Where can I find German Hops?

[PaddyPotatoes]

Hello! I'm beginning to brew some Altbiers and want to use German leaf hops. Problem is, the few sites I have ordered from claim country of origin is Germany, but in fact they are American grown. Does anybody know of any online retailers who sell German hops?

Prost!

 

[BigEd]

Why don't you take a fifteen minute ride and go to http://www.blackstonevalleybrewing.com/

I know Steve has German Hallertau, Spalt, Perle, Tettnanger and others on hand. Bear in mind these are probably in pellets but since pellets have better storage and consistancy than whole hops, especially in the homebrew arena, I would suggest using those anyway. They do carry an assortment of whole hops as well but those do tend to be domestic varieties. BTW do not dicsount using American types with German DNA like Mt. Hood. They are very good and few people would be able to tell the difference in the final beer.

 

[PaddyPotatoes]

Thanks! I actually did get my hands on some whole leaf Hallertau from the US, but then I read it was a terrible addition for an authentic Altbier. I may be too fussy and should just use the Hallertau I have. Besides, the real fun in replication are the little regional tweaks as it were that you give to any style of beer. If it were not for necessity, the steam beer would never had been born! I did also read Mt. Hood is an exceptional hop variety.

 

[BigEd]

Thanks! I actually did get my hands on some whole leaf Hallertau from the US, but then I read it was a terrible addition for an authentic Altbier. I may be too fussy and should just use the Hallertau I have. Besides, the real fun in replication are the little regional tweaks as it were that you give to any style of beer. If it were not for necessity, the steam beer would never had been born! I did also read Mt. Hood is an exceptional hop variety.

Spalt is your friend in an Altbier, at least IMO.

 

[Bulls Beers]

Hello! I'm beginning to brew some Altbiers and want to use German leaf hops. Problem is, the few sites I have ordered from claim country of origin is Germany, but in fact they are American grown. Does anybody know of any online retailers who sell German hops?

Prost!

http://www.hopsdirect.com/

 

[HoppyDaze]

Germany

 

[PaddyPotatoes]

Many thanks!

 

[TopherM]

All of the German noble hops that would be in an altbeir are very neutral hops. I do alot of Hefeweizens, and even in that lighter bodied style, I can't tell the difference between German and American Hallertau or Saaz.

I understand you want an authentic beer, but if you get in a pinch, honestly the origin of the hop isn't going to change your final product to any noticible extent when you are talking about the very mild noble hops.