# Bulk Hops



## banora brewer (2/9/11)

Just wondering where the best place is at the moment to buy bulk hops?


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## manticle (2/9/11)

Two that I've bought from (actually second one someone else bought and split with a few of us but seemed to go well and I know many others use them successfully)

Local: Ellerslie Hop

Overseas: Hops direct


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## Dazza88 (2/9/11)

US: nikohops


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (2/9/11)

www.nikohops.com

Picked up 1.2kg worth of hops for $50 delivered. Would have been less if paypal weren't such a rip off with exchange rates.

Goomba


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## banora brewer (2/9/11)

Lord Raja Goomba I said:


> www.nikohops.com
> 
> Picked up 1.2kg worth of hops for $50 delivered. Would have been less if paypal weren't such a rip off with exchange rates.
> 
> Goomba


That sounds like a good score, might have to look into that


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## ledgenko (2/9/11)

Nikos is great .. I have a freezer full of EKG, Saaz and Styrians from him ... frakin awesome quality and very good prices .. stock up I say !!!


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## bignath (2/9/11)

Big time fan of Ellerslie Hop. 

Last time i bought from them 500g of POR was less than $20.

Reckon i spent about $25 all up to get it to my door. 


1.2kg for $50 from US seems to be terrific value Goomba!

Have also used Hops Direct on occasion and there service is also very good.


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## punkin (4/9/11)

Big Nath said:


> Big time fan of Ellerslie Hop.
> 
> Last time i bought from them 500g of POR was less than $20.
> 
> ...



I also like Ellerslies. I've used then a couple times now for 1 kilo packs.
A kilo of POR was $33 and a lot of the other pellets are under $50 a kilo.


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## Nick JD (4/9/11)

Ellerslie's Czech Saaz is really nice.


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## Bribie G (4/9/11)

Ellerslie for all the "cooking" hops like Challenger, Saaz and Styrians. 
Hops Direct for C hops and bitterers like Galena. However I had to throw away a pound of Hallertau Mittelfreuh from HD - they made Chinese Saaz taste noble by comparison <_<


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## Cannibal Smurf (4/9/11)

banora brewer said:


> That sounds like a good score, might have to look into that


Let me know if you plan to go ahead with this, might jump in with your order.


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## punkin (4/9/11)

My Centennial from Ellerlslies are my favourite hops so far by a long shot.


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## QldKev (4/9/11)

manticle said:


> Two that I've bought from (actually second one someone else bought and split with a few of us but seemed to go well and I know many others use them successfully)
> 
> Local: Ellerslie Hop
> 
> Overseas: Hops direct






DazDog said:


> US: nikohops



Those 3 sum it up for me
Ellerslie for their own hops, seem to be the freshest
Hops Direct for larger orders from the US
Niko for orders up to 2.5lb as works out great value with the postage.

I use to get some from ebay, but I had a couple of orders that were not up to scratch that I had to throw, so no more.

QldKev


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## Joshisgood (4/9/11)

Got 2.5 lbs of hops (4 different varieties) from niko home brew for around $60, all split into 2oz bags. Received within 2 weeks, pretty happy so far, though I haven't actually used any yet. Postage is $14 to aus for up to 2.5 lbs split orders ie. 8 oz + 4oz + 8oz etc or 3lbs for whole pound orders ie 1lb+1lb+1lb
Cascade hops $10 per pound, pretty cheap I think, I've seen them $8 per 50g bag at some places


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## time01 (5/9/11)

hi guys, im thinking of buying some bulk hops.

how long do they last? and is it best to keep them sealed in freezer?


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## Nick JD (6/9/11)

time01 said:


> hi guys, im thinking of buying some bulk hops.
> 
> how long do they last? and is it best to keep them sealed in freezer?



In the freezer, stored in airtight (but not vacuumed) bags, they'll lose about 10% of their AA rating per year.

Vacuum bagged, and frozen, they'll lose about half that.

So a 10% AA hop will be 7% in three years if not vacuumed; 8.5% if. 

This is a rough guide and doesn't include how the flavour/aroma compounds degrade. It's best to use as fresh as possible for aroma/flavour. 

You can't import flowers, only pellets. I think you can import flowers from NZ though.


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## Bribie G (6/9/11)

NZ flowers are allowed in. However with the Kiwi hops unless you are personally visiting there and can get hooked up with a farmer or local dealer, all the hops are controlled by a hops "board" a bit like our wheat board and the supply is pretty much earmarked, so best of luck finding a cheap supply.


