Very Cheap Bulk Hops!

[Vicendea]

Hi Everyone,

I'm after some cheap hops and I've found the cheapest available on here - http://simplyhops.co.uk/hops/hop-pellets/american?SID=pji41dq8hhjti3oddp5rb1tpg7

You can get 2015 Centennial pellets for £8.89 per kg! Or 2015 Citra pellets for £24.44 per kg! These prices are under half the cost as I've managed to find anywhere else. However there's always a catch... you have to buy these in 5kg bags.

Do people on this forum do group bulk purchases to bring costs down? If so I'd be interested. Or should I send this link to my local brew store to see if they could buy a bag and I could buy some for a discount?

I'm looking to make very hoppy IPAs and the cost of hops makes a massive difference to the price of the brew, so getting hops this cheap will be very helpful!

Cheers

 

[DoctorMick]

Personally, if I was making really hoppy IPAs I wouldn't be using 2015 hops as they'll have lost a bit of their freshness but that's just me.

 

[Vicendea]

I've read previously that hop pellets properly stored lose no more than 5% of their oils/flavour per year? So I could use fractionally more hops, which is a good trade off when they're at least half the price.

 

[DoctorMick]

I've read previously that hop pellets properly stored lose no more than 5% of their oils/flavour per year? So I could use fractionally more hops, which is a good trade off when they're at least half the price.

I guess the risk is whether or not they've been properly stored. If they have been and the info you've read is correct then it does sound like it'd be a reasonable idea. There is a bulk buy sub forum on here I think, might be worth posting something in there?

 

[HopHead420]

I sometimes buy a 5kg pack from Simplyhops, they're great quality, even the older ones, as they're kept cold in nitrogen purged foil packs.

 

[Vicendea]

I sometimes buy a 5kg pack from Simplyhops, they're great quality, even the older ones, as they're kept cold in nitrogen purged foil packs.

Do you know if there's an option for them to send it out in 5 1kg bags, or is it always in one large 5kg bag?

I'd be happy to have a kg of each hop, but I'm not sure if there's room in my freezer for about 10kgs of hops

 

[HopHead420]

Do you know if there's an option for them to send it out in 5 1kg bags, or is it always in one large 5kg bag?

I'd be happy to have a kg of each hop, but I'm not sure if there's room in my freezer for about 10kgs of hops

Sadly they'll only do the 5kg foils (well, sometimes 10kg also), as that's what they get direct from the US/AUS/UK/German etc distributors - they never break them up, they just stick them in a coldstore until somebody wants them. They mostly sell to micro/craft breweries.

For this reason I only pick up a bag when they're a total bargain and I have freezer space, and it's a hop I'll use a lot of.

 

[Vicendea]

I guess the risk is whether or not they've been properly stored. If they have been and the info you've read is correct then it does sound like it'd be a reasonable idea. There is a bulk buy sub forum on here I think, might be worth posting something in there?

I can't seem to find the bulk buy sub forum?

 

[Vicendea]

Sadly they'll only do the 5kg foils (well, sometimes 10kg also), as that's what they get direct from the US/AUS/UK/German etc distributors - they never break them up, they just stick them in a coldstore until somebody wants them. They mostly sell to micro/craft breweries.

For this reason I only pick up a bag when they're a total bargain and I have freezer space, and it's a hop I'll use a lot of.

How big is a 5kg bag of hop pellets? I'm assuming too big to fit in a standard freezer drawer?

 

[Slid]

I would expect that 5kg of hop pellets sort of fits into a freezer drawer.

The real question is "do you really want it to?".

At the moment I am drinking a Gales Festival Mild. I used the malt profile from GW but decided to chuck in a whole 100g of 2015 Endeavour hops. Now, this is a very good beer that sits somewhere between a modern interpretation of Porter and the dish-water that is a contemporary Mild.

So, even over-hopping at 100g in 25L, if I bought a bargain 5kg at something like 78p for 100g, I could look forward to about 2 years of the same beer, gradually deteriorating as the hops age, but my, oh, my, is it cheap to brew with re-used yeasts and all.

I do not actually think that this is what HB is all about right now?

The trouble with buying in bulk as a shared project is always the same:
- who takes the risk?
- why is the onwards postage cost more than the cost of the hops?

 

[HopHead420]

How big is a 5kg bag of hop pellets? I'm assuming too big to fit in a standard freezer drawer?

You might well be able to squeeze one into a standard freezer drawer.

 

[DoctorMick]

I can't seem to find the bulk buy sub forum?

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=67

 

[johnnyboy1965]

Hi Everyone,

I'm after some cheap hops and I've found the cheapest available on here - http://simplyhops.co.uk/hops/hop-pellets/american?SID=pji41dq8hhjti3oddp5rb1tpg7

You can get 2015 Centennial pellets for �£8.89 per kg! Or 2015 Citra pellets for �£24.44 per kg! These prices are under half the cost as I've managed to find anywhere else. However there's always a catch... you have to buy these in 5kg bags.

Do people on this forum do group bulk purchases to bring costs down? If so I'd be interested. Or should I send this link to my local brew store to see if they could buy a bag and I could buy some for a discount?

I'm looking to make very hoppy IPAs and the cost of hops makes a massive difference to the price of the brew, so getting hops this cheap will be very helpful!

Cheers

The thing with hops is you want the freshest available. The older the hop, the more it looses in flavour. Hops that have a 2015 harvest date, in my opinion are, a complete waste of time

 

[LarryF]

You might well be able to squeeze one into a standard freezer drawer.

I might be able to, but SWMBO might be able to squeeze her foot in my........I'm sure you get the picture.

 

[HopHead420]

The thing with hops is you want the freshest available. The older the hop, the more it looses in flavour. Hops that have a 2015 harvest date, in my opinion are, a complete waste of time

I couldn't agree less. It all depends on how they have been stored, and whether they are pellets or cones.

 

[Simonh82]

I couldn't agree less. It all depends on how they have been stored, and whether they are pellets or cones.

Agreed! Hop flavour can definitely deteriorate but if foil sealed and stored in a freezer then they seem to last well.

I just used some 2014 falconers flight in my last brew along with 2015 mosaic and 2016 galaxy. It packs a massive hop punch and I really don't think it is any the worse for using older hops.

All of these apart from the falconers flight were purchased when they were pretty fresh so maybe knowing that they have been well stored is the most important thing.

 

[Clint]

Info slip with my CML hops today..."C02 flushed and sealed hops will last unopened 5 years in a freezer and 2 years in a fridge"...."5 weeks in a freezer once opened"