Hops Availability

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by VikeMan, Jan 18, 2013.

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  1. reverseapachemaster

    reverseapachemaster Zealot (722) Sep 21, 2012 Texas

    Some of the NZ hops are hard to find right now due to the time of year. They are getting really popular these days and they harvest on the opposite schedule from European and American hopfields (northern hemisphere vs. southern hemisphere). So they will show up in greater supply late spring when they harvest. Right now it's kind of like trying to find Citra, Amarillo, etc. mid-summer when the prior year's harvest has sold out but the current year's harvest hasn't hit yet.

    However, if you look around you can find some of the NZ varieties.
     
  2. alanforbeer

    alanforbeer Crusader (431) Jan 29, 2011 South Carolina

    +1 Amarillo, Riwaka and a maybe a few other NZ varieties (Mosaic seems pretty scarce...).

    That said, it would be nice to see a crowd-sourced hop schedule for this project that doesn't rely solely on "high-end" varieties for flavor and aroma additions. I've had some pretty freakin' amazing APA's/IPA's that only use cascade and/or centennial...
     
  3. reverseapachemaster

    reverseapachemaster Zealot (722) Sep 21, 2012 Texas

    There are a lot of the older hop varieties that don't get a lot of action anymore or at least don't get as much as they used to. You won't be able to get those berry and tropical fruit flavors from the older varieties but there's plenty to enjoy about blending more traditional hops together. You could rely on technique to deliver a different flavor profile, such as FWH plus hop bursting plus a complex dry hop schedule.
     
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  4. samtallica

    samtallica Initiate (0) Jul 22, 2010 North Carolina

    Centennial is still my favorite hop! Cluster can provide some interesting flavors as well!
     
  5. premierpro

    premierpro Savant (1,060) Mar 21, 2009 Michigan

    All you need are the 3 "C's". Cascade,Cluster,and Crystal!
     
  6. koopa

    koopa Initiate (0) Apr 20, 2008 New Jersey

    You forgot about 8 track players and quadraphonic sound systems......
     
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  7. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    "3 Cs"?...the standard West Coast "4 Cs" are Columbus, Cascade, Centennial, And Chinook although I'd throw Citra in there and make it the "5 Cs" : )
     
  8. nozferatu46

    nozferatu46 Initiate (0) Mar 24, 2008 Indiana

    I've been able to get my hands on just about anything, but for the purposes of this project, I'd leave out the New Zealand varieties, and the ones people typically find hard to get (Simcoe, Amarillo, Citra). There are plenty of solid, relatively easy to find hops out there, that scream "average" IPA. Cascade, centennial, CTZ, Chinook, etc... You can easily create more than enough options with what is typically available (I don't think there is a centennial shortage this year at least...)
     
  9. mikehartigan

    mikehartigan Maven (1,397) Apr 9, 2007 Illinois

    We seem to have forgotten that Citra, Amarillo, Simcoe, et al, are not hard requirements for an IPA. :wink:
     
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  10. mattbk

    mattbk Savant (1,099) Dec 12, 2011 New York

    I'd throw out Zythos as a choice as a more readily available alternative to Simcoe and Citra. And, may want to think about making one of the polls a choice between Amarillo, Citra, or Simcoe, say for flameout and/or dry-hop addition. If the beer contains nothing but these three, folks may have a tough time replicating.
     
  11. premierpro

    premierpro Savant (1,060) Mar 21, 2009 Michigan

    I had a quadraphonic 8 track player in my bedroom when I was 12 years old! Time to turn up the Grand Funk Railroad!
     
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  12. Naugled

    Naugled Pooh-Bah (1,882) Sep 25, 2007 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society

    That's a great hop, I used up a pound in 2011, but haven't seen them since. I think Six Point had an all Riwaka beer last year, but that is gone too.
     
  13. jmw

    jmw Initiate (0) Feb 4, 2009 North Carolina

    Pretty sure this was sarcasm.

    That said, Crystal was difficult to find recently.
     
  14. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    Not really being sarcastic...I've heard of the "4 Cs", but never the "3Cs"...especially including Crystal and Cluster
    (Cascade is one of the "4Cs")
     
  15. jmw

    jmw Initiate (0) Feb 4, 2009 North Carolina

    Agreed. And thus why I think premierpro was being sarcastic.
     
  16. premierpro

    premierpro Savant (1,060) Mar 21, 2009 Michigan

    I put that statement out there for a reaction. However that combination would make a tasty IPA.
     
  17. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    Duh...gottcha
     
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