I don’t know how many of you know this but its almost impossible to get Amarillo right now and may be for the next couple of years since they are all contracted up. Same with Simcoe. I happen to love both, along with Columbus and Centennial (plenty of those available). But I confess that my creativity kinda ends about there. I need some hop suggestions. I know nothing will replace simcoe or amarillo, but I need to have something that will bring the “wow” factor. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Ain’t nothing wrong with just centennials (think Two Hearted Ale!), but I get where you’re coming from. Something new, different, add complexity, etc.
Citra is an interesting hop - it mixes some tropical notes in with the citrus. Sorachi Ace is a bit lemony but in conjunction with something more earthy it can work fairly well. I’ve read about Nelson Sauvin, a hop from New Zealand - also supposed to be very tropical fruity, but haven’t had an opportunity to try it. Another one I’ve never used is Ahtanum - I’ve heard that proposed as a sub for Amarillo.
Keith your problem is shared by a local brewery start up. They made a few beers with Simoe, then the supply ran out. They reformulated the recipe.
When you think about it, some of out favorite hops are relatively new, and there are not many acres in production. Amarillo is on one farm, and their acreage is not reported in the following. Check out Citra and Simcoe in the table.
http://www.usahops.org/userfiles/file/Statistics/2010%20NASS%20Hop%20Acreage%20Report.pdf
Homebrewers are at the end of the supply chain, and we get the leftovers. If none is leftover, we may have problems. All should hope for a good crop next year. Acreage went down with the prices over the last 2 years.
Keith, see if you can get some "Falconer’s Flight ". It’s a blend of PNW hops…
BTW, my commercial brewer friends warn about big price increases in both hops and barley coming soon.
I didn’t have any trouble getting Amarillo through midwest supplies. Then again, I ordered only a few ounces. I’m waiting on ingredients for an IPA that I will use Centennial, Cascade and Amarillo. Going to dry hop it with Amarillo as well. Single-hop beers could be fun. I had an IPA with just amarillo this past weekend. It was on the low end of IBUs for an IPA I think, but it was delicious.
I presume this is for an AIPA.
I would also consider Ahtanum and Warrior. Here’s a really good resource from Hop Union. You may already use this but …
I recently had some Warrior and really liked the aroma. Really pungent. Makes a nice all around hop, too, since it’s high alpha. I brewed an IPA with Palisades last month and liked that one, too. Spicey and lemony to me.
as much as I love Amarillo and Simcoe, perhaps this will be good for the brewing community in the sense that they are becoming almost ubiquitous in the AIPA and APA offerings. Now brewers will be forced to be creative once again. Seeing this thread has made me realize how much I have crutched on these two hops in almost all of my american ales over the past 2 years - I’m kinda looking forward to the change.
HD has some new ones on their site (Calypso, Rainier IIRC).
Perhaps experiment with some oldies but goodies as late hops - Chinook comes to mind. SSoS is a pretty good recipe and its EKG and Chinook IIRC. Celebration doesn’t suck either.
Keith - IIRC, isn’t your standard IPA Magnum, Columbus and Centennial anyways? ;D
I’ve been using Chinook in my PA’s as a single 30 minute addition. Great flavor but harsh. As a high alpha I’ll only use them for no less than 45 minutes from now on.
If you want to consider Zeus I can send you some free. I have a bunch vac-frozen and I’ve never liked them at all though they do well in darker beers.
Thanks for the suggestions. I may try the Ahtumunumun or however the hell you spell it. I have a little more Amarillo left and my simcoe will run out in the next couple of months.
Euge: I don’t really care for Chinook and FWIW Zeus is the same as Columbus - which I love. AKA Tomahawk.
The thing is, sure, its fun to experiment with all these hops, but I am kinda out of time to experiment before my hopping in my IPA will have to change. I may have to go back to plain old Columbus and Centennial (not that there’s anything wrong with that). IMO Amarillo and especially Simcoe are impossible to sub.
This hops “crisis” is a killer for all the small brewpubs/breweries. Sure it’s an inconvienence for the homebrewer but I’m not sure ALL folks grasp what it’s like for the small scale pro-brewer. I feel for ya. A few weeks back we talked about using crystal hops with the C’s. Can you get crystal now or is that in shortage as well? I could see a columbus (or columbus type), centennial & crystal hopped IPA working out. Have you tried the Apollo hops? Good luck, j
That is a tough one, I to am addicted to the simarillo blend. Perhaps Jay has a good idea with the Crystal, since you use a lot of it in other areas.
The Citra is interesting and has the wow factor, but I might steer clear of the limited supply.
I hear you can get a pretty good IPA with the Columbus/Mt Hood mix?
Hey, you have some time, nothing wrong with the Columbus/Cent to tide you through. Maybe stick with that and experiment with some late hopping with something else?
You might have to get some lowlife homebrewers to run some trials for you. 
Cheers to work.
I ordered some Sonnet Goldings from hopsdirect just for fun, I want to see what they’re like. I doubt I’d use them in an IPA, but after checking my stock I have enough Amarillo and Cascades (and a little Simcoe) to last a while anyway. I don’t brew too many super hoppy beers, just 20 or so gallons a year, so I don’t need much.
Anyway, I’ve had some nice IPA made with Sorachi Ace. If you use pellets, Cascades, Chinook, Columbus, and Nugget are available from hopsdirect. There are some good varieties available in whole hops too.
I think I can still get crystal hops. I still have several pounds left. Have never tried Apollo, either. Might give that a go.
The hops that are hard to find in bulk right now are Amarillo, Citra and Simcoe. In fact I was told that Amarillo will not be available next year either, and to get my contracts in now for 2013. I think that most of the homebrew shops have their hops have their supplies contracted so buying them by the oz probably won’t be a problem for most of you guys, though I don’t think I have seen Amarillo anywhere. I actually bought a couple pounds of Citra at Rebel Brewer at about 300% what I should have paid.
Sounds like I need to get off my duff. Got a pound of Amarillo in the freezer that’s still in it’s unopened packaging from Hopsdirect.
Keith, seriously look into the Flaconer’s Flight blend. At our club meeting last night I had a couple different beers made with them and I think you’d be really happy with them. Contact Hop Union for a sample.
Thanks man! I will do that for sure!
Denny, how would you describe the blend? Sounds interesting [pellet blend comprised of many of the Northwest’s most premier hop varieties including the highly acclaimed Citra™, Simcoe®, and Sorachi Ace along with experimental hops and numerous other NW varieties] I’m curious if this will be a long term offering and/or will it always be the same blend. cheers, j
Has anyone tried Galena for flavor and/or aroma? I have to think it would compliment the “C” hops or Mt. Hood, just never tried it that way. Seems it’s mostly used for bittering but the beta acid is reported as 7.5-9.0%. Cheers!!!
Wow, Galena used to be a favorite, but I haven’t seen it for a long time.
Jay, I have no idea about how long they’ll do the blend or if it will change. It’s kinda lemony like Simcoe, I could detect some of the tropical fruit of the Citra (although not as overwhelming as straight Citra), some dankness like you get from Columbus, maybe a bit of tangerine like Amarillo. I was really impressed. I’ve got a lb. on order.