Who's ordered from Hops Direct??

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Lodovico

Lodovico

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I'm thinking about placing an order but my own friend who is a major brewer said that he has heard that the hops are so cheap because they are fairly old hops, like 2 seasons ago old. Which I don't know if that would matter or not.

He's been competitive brewing for years and refuses to believe that there isn't a catch to getting hops this cheap. I've tried to tell him that I've really only read good things but I was wondering if people that have used their hops could share the experience with me, so that I can pass this thread onto him after I get some responses.

He's wondering how they are packaged when you get them and if they seem like older crops???

These guys have a really strong reputation, correct???
 
Yes, I've ordered from them. I bought about a month ago, and bought some of the 2008 crop. They now have some 2009 hops in (that's why the 2008 were so cheap). They smell great, and come in a 1# vacuum packed bag. Actually, there is more than a pound in the bag but you pay for 1#.
 
They clearly state on the web site if you are getting the 2008 or 2009 hops. Even if they are last years hops they have been properly stored and packaged to maintain optimum freshness. Never had an issue with them.
 
HarryHood1 said:
I'm thinking about placing an order but my own friend who is a major brewer said that he has heard that the hops are so cheap because they are fairly old hops, like 2 seasons ago old. Which I don't know if that would matter or not.
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I would say with very good confidence that your friend has heard completely wrong.

They are cheap because they grow, harvest, process, and sell the hops directly. The hops you get at the homebrew shop have been from grower to harvesting distributor to homebrew distributor to homebrew shop to you with mark-ups at every step.

I would be honestly be worried about the opposite: those hops at the homebrew shop are who knows how old.
 
Just got mine from them the other day. They smell great and are not dried out (still have lots of hop resin). I ordered a few pounds and are very happy with the order.
 
Awesome. That's really what I thought. I'm ordering from them and he can continue to pay $2 + per ounce. Thanks for the feedback guys!!
 
Of course thier is a catch... THEY ARE A FARM. Stop buying from middle men, enjoy your hops, and slap your friend.

A FOOL and his money, are soon parted...
 
Order from them now - you won't regret it, and you'll most likely never need to order hops from anyone else again. :rockin:
 
Just look out for their shipping. one pound of hops from them shipped to me in NJ cost something like $11 to ship. I'm pretty sure that's an inflated number, so I ordered from NikoBrew instead. His shipping is a flat rate plus he's an HBT supporter.
 
hexmonkey said:
Just look out for their shipping. one pound of hops from them shipped to me in NJ cost something like $11 to ship. I'm pretty sure that's an inflated number...
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Have you checked? You can type in zip codes and weight and UPS will tell you the cost. I suspect a 1.25lb box from coast to coast will cost about $11. You should not accuse them of inflating shipping when you can check.
 
hexmonkey said:
Just look out for their shipping. one pound of hops from them shipped to me in NJ cost something like $11 to ship. I'm pretty sure that's an inflated number, so I ordered from NikoBrew instead. His shipping is a flat rate plus he's an HBT supporter.
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The shipping costs appear to be spot on with what UPS charges, I don't see any markup in that at all. Take it back or I'll tell mom what you said!
 
hexmonkey said:
Just look out for their shipping. one pound of hops from them shipped to me in NJ cost something like $11 to ship. I'm pretty sure that's an inflated number, so I ordered from NikoBrew instead. His shipping is a flat rate plus he's an HBT supporter.
Click to expand...

Uhhh what? I ordered 10# (received a bit over 13.5#) and shipping was like $15 from WA to OH.

The only reason I'd go somewhere else for hops is if they don't have a variety that I'm looking for.
 
Shipping is kinda harsh if you only order 1 pound. It is almost the same shipping $ for 3 or 4 pounds as it is for one.
 
I've ordered from three different harvests thus far and everything has been of top quality.

It's great to have a bulk selection of hops in the freezer for whatever you want to brew. I have more verities in stock than the LHBS... and stored better as well.
 
I've ordered several pounds from them on more than one occasion. Always top-notch.
 
Considering they were sold out of most everything last year, I doubt they were sitting on a stash so they could sell two-year-old hops.

I've ordered from them steadily and never found their stuff to be anything but exceptional.
 
The irony of it all is that even with their "inflated" shipping they are still quite a bit cheaper for 1lb then the supplier mentioned earlier with flat rate shipping....
 
You can get 2009 hops at HD for $10-$15 per pound. (most varieties are UNDER $13 per pound, many are about $11)

If you buy 2 pounds ($20-$30) plus $12 shipping? $32-$42 total?

Where else can you buy 2 pounds shipped for 30-40 bucks?

Shipping is aggregate, you dont pay but about $1 more in shipping for each pound of hops you add to the order. If you call them, they will tell you what it will cost to ship 1, 2, 3, 4, 50 pounds of hops to your door. You will be surprised at how cheap shipping is after the first pound.
 
hexmonkey said:
Just look out for their shipping. one pound of hops from them shipped to me in NJ cost something like $11 to ship. I'm pretty sure that's an inflated number, so I ordered from NikoBrew instead. His shipping is a flat rate plus he's an HBT supporter.
Click to expand...

