Rediscovering old hops

[Owly055]

Home brewing and microbrewing seems at times to be a stampede to the latest and greatest hops, and the result is that the price of the popular hops goes through the roof, and the old standby hops become relatively affordable.
While I do not begrudge producers their profits for the new hops they have developed, I also refuse to be swept up in the cycle and contribute to the high prices by lining up to pay $30 a pound just because I like Mosaic or Amarillo of Nelson Sauvin, etc.....
While all this is going on, older varieties languish, unloved, and often sell for very low prices. Instead of $30 a pound for some hot popular variety, I can watch sales and get very good but less popular hops for as low as $8. Marching to the beat of my own drummer is a lifetime habit for me, and it only makes sense to follow that path with brewing. I won't name specific hops, but I will say that I've made and continue to make some very good brews using some very inexpensive hops........... Inexpensive ONLY because the crowd is looking somewhere else.......

H.W.

 

[schatzke]

I love my CTZ in IPA, APA, and recently a pilsner too. The $6-$8 pound price makes these brews very affordable and always on tap!

 

[JohnSand]

I love Columbus, Cluster too.
Cluster is way out of fashion.

 

[Stillraining]

THANKS! Owly you spilled the beans now.

 

[Owly055]

THANKS! Owly you spilled the beans now.

I refrained from naming names.......... thanks guys.........Now there will be a rush on CTZ.... one of my favorite discount hops.......I probably should not have brought the subject up now my favorite "hop shop" is going to be like the Salvation Army store on half price day.... "can I get my senior discount too?" ;-)

H.W.

 

[saltymirv]

Yep, I recently bought a pound of CTZ and Centennial for $5 each. Both are awesome hops, just not the newest hotness

 

[Bosh]

Centennial has a lot of hotness about it still.

Don't see Northern Brewer getting enough love, it's a great hop with some tasty pine when you don't want something fruity.

 

[Kharnynb]

Northern brewer is my all time favourite standby for smashes.

Mostly use the german noble hops a lot nowadays.

 

[bob1852]

I've never paid anywhere near $30/lb for Amarillo or Mosaic....even with shipping costs.

 

[Paps]

and probably haven't bought them recently either.

I personally like both Amarillo and Mosaic a lot.
But cant really justify to my wallet paying 30 + for a LB of them.
Fortunately for me, i've found that i also like some of the 10$/under a LB hops.

 

[JKaranka]

North down and Bramling Cross on the cheap are great hops. Wish I could get cheap Centennial!

 

[Owly055]

Centennial has a lot of hotness about it still.

Don't see Northern Brewer getting enough love, it's a great hop with some tasty pine when you don't want something fruity.

I also love Northern Brewer as a single hop.................

H.W.

 

[Redtab78]

Is it because of the popularity in a "citrus/fruity" flavor of IPA's these days that is causing a lot of brewers to stray away from the older variety of hops that don't produce this flavor as much you think?

 

[bleme]

Hops Direct is selling a bunch of 2015 crop for $5/lb. How do you adjust your recipe for aged hops?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Hops Direct is selling a bunch of 2015 crop for $5/lb. How do you adjust your recipe for aged hops?

Use an old recipe.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

and probably haven't bought them recently either.

I personally like both Amarillo and Mosaic a lot.
But cant really justify to my wallet paying 30 + for a LB of them.
Fortunately for me, i've found that i also like some of the 10$/under a LB hops.

I see a few places have both for less than $30 a pound. But you have to be able to deal with leaf.

 

[Owly055]

Hops Direct is selling a bunch of 2015 crop for $5/lb. How do you adjust your recipe for aged hops?

I often buy "expired" hops. They come in vacuum sealed bags, and my supplier keeps them under refrigeration....... Yakima Valley Hops. Been there, seen their operation. I don't think the term "aged" really applies.

H.W.

 

[Hawaii_Dean]

+1 for Bramling Cross it is surprisingly fruity and somewhat inexpensive if you order online by the pound. I use it with Willamette and Cascade to make fruity english ales.

 

[JohnSand]

Is that how you are buying CTZ at $5-8/lb? Last year's crop? I generally pay about $5 per 1/4#.

 

[drunami]

I often buy "expired" hops. They come in vacuum sealed bags, and my supplier keeps them under refrigeration....... Yakima Valley Hops. Been there, seen their operation. I don't think the term "aged" really applies.

I both agree and disagree.

Agree: "aged" makes me think lambic hops or the like, which have been stored in a particular way to reduce their overall alpha acid % and bring out certain other flavors. Vacuum sealed last year's hops are not aged in this sense.

Disagree: Over time -- even vacuum sealed and in a fridge or freezer -- the volatile acids which we all love about hops will deteriorate. This will change their flavor and potency a bit. Vacuum sealing and keeping cold slows this down a bunch, but doesn't stop it. At some point you'll have to adjust recipes to compensate. That said I think you get a lot of leeway provided your storage methods are good. I've used hops stored cold for about 14 months with no real changes I could detect, and they were probably about 4 months old to begin with.

One thing to keep in mind is that hops are harvested in late summer/early fall -- august/sept in the north, feb/march in the south. So, if you buy American hops in July, you're basically buying year-old hops. Buying the previous year's crop in July puts you closer to 2-year-old hops.

 

[Bamsdealer]

Couldn't imagine brewing without CTZ! By far the most valuable hop in my arsenal. If needed, I could get by with CTZ, cascade and Centennial for all my beers minus a few authentic European styles. Czech Saaz is a favorite when using pils malt.

That said, I do love me some Citra and Simcoe.