After the batch I’m brewing tomorrow I’m planning to brew “Hop Hammer” a Pliny The Elder clone from Brewing Classic Styles. Being as that I don’t have any Simcoe left over from last year I’m looking for a good substitute for it. I was gonna go with Falconeers Flight but I’m not able to buy it in bulk at a good price online and don’t want to spend $2.50 an ounce at the LHBS. I plan to brew this beer about 3-4 times this year and looking to get about a lb. of whatever I’m substituting it with as there is 4 oz. of the Simcoe additions in this beer. For those that aren’t familiar with this recipe the hop schedule includes Warrior, Chinook, Simcoe, Columbus, and centennial. The Simcoe gets added 1 oz. at 45 mins. 1oz. at k.o. and 1.75 oz. dry hopped. Let me know with any suggestions! Also for the all grain substitution is just says to use “wheat malt” I’d assume a pale wheat would be my best bet?
Sorry but there is no good Sub for Simcoe…I would just throw some Cascade in there…but I’m being lazy
there is no perfect sub for simcoe. however, some of us on the board have been contemplating 70% chinook/30% Citra as a close second.
so far Southern Cross is the closest I’ve tasted to a sub for simcoe, its got some pineyness to it. They also say that Sticklebract has that pineyness and ‘cat like’ to it, but I have not tested that one yet. but both of them also have that citrucy and fruitiness to them.
I think a blend of apollo and citra might work all right.
I’ll add, if you are having a hard time finding simcoe you’ll prolly have a harder time finding citra.
there’s a few places that still have Citra - I just bought some last week actually. but no simcoe, which is okay since I still have about 24 oz of '10 harvest in my freezer… ;D
I actually have 11 lbs of citra that I have been hording. I have a little simcoe left from last year but looks like I can’t get Simcoe or Amarillo this year. Had a hard ass time just getting centennial. Don’t wanna start a “hop hording” scare but I will warn you guys that hops are gonna be tight agin this year, worse than last year. Luckily most homebrew shops have decent contracts. But we are going to see a sharp increase in price again.
Keith, will it be like this year, where certain hops are in short supply? Or will it be like the shortage year where everything was in short supply?
I think it is yes to the first question, and maybe on the second depending on the global harvest.
Acreage of the craft favorite hops went up this year, but was that enough to meet demand?
There’s not a shortage of hops like Cascade, CTZ, etc. But Simcoe, Amarillo, Citra and now even Centennial are in very short supply. I can’t even get a contract for Crystal and may not get any this year, and last year that was an easy hop to come by. I waited too long to look for a contract and was lucky to find one (thanks to Denny’s contact). It’s not going to be like the great hop shortage of '08 and '09 but it will be worse this year than it was last, especially for craft brewers.
I should add, homebrewers should be fine so I don’t want to cause hysteria. It’s funny you guys can still get Citra. I can’t get it anywhere.
must…resist…temptation to start…hoarding… 
I found it at The Beverage People in Santa Rosa, CA. www.thebeveragepeople.com The staff acted as though it was not in short supply.
I guess I should clarify that as a pro-brewer I can’t get it. The homebrew shops pay the same price I would wholesale. I’m not paying retail homebrew price for hops. It would break me.
Some months back I heard that Simco was getting scarce. I went to LHBS. The staff didn’t seem concerned about supply. I could have bought several pounds. I only bought 8 oz. I went back a week later to get more. They were out. 
I’ve have close to a pound each of Centennial, Citra, and Amarillo still in the freezer. I’ve been subbing Cascade for the harder to get varieties. It finally dawned on me that’s crazy. Hops are for brewing. Can’t enjoy them in the freezer!
The acres are up, will it be enough.
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=8049.0
Damn right!!!