus]

You could think about growing your own hops.

I know it isn't immediate results, but if ever this same type of shortage happens (right... like that will ever be the case?).

Search around, I remember the prices (I don't believe they were updated) were quite decent considering the amount of hops you can get.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

If they come in seperate packages I'd mix them all together and then re-package. Then I'd brew a two gallon batch, split the wort into 2 one gallon batches, then boil and use only hop-suey for bittering(no aroma and flavor additions) in one, and the other one gallon batch use a well known hop(known IBU). Then compare the bittering in each to judge the IBU's. Or make three gallons, do the above and in the 3rd gallon use the hop-suey only for flavor or aroma to judge that. If they're individually packed they could be different each time, by mixing them you should get a more uniform product. My .02, make sense?

Hop Suey probably has as many as 10 different hops or more per one ounce package. It is not one kind of hop that is a mystery. The left overs are added to a large bucket and mixed. At the end of the week it gets bagged.

It is kind of how Wendy's makes their chili. They always have meat cooking on the grill so that when you drive up it is ready. If there is a slow spell, the meat starts to brown on the grill. At that point it is pitched into a bucket and the next day it gets chopped up to make the chili.

 

[Dinbin]

It is kind of how Wendy's makes their chili. They always have meat cooking on the grill so that when you drive up it is ready. If there is a slow spell, the meat starts to brown on the grill. At that point it is pitched into a bucket and the next day it gets chopped up to make the chili.

Man, I used to love their chili.

 

[landhoney]

Hop Suey probably has as many as 10 different hops or more per one ounce package. It is not one kind of hop that is a mystery. The left overs are added to a large bucket and mixed. At the end of the week it gets bagged.

It is kind of how Wendy's makes their chili. They always have meat cooking on the grill so that when you drive up it is ready. If there is a slow spell, the meat starts to brown on the grill. At that point it is pitched into a bucket and the next day it gets chopped up to make the chili.

But if he's getting 3lbs are they all from the same week? If some 10z packages are from one week, and the rest from another, he's never going to get consistent results. If you mixed all the packages you'd have a more homogenous hop mix. Correct? How else would he get an idea of what the IBU's are for a given 1oz package?

 

[the_bird]

I think the idea of Hop Suey is that you AREN'T going to get consistent results. I suppose if you bought them over an extended period of time, you'd average out to a semi-consistent, semi-generic hop flavor, but there's always going to be variations.

I would say, roll with that. Get your bittering right using known hops, since there would be such a variation if the Suey happened to be Saaz-heavy versus Chinook-heavy. Do some decent-sized flavor additions and never expect two batches to be the same. Surprise in every batch, it's like malted cereal with a toy inside!

 

[Bobby_M]

One day it's 75% saaz and another can be frickin Warrior at 17.5%AA. Is it a blonde or IPA? Who knows. LOL.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Man, I used to love their chili.

Eat more things that they put tortilla chips in. Wendy's is a customer of my company.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

One day it's 75% saaz and another can be frickin Warrior at 17.5%AA. Is it a blonde or IPA? Who knows. LOL.

I would use them to bitter darker beers where it doesn't matter. I would say the average of each pack is around 6%. I would use 2 for a stout, 1 for a porter, etc.

You can guess what the flavor and aroma will be by smelling them. But using them for bittering would be best.

If you are making an IPA use a hop you are familiar with and add a Hop Suey as well to the bittering. Bumps up the bitter without really affecting the flavor.

 

[landhoney]

I think the idea of Hop Suey is that you AREN'T going to get consistent results. I suppose if you bought them over an extended period of time, you'd average out to a semi-consistent, semi-generic hop flavor, but there's always going to be variations.
!

3# is a lot of experimenting.
It may not be the 'spirit' of the mix, but I don't see why mixing all 3#'s together wouldn't help produce a more consistent end product. He/you may not want that, I was just proposing an idea for trying to narrow down what you're tossing in your wort.