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## time01 (6/9/11)

thanks for the info Nick JD!

id be confident i could use the pellets within 6 months.

now all i need to do is look at cutting my yeast cost.


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## hoppy2B (6/9/11)

I just add a small amount of dry yeast to some brown sugar in a glass, pour in some water and cover with glad wrap and a rubber band. In a couple of days it has finished growing and can be added to the fermenter. I just use an unsterilized glass from the cupboard and have never had a problem. :lol: Some of the extremes I read people post on here are hilarious.


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## Wolfy (6/9/11)

hoppy2B said:


> I just add a small amount of dry yeast to some brown sugar in a glass, pour in some water and cover with glad wrap and a rubber band. In a couple of days it has finished growing and can be added to the fermenter. I just use an unsterilized glass from the cupboard and have never had a problem. :lol: Some of the extremes I read people post on here are hilarious.


It's also hilarious when people post crap/in the wrong thread.


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## stux (6/9/11)

hoppy2B said:


> I just add a small amount of dry yeast to some brown sugar in a glass, pour in some water and cover with glad wrap and a rubber band. In a couple of days it has finished growing and can be added to the fermenter. I just use an unsterilized glass from the cupboard and have never had a problem. :lol: Some of the extremes I read people post on here are hilarious.



You really should be using baker's yeast if you're trying to make grandpa's homebrew


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## Malted (6/9/11)

Stux said:


> You really should be using baker's yeast if you're trying to make grandpa's homebrew


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## felten (6/9/11)

hoppy2B said:


> I just add a small amount of dry yeast to some brown sugar in a glass, pour in some water and cover with glad wrap and a rubber band. In a couple of days it has finished growing and can be added to the fermenter. I just use an unsterilized glass from the cupboard and have never had a problem. :lol: Some of the extremes I read people post on here are hilarious.


No need for a fermenter, just throw it into an old bathtub and away you go.


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## hoppy2B (6/9/11)

Wolfy said:


> It's also hilarious when people post crap/in the wrong thread.


 :unsure:


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## hoppy2B (6/9/11)

Stux said:


> You really should be using baker's yeast if you're trying to make grandpa's homebrew


I used to use bakers yeast.  It's cheaper using just a tiny bit of dry stuff multiplied on sugar.


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## DUANNE (6/9/11)

hoppy2B said:


> I used to use bakers yeast.  It's cheaper using just a tiny bit of dry stuff multiplied on sugar.




beer ferments a lot quicker and better at 30 degrees to. and this all grain stuffs a waste of time and money, a tin of of farmland lager and a kilo of sugar makes a way superior brew. unless your airlock stops bubbling then your in all sorts of shit.


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## DUANNE (6/9/11)

oh and back on topic i get most of my hops from niko. exellent sevice and always good qaulity goods. im just sweating on some fresh simcoe, used up my last recently and im missing my favourite hop atm.


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## hoppy2B (6/9/11)

BEERHOG said:


> beer ferments a lot quicker and better at 30 degrees to. and this all grain stuffs a waste of time and money, a tin of of farmland lager and a kilo of sugar makes a way superior brew. unless your airlock stops bubbling then your in all sorts of shit.


That sounds a nasty brew.


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## Tim F (6/9/11)

You can save even more on yeast by not using it at all and just stirring the cooled wort with your foot every day until it starts to bubble.


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## Jacktar41 (6/9/11)

My last buy up was at Ellerslie Hop, 4kg of a range of hops delivered to the door within a day of ordering .

You can't get any better than that.


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## hoppy2B (6/9/11)

Tim F said:


> You can save even more on yeast by not using it at all and just stirring the cooled wort with your foot every day until it starts to bubble.


If you do that what variety of hop should you use? :huh: Is there a name for that particular style of brew? :lol:


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## chug!chug! (6/9/11)

Dont need hops just put your dog in the fermenter for a few laps


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## felten (6/9/11)

chug!chug! said:


> Dont need hops just put your dog in the fermenter for a few laps


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## milob40 (7/9/11)

hops direct, got mine today, 11 days, 2.3 kilos, $93 all up landed on my door step.  
ask for a flat rate box for shipping


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## humulus (7/9/11)

milob40 said:


> hops direct, got mine today, 11 days, 2.3 kilos, $93 all up landed on my door step.
> ask for a flat rate box for shipping


What hops did you get mate,ive looked at their website not much going.
Emailed them they said there harvest has started and they should be restocked by October!
$93 for 2.3kgs top buy :beer: 
cheers humulus


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## Bribie G (7/9/11)

humulus said:


> What hops did you get mate,ive looked at their website not much going.
> Emailed them they said there harvest has started and they should be restocked by October!
> $93 for 2.3kgs top buy :beer:
> cheers humulus


Yup it's their autumn over there right now and the happy crew over at Peterbaugh Farms will be going full bore. Early November seems to be the golden time to check out their domestic varieties.


