My entire supply of leaf hops is from 2011 and 2012. I want to toss most of them and buy a bunch of varieties in bulk when this years crops are available for sale from places like Freshhops and Yakima Valley. When should I start keeping a close eye on the websites?
Soonish. Follow hops direct on Twitter, they post constantly during the harvest. I find early October is best for me if I want to order a year’s worth of pellets without having to wait for something. I also run the risk of something being sold out.
+1. They’ll start being harvested pretty much now through the end of September roughly. I’d check the hop sites like yakimavalleyhops and others once or twice a week. The hot varieties obviously sell faster.
Forgot to mention that Label Peelers pre-sells some of the more popular varieties.
Just checked YVH and they’re saying to check the site on the first week of October for 2015 pellets. I’m sure the leaf hops would be available in that time frame. But YVH has 2015 Calypso and El Dorado pellets now FWIW.
EDIT - 2015 Galaxy available there, too. Great hop.
Thanks all.
I wonder how they can have pellets available before leaf?
My system works best with leaf (works as a filter in my kettle) although I’m getting less and less concerned with carrying some trub into the fermenter.
Maybe I should consider pellets.
Those all say “out of stock.” Maybe they’re just getting the page set-up? Otherwise they sold fast!
Yeah, just saw that. I assume they maybe had a limited amount to sell early. They’d have gone fast. As for pellets showing up first, there are an all time high number of homebrewers out there, many of whom use pellets. I’ve read that a higher percentage of hops than before are being pelletized.
Many breweries use pellets. Easier to store, easier to add, less kettle loss, and they can eliminate them in the whirlpool. I loved how clear my wort was with leaf, but pellets are where it’s at IMO.
Yep. Many more varieties available in pellet form, too.
Yeah, I have a comp coming up soon and I’d love to get 8 ounces or so of fresh, whole-cone hops from this year’s harvest. I’ll share if I find anything.
All hops go into bales first. Then samples are cut from some bales for testing, and the hops are certified (once Hopsdirect said they were wait for the certification before they could release). When the hops are harvested the Pelletizer is fired up and they make pellets.
Hopsdirect will have leaf hops up first, starting a little after Labor Day. They will put them up in a batched sequence depending on if the group is early maturing or late.
My best advice is to start checking, and check often until you see the ones you want. Some don’t last long.