What hops should I get?

[pshankstar]

Right now I have the following hops in the freezer:

Pellets:
15oz Bravo
15oz Citra (part of this is portioned for the zombie dust clone recipe found within the forum)
15oz Warrior

Leaf:
2oz Casacade (from a friends hops garden)

I will be planting the following rhizomes (3 of each) later this month:
Chinook
Centennial

I was thinking of picking up a pound of Amarillo or Mosaic (pellet form) tomorrow before I head home. The LHBS here has them in stock and cheaper than my LHBS back home. This way I have two bittering hops and two aroma hops in the freezer. If there is another aroma hop to consider please let me know. It just seems that these two seem to be very popular with IPAs and Pale Ales.

This fall I plan to get a pound of Cascade (maybe others too) from the local hop farm where I will be buying the rhizomes from. So I don't want to buy a pound of Cascade now, unless some find the Cascade hop to be a staple in most recipes. I brew mainly IPAs and Pale Ales.

Any suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[Build]

Hi Pshankstar,

You can't go wrong with Amarillo and Mosaic for ipa and pale ales. I keep a couple pounds of each around. Cascade is a staple as well, but some seem to think it's too passe. There are so many choices for interesting aroma/flavor combinations. Have you tried any Australian or New Zealand hops?

Good to hear you're biab now. I switched awhile back and love it. My brew day is 3.5-4 hours start to finish.

 

[BigMack]

Cascade is absolutely a staple in my APA, IPA, and American Wheat recipes. Super versatile. I also love both Amarillo and Mosaic. You really can't go wrong with any of those.

 

[pshankstar]

Thanks @Build & @BigMack! I'm glad my assumptions to go with Amarillo or Mosaic are not off or crazy. I did do the NB Kiwi Express IPA which was with all New Zealand hops, but I don't think I can get them in one pound packages. If so I may go that route for something different. I did like the NZ hops for sure!

If I knew I would brew more this year than I have in the past I would get some Cascade now, but I'm afraid I may not go through so fast and then have a surplus this fall when I get some fresh Cascade from the local hop farm. But then again, maybe you can't have too may hops in the freezer!?!?!? LOL I do have a vacuum sealer to break the package down to 1 oz increments.

Thanks again for your input guys!! Cheers!!

 

[BigMack]

Thanks @Build & @BigMack! I'm glad my assumptions to go with Amarillo or Mosaic are not off or crazy. I did do the NB Kiwi Express IPA which was with all New Zealand hops, but I don't think I can get them in one pound packages. If so I may go that route for something different. I did like the NZ hops for sure!

If I knew I would brew more this year than I have in the past I would get some Cascade now, but I'm afraid I may not go through so fast and then have a surplus this fall when I get some fresh Cascade from the local hop farm. But then again, YOU ABSOLUTELY, DEFINITELY, MOST ASSUREDLY can't have too may hops in the freezer!?!?!? LOL I do have a vacuum sealer to break the package down to 1 oz increments.

Thanks again for your input guys!! Cheers!!

FTFY

I have the wonderful, spectacular, glorious problem of having 30# of hops in my freezer right now.

 

[ByramMike]

Falconer's Flight is a nice one... there's a version called Falconer's 7C's... also interesting. Mosaic, Herkules are great as well. Good luck!

 

[Build]

Cascade will lose its alpha acid very quickly, but for aroma it does better. I have some 2013 given to me that's still doing fine.

The new crop of NZ hops will be coming in the next couple months.

BigMack = 30# is doing more than spectacular or glorious. That is a seriously great problem to have. Hats off to you. I'm under 10 lbs now.

 

[BigMack]

Cascade will lose its alpha acid very quickly, but for aroma it does better. I have some 2013 given to me that's still doing fine.

The new crop of NZ hops will be coming in the next couple months.

BigMack = 30# is doing more than spectacular or glorious. That is a seriously great problem to have. Hats off to you. I'm under 10 lbs now.

The SWMBO calls it an "obsession" and says I "need help". But if having 30 pounds of hops is wrong, why would I ever want to be right?

 

[Natdavis777]

Agreed with Mosaic. I keep a few lbs of it and Citra on hand most of the time. I thought I was set with ~ 8lbs in my freezer currently... 30lbs!?! Jealous.

OP, if you are into stocking up by the lbs, you may check out Yakima Valley Hops and Farmhouse Brewing Supply. You can easily get bulk hops for a lot cheaper than the LHBS and,depending how your LHBS stores their hops, are probably more fresh.

 

[lolcats]

With Citra, Centennial, Chinook, Amarillo and Warrior you basically have all you need

You could add some Simcoe or Columbus and you have all my favorites!

 

[pshankstar]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!! Here my 3lbs of hops right now is nothing! Maybe I'll get another variety on top of the Amarillo or Mosaic to so I can "keep up with the Jones's"!! LOL [emoji6]