Which hops to use in the whirlpool: cheap vs expensive?

[Marty_G]

10 minutes ago, BlackSands said:

Hallertau Blanc was often suggested as a near-ish equivalent to Nelson.

I bought it as a substitute for Nelson as the supplier I used did not have the required amount of Nelson so I bought some Blanc as well. 

[ChristinaS1]

@Popo I wanted to let you know know I ordered a small vacuum sealer (not the handheld type) and a roll of bags. They should arrive next week. 

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07JMKPZRB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B06XFY26ZS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Found a Canadian online hops vendor and am making a shopping list. That's fun. Prices are a third to a half of what I was paying by the ounce at my LHBS, although that excludes the $25 shipping charge. I am going to order around $100 worth of hops, to take maximum advantage of the shipping cost.

I am mostly ordering hops I have used before, but I want to try two or three new ones. Thinking about Motueka, Denali (aka Sultana), and El Dorado. I did consider Galaxy, but they are just so expensive compared to the other options. 

Cheers,

Christina.

Edited March 11, 2020 by ChristinaS1

[Popo the Reprobate]

Ah, beauty @ChristinaS1. I reckon you'll be glad you did. For me, it's much better to buy in bigger lots and store the rest like that in the freezer and not have to worry. It's nice to have a bank of hops ready to go  I hope it works well for you.

Enjoy the shopping. It sounds like it's going to be a much better option money wise.

[zebrum]

I'm just learning about this newish research.

It seems to me the fact these hops are cheap is just a coincidence. I've read Trillium only use Columbus in their whirlpools. I've seen Modern Times recipes with Chinook and Nugget in the whirlpool and in my opinion they make some of the most flavourful beers. So there must be a good reason for this. I read that "Chinook and Nugget together contain the two important terpenes for citronellol bioconversion". I'm no chemist but it seems to me these cheaper (more dank, higher alpha acid) hops are adding chemicals that when biotransformed generate more volatiles, e.g. monoterpene alcohols like linalool and geraniol than the ones that the more expensive hops contain and simply evaporate during whirlpool at any temp.

I'm interested to hear from anyone that has experimented with exclusively dank hops like Columbus/Chinook/Nugget in whirlpool who usually uses expensive hops in whirlpool and how it compares!

[Marty_G]

11 hours ago, zebrum said:

I'm interested to hear from anyone that has experimented with exclusively dank hops like Columbus/Chinook/Nugget in whirlpool who usually uses expensive hops in whirlpool and how it compares!

Not to sure what you mean by cheap or expensive? Hops, regardless of cost, are used for the flavours and aromas you want. Cost really does not come into it.  I would not use a hop to flavour my beer solely because it was cheap.  

 

[ben 10]

http://www.brewman.com.au/web/showproductlist.asp?catid=2&subcatid=3&subsubcatid=9 << Most hops here are very similar prices

 

12 hours ago, zebrum said:

I'm interested to hear from anyone that has experimented with exclusively dank hops like Columbus/Chinook/Nugget in whirlpool who usually uses expensive hops in whirlpool and how it compares!

Which hops are expensive?
I use flavour hops in the whirlpool and my beers are good.

[Shamus O'Sean]

18 hours ago, zebrum said:

I'm just learning about this newish research.

It seems to me the fact these hops are cheap is just a coincidence. I've read Trillium only use Columbus in their whirlpools. I've seen Modern Times recipes with Chinook and Nugget in the whirlpool and in my opinion they make some of the most flavourful beers. So there must be a good reason for this. I read that "Chinook and Nugget together contain the two important terpenes for citronellol bioconversion". I'm no chemist but it seems to me these cheaper (more dank, higher alpha acid) hops are adding chemicals that when biotransformed generate more volatiles, e.g. monoterpene alcohols like linalool and geraniol than the ones that the more expensive hops contain and simply evaporate during whirlpool at any temp.

I'm interested to hear from anyone that has experimented with exclusively dank hops like Columbus/Chinook/Nugget in whirlpool who usually uses expensive hops in whirlpool and how it compares!

I usually buy hops in 100g lots.  Different hops can vary by $2-3 per 100g.

I have heard people talk about hop A being high in chemicals X and Y to give its special aromas/flavours.  Then they say hop B is high in chemical X and hop C is high in chemical Y.  They go on to say, if hops B and C cost $7/100g and hop A costs $10/100g, you could use half as much of hop B and hop C instead of the full amount of hop A to make a very similar beer.  Although that might be true, is it worth faffing about to save $3.  Why not just buy the $10 hops.  Sometimes we get caught up in saving every $.  Then we'll go to a craft beer pub and spend $15 on a pint. 

On the subject of Columbus, I have only used them in a full length boil.  I am planning a single hop Columbus Pale Ale in a few brews time.  That one will have a 60 minute and 10 minute boil addition plus an aroma hopstand addition and a dry hop.