I paid 8 and change to ship 9 lb (really 10 once the overeages added up). I am, however, on the west coast.

Lets do some math here.

1 lb amarillo hops.

Hops direct: 11.25 plus the 11 shipping you're quoting. 22.25
Nikobrew: 28.00 plus $5 shipping $33

Hops direct savings: 10.75


1 lb fuggles (UK)
Hops direct: 13.75 plus your 11 shipping. 24.75
nikobrew: 19.00 plus 5 shipping. 24.00

Nikobrew savings: .75

Note of course that if you order two pounds in the second example the hand will almost surely go to hops direct.

Not trying to bash niko - but hops direct pricing is, in most cases, so much better than his.
 
I just got 4lbs. yesterday - Chinook, Goldings, Willamette and Cascade.

The cost shipped was $42.53

So I paid .66 per ounce (not considering that the pounds were all 2-4 ounces heavy)

I didn't feel too bad tossing 7 ounces of hops in my brew last night.
 
I love hopsdirect. I have about 15 lbs (only ordered 12 lbs total) of about 9 varieties, from 2 different shipments this year in my freezer now. My last order was 9 lbs, which weighed in at almost 11 lbs, shipped for just about $100. If anyone in the world can beat that price, I'd like to see it.
 
Thanks for all of the responses. I'm more than convinced this is the way to go.

So if I were only going to order 3 pounds of hops (1 lb. of 3 different types) what would be the most versatile 3 varieties to order.

I realize it depends on what you like to make and I know for sure that I would be ordering 1 lb. of Golding because I want to make some stouts and english style beers.

What would you order as far as versatility for the other two varieties that would allow you to brew the largest number of different beers? Thanks.
 
Hops are great quality, and I have no problem with 2008 hops as they are properly sealed and stored. They are my main supplier, have been for over a year. Last order was 6# shipped for about $12 shipping.
 
I guess I'll be the first to complain.

I've opened 3 pounds of the 7 I ordered. Magnum was fine. Cascade was fine. First Gold...looked old and smelled bad.

Now, I've never used First Gold before so I don't know what to expect, but I literally couldn't stand the smell of them as I was sealing/storing the rest of the pound. Kind of like my brothers feet covered in cheese after a basketball game I sucked it up and brewed a Kolsch using these hops on Sunday and I have a bad feeling it's not gonna turn out too well.


I was planning on writing to them to ask about it. In fact, I'll do that right now.
 
Good on ya for supporting NikoBrew, as he is a supporter and offers some fairly good deals from time to time.

It's also not all that fair to compare the two vendors. NikoBrew resells hops that he purchases in bulk. Hops Direct is the FARM that grows the hops. Hard for Niko to make a profit and be competitive with the farm that grows the hops.
 
All my varietys have been fine so far. I have yet to brew with the Centennials but the rest taste great.
 
Suggestions on my question about which ones to order that will give you the biggest variety of beer styles to choose from???
 
Benny Blanco said:
I guess I'll be the first to complain.

I've opened 3 pounds of the 7 I ordered. Magnum was fine. Cascade was fine. First Gold...looked old and smelled bad.

Now, I've never used First Gold before so I don't know what to expect, but I literally couldn't stand the smell of them as I was sealing/storing the rest of the pound. Kind of like my brothers feet covered in cheese after a basketball game I sucked it up and brewed a Kolsch using these hops on Sunday and I have a bad feeling it's not gonna turn out too well.


I was planning on writing to them to ask about it. In fact, I'll do that right now.
Click to expand...

I have used some US Golding purchased recently from HD and they seemed fine to me.
 
HarryHood1 said:
Suggestions on my question about which ones to order that will give you the biggest variety of beer styles to choose from???
Click to expand...

I'd say Golding for stouts, Amarillo/Cascade/Centennial for IPAs and APAs, (choose your favorite), and Fuggles for english ales

But what do I know, I'm still a major noob. Best thing to do is go look at a bunch of recipes, (check the recipes section of this very site)....find a bunch you like, write down the hops, and choose the 3 that show up most in what you like. Remember that you can always substitute, (cascade/centennial/amarillo are probably swappable....you will get a different beer, but it'll probably still taste good)...

For example, if you like belgian beers, you'll have trouble making any of those without a Saaz, Hallertauer, (or however that's spelled), or something else belgiany....(I don't like em, so I don't buy em!)
 
Willamette, Amarillo, and Tet or Hallertau will decently sub for about any beer you might brew

Also, might be my favorite hops... :)
 
Benny Blanco said:
I guess I'll be the first to complain.

I've opened 3 pounds of the 7 I ordered. Magnum was fine. Cascade was fine. First Gold...looked old and smelled bad.
Click to expand...

It seems like the First Gold are UK grown. There could be an issue from their supplier.

That is something else to point out, they do have varieties from overseas and stuff they don't grow. Even with those they are able to keep the prices down, so growing it themselves is not the biggest factor in the low prices it would seem.
 
Regarding HopsDirect vs. NikoBrew: I prefer to support the forum by buying from an advertiser even if it does cost me a little more in the long run.

That being said, I PMed Niko about the hops I wanted and he offered me a better price.

Win/Win.
 

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