So, it took some digging but I finally found some Simcoe hops for my upcoming 90 Minute clone. Not too happy about the price, about $30.00/lb.
When is the 2011, or would it be 2010 crop due? Anyone know?
Good question. I was at Larry’s Warehouse Brewing last night (Kent, WA), and they’re low or out on several varieties - and they can’t order more yet 'cause their supplier is out too! :o
Thank goodness they had the Perle hops I needed for my brewing this weekend.
Hops are harvested in the late summer. They start in the last week or so of August, and are done by the end of September. Not sure when Simcoe matures, as the varieties mature at different times. Start looking for whole cone hops in late Sept. Pellets take a little longer.
There were only 237 acres of Simcoe strung this year. As they are now so popular, they ran out.
from what Keith (majorvices) is telling us, and some of my local pro friends, Simcoe and Amarillo will be rather scarce for homebrewers next year, since most pros contract out what they will buy ahead of time.
I have been slowly dropping the simcoe back in my IPA as my stock dwindles. Real bummer. I was told that I may have a hard time contracting any next year. Amarillo as well. Too bad for me because I probably could have gotten in on contracts last year had I known any better.
Looks like the Pliny clone I was going to do soon is going to get a little bit more expensive.
Time to start coming up with another recipe it sounds like.
I’m bummed that Simcoe is in such short supply right now. I need to find another more abundant hop that isn’t the usual NW citrusy hops. I’ve been thinking about trying out Glacier, Nugget, Horizon, or Ahtanum…
These hop shortages are kind of strange animal.
What amazes me is how some of the west coast breweries can do it. Like Russian River…they use copious quantities of hops in their beers like PTE. Don’t get me wrong, I love west coast style IPA’s and the like but their margins must suffer in a bad hop year. Either that or they just adjust their prices accordingly. Dunno. :-\
Many craft breweries contract their hops out in advance. Some buy hops on the spot market, and those breweries will either have to alter their recipes or adjust. Simcoe and Amarillo in particular are funny hops, as I understand it they’re patented and only grown by one grower (YCR), and have been victims of their popularity. Dogfish Head alone accounts for a fairly sizeable percentage of the simcoe harvest each year.
I was lucky and heard about this shortage a few months ago, so I’m sitting on two pounds of leaf and three pounds of pellet in my freezer. Here’s hoping it lasts.
Vinnie said on a BN show that he has contracts, and does not try to hedge those when spot market prices are low. Newer breweries that do not have contracts are the ones that suffer. A local one said Simcoe was hard to find 2 to 3 months ago, so they changed their recipe.
Amarillo is the one grown one farm, as they developed it. From what I gather Simcoe is owned by Yakima Chief, and it is grown on a few farms that they deal with. The newer hops all belong to the developers. The older ones were done at universities and became readily available. That work was funded by BMC as they were after higher AA hops, and wanted them grown in high volume.
This thread is why when hops first come available in the fall, I stock up on pounds of the ones I like, like Simcoe and Amarillo.
I’ve already got my pre order in for those 2.
Where do you pre-order from? Can anyone do it, or is it just for celebrities like you? 
;D
I was going to ask the same question but Tom beat me to it.
Just today opened my pound of Amarillo that’s been in the freezer. Hopefully it’ll last me a while.