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## time01 (7/9/11)

"$93 for 2.3kgs top buy"

gees thats cheap, i pay like $8 i think at my LHBS for 60grams.


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## argon (7/9/11)

Just bought 3 pounds (1360g) from Nikobrew for AU$44.93 delivered... good value. Still buy all my flowers/leaves/plugs and the occasional once off hop from Ross though.


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## Nick JD (7/9/11)

It's totally worth buying some varieties of places like Craftbrewer. Say Czech Saaz for example will cost me $39.50 per pound and I'm there anyway often so there's no postage. That's a fair price.

But no way would I pay that for Pride of Ringwood. It's half that.


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## spaced (7/9/11)

Big +1 to Niko hops, was at my house 12 days after notification of it being sent.


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## milob40 (7/9/11)

humulus said:


> What hops did you get mate,ive looked at their website not much going.
> Emailed them they said there harvest has started and they should be restocked by October!
> $93 for 2.3kgs top buy :beer:
> cheers humulus


1lb willamette 1lb magnum , 1lb galaxy 1 lb cluster , 1 lb galena . can save better if buying bittering hops, still buy my spsecialty hops from cb.
depends what you want. i find my biggest expense is bittering hops in most brews.
however i'm looking forward to availability of the specialty hops in a month or two :icon_drool2: 
i buy my grain precracked at a premium price so i figure i can save on the hops to make ag more affordable, maybe one dayi'll get a mill?


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## bignath (8/9/11)

time01 said:


> gees thats cheap, i pay like $8 i think at my LHBS for 60grams.



I don't buy them from him, but my LHBS has started selling hop tea bags in 15g pouches for $5 each.


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## Nick JD (8/9/11)

Big Nath said:


> I don't buy them from him, but my LHBS has started selling hop tea bags in 15g pouches for $5 each.



Americans buy 225g for $5. Any wonder they all drink IPAs and we drink VB...


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## Dazza88 (14/11/11)

What is the best place to get NZ flowers for a good price? Any ideas.


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## stef (14/12/11)

I know this is a pretty old thread...

but does anyone know anywhere with fresh US domestic pellets still? HopsDirect and Niko both seem to be sold out of the most popular (which what i'm after). Am i too late? No fresh US hops for me this year?


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## pimpsqueak (14/12/11)

stef said:


> I know this is a pretty old thread...
> 
> but does anyone know anywhere with fresh US domestic pellets still? HopsDirect and Niko both seem to be sold out of the most popular (which what i'm after). Am i too late? No fresh US hops for me this year?



Niko doesn't have the 2011 crop in stock yet, apart from CTZ. Be patient and hopefully stock will become available by early-mid January.


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## stef (14/12/11)

Ok, cool. Thought they had already had them and sold out...


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## Malted (14/12/11)

pimpsqueak said:


> Niko doesn't have the 2011 crop in stock yet, apart from CTZ. Be patient and hopefully stock will become available by early-mid January.




Although he has had two goes at releasing 2011 citra - each lasted about 5 hours. You can sign up to his newsletter which will tell you when various specials and releasing are coming. Just go to his website and plug in an email.


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (14/12/11)

Malted said:


> Although he has had two goes at releasing 2011 citra - each lasted about 5 hours. You can sign up to his newsletter which will tell you when various specials and releasing are coming. Just go to his website and plug in an email.



+1 and sign up to the RSS feed - you'll find out pretty quick.

Goomba


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## NikoBrew (27/12/11)

Lord Raja Goomba I said:


> +1 and sign up to the RSS feed - you'll find out pretty quick.
> 
> Goomba



Thanks for the helpful replies folks, our Cascade should be 2011 crop very shortly as well. We're doing inventory this week and we have 2011 crop packed and ready when the 2010 runs out and we'll know if we're switching over this week within a few days. We're also going to put 2011 Citra and Simcoe online in 2oz packs (we have a very limited supply, those full pounds we offered went extremely quickly), and we'll also have some 2010 Crop Amarillo in 2oz packs as well, within about a week. We have even a smaller supply of this. We will have 2011 crop Centennial once our current 09 and 2010 supplies have been depleted (I'm assuming within a month or so), and 2011 Chinook should be online in around that time frame as well. As suggested on the forum being on the newsletter is a good way to be kept up to date. Thanks again folks for your support, it's been a pleasure serving our Australian customers and I'm excited to continue doing so for many years to come!


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## QldKev (27/12/11)

Thanks for supplying us :icon_cheers: 

It great to be able to order the 2 1/2 lb orders of your favourite hops anytime. Looking forward to the 2011 Cascade, will you be stocking Amarillo this season?


QldKev


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## humulus (27/12/11)

+1 top service Niko! :icon_cheers:
Cheers Glenn


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## pmash (27/12/11)

+1 for me too! Fast service and postage and, no waiting in customs this time. Great stuff thanks Niko.
I was one of the lucky ones to score a pound of 2011 Citra.......yum!
'Also grabbed a pound of Bravo to play with. Anyone have any recipe suggestions? APA's will be my slant on them.

Cheers and happy brewing holidays to all. :icon_cheers:


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## NikoBrew (28/12/11)

QldKev said:


> Thanks for supplying us :icon_cheers:
> 
> It great to be able to order the 2 1/2 lb orders of your favourite hops anytime. Looking forward to the 2011 Cascade, will you be stocking Amarillo this season?
> 
> ...



Thanks for the feedback, folks! As for Amarillo unfortunately I don't anticipate getting any 2011 crop this year but I did stumble upon a brewery and made a trade for 44lb of 2010 crop. Stored cold the quality will be high and we're repackaging that into 2oz packs. We should have that online by sometime next week.


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## argon (28/12/11)

NikoBrew said:


> Thanks for the feedback, folks! As for Amarillo unfortunately I don't anticipate getting any 2011 crop this year but I did stumble upon a brewery and made a trade for 44lb of 2010 crop. Stored cold the quality will be high and we're repackaging that into 2oz packs. We should have that online by sometime next week.


Out of interest what would the 2010 Amarillo AA% be?

There has been some chatter in the past that the 2010 6.9AA% (iirc) sourced from hopsdrirect was less than pleasing, some going as far as saying it wasn't Amarillo. Personally I was underwhelmed.

I have a pound of 2011 10.1AA% Amarillo from hops direct and will report results after their use in the next few days.

Edit: keeping it in topic... Great service from niko wil be a regular customer for their high quality products in the future.


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## technoicon (28/12/11)

Lord Raja Goomba I said:


> www.nikohops.com
> 
> Picked up 1.2kg worth of hops for $50 delivered. Would have been less if paypal weren't such a rip off with exchange rates.
> 
> Goomba




umm that doesnt work for me is it: http://www.nikobrew.com/ ??


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## Nick JD (28/12/11)

argon said:


> There has been some chatter in the past that the 2010 6.9AA% (iirc) sourced from hopsdrirect was less than pleasing, some going as far as saying it wasn't Amarillo. Personally I was underwhelmed.



Could it have been "blended"? With Cascade or something? To buffer it out? 

To be honest, when I first got some of the 6.9% stuff I was a bit sad that it didn't have that "rexona sport deoderant" zing ... then I got to like it better, as I don't like beer that tastes and smells like antiperspirant.

Now I can't stand "real" Amarillo. Conversely, my armpits no longer smell like my beer - and that's saying something about both my armpits, and my beer.


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (28/12/11)

Awesome Fury said:


> umm that doesnt work for me is it: http://www.nikobrew.com/ ??



That's it - cascade, willamette and citra (old batch).

Goomba


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## Sunshine_Brewer (28/12/11)

Drinking an APA now with 9.1% 2009 centennial from NIKO, all I can say is :icon_drool2: . Great hops NIKO.


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## NikoBrew (28/12/11)

I actually don't know the alpha of the 2010 Amarillo yet as it's not in my possession though it should be within the next few days and we should have it made into 2oz packs and online a few days after that. Also we've been able to bump up what will fit in a flat rate envelope (thanks to the postal service and larger envelopes for the same price of $14 USD!) to 4 full pounds and 3 1/2 pounds if mixed increments (2oz, etc).


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## humulus (28/12/11)

Great Niko, will you be getting a few different euro hops in????
P.S. hope you guys had a tops christmas over there!


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## WitWonder (28/12/11)

Problem is, I want to buy 2011 hops - not one 2011 variety and then the rest 2010 to make up 4lbs. I've been holding off and didn't purchase from hopsdirect (even though the product I've purchased has been fantastic) this year because of the Niko shipping rate but I'm regretting the decision. I realise the 2010 crop is probably more than fine for my needs; just a little disappointed I can't get all 2011 varieties. 

Also, I've followed you guys on twitter but you never seem to update anything there.


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## NikoBrew (28/12/11)

WitWonder said:


> Problem is, I want to buy 2011 hops - not one 2011 variety and then the rest 2010 to make up 4lbs. I've been holding off and didn't purchase from hopsdirect (even though the product I've purchased has been fantastic) this year because of the Niko shipping rate but I'm regretting the decision. I realise the 2010 crop is probably more than fine for my needs; just a little disappointed I can't get all 2011 varieties.
> 
> Also, I've followed you guys on twitter but you never seem to update anything there.



This year I've contracted most of the varieties we stock which means whenever the 2011 crop is in for those varieties and what we have on hand is turned over, they will be 2011 crop. I as well wish that all at once everything switched to 2011 crop, though that isn't the case. The good news I expect that within a month or two we'll have switched everything over to 2011, less a few of our slower moving varieties that I didn't contract (Mt Hood, Fuggle, and a couple others).

As for European hops we'll have some UK EKG, German Magnum, Northern Brewer, and Hallertauer MF as soon as they become available.

As for Christmas, we had a great time. We have a 3 year old and 1 1/2 year old, had a bon fire on xmas eve, and the boys played with all of their toys on xmas while I drank whiskey, bourbon, vodka, and beer  

Okay it's almost 3 am here.. time for bed  I will keep this thread posted when new crops come in, thanks folks.


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## almopec (28/12/11)

+1 for the happy Niko Brew customer. Niko was great to deal with and very helpful, even when paypal charged me twice.
+1 on the citra too... Can't wait to brew something with it.

Cheers
Al
:chug:


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## NikoBrew (1/1/12)

Hey folks! I just put Amarillo, Citra and Simcoe online, they're in 2oz packs and we don't have much of any of these so I don't expect supply to last long.

Amarillo 2010 Crop
Citra 2011 Crop
Simcoe 2011 Crop

Someone please let me know if it's not okay to post direct product links here if so I'll take those down I don't want to break any rules on here. 

Thanks folks have a great new years/eve/did it already happen in Australia? Lol.


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## Rowy (1/1/12)

NikoBrew said:


> Hey folks! I just put Amarillo, Citra and Simcoe online, they're in 2oz packs and we don't have much of any of these so I don't expect supply to last long.
> 
> Amarillo 2010 Crop
> Citra 2011 Crop
> ...




Mate what does it roughly cost to ship per pound to Australia?


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## NikoBrew (1/1/12)

Rowy said:


> Mate what does it roughly cost to ship per pound to Australia?



Shipping is $14 USD for up to 4 full pounds or 3 1/2 of mixed increments (2oz packs etc). If you order please use paypal as your payment method then I send you a separate request for shipping. It's also on the main page of my site though I just realized it's not on the hops category page. This is also shipping USPS International. You don't get a tracking number with good data but we've had good results with delivery. Thanks!


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## Rowy (1/1/12)

NikoBrew said:


> Shipping is $14 USD for up to 4 full pounds or 3 1/2 of mixed increments (2oz packs etc). If you order please use paypal as your payment method then I send you a separate request for shipping. It's also on the main page of my site though I just realized it's not on the hops category page. This is also shipping USPS International. You don't get a tracking number with good data but we've had good results with delivery. Thanks!




Thanks for the quick reply Niko.


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## NikoBrew (1/2/12)

Shipping just increased to $18 as USPS has increased their rates. We're currently out of Citra, Amarillo and Simcoe but will be getting more in and will be keeping folks on our email list updated as soon as they are, and we have a handful of varieties now in stock from the 2011 crop:


Apollo
Bravo
Calypso
Cascade,
CTZ
Mt Hood


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## NikoBrew (25/2/12)

We're putting 2011 crop Citra and Simcoe in 2oz and 1lb packs online at 10am MST 2/25. We have a limited supply and I don't expect them to last more than a few hours. They're not cheap, but I also paid a LOT for these hops. Thanks folks.


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