Evergreen's Home Brewer's Supplies -Hops!

Hops Demystified

Guide to selected Hop varieties

Leaf Hops

Hops Demystified!

In recent years, a lot of books and articles have been written about hops. They have each in their own way contributed to our wealth of knowledge on this all important vine. However there is still a lot about hops which is unknown. How exactly to the myrcene, farnesene and other essential oils in hops interact to create hop aroma and flavor? What do temperature, atmosphere, and time do to hops? And then there is the question of pellet vs leaf hops. Unfortunately, along with an increase in information has come the usual increase in noise.

Contrary to one hop merchant's insinuation, it is not necessary to store hops at -17° F. to keep them fresh. According to the folks at Hopunion, USA (one of the larger hop growing, processing, and importing companies) it is optimal to keep them below freezing. Any colder is just a waste of freon. There is also a question of just how important "nitrogen-flushing" is. Again, according to Hopunion there are studies showing that limited oxidization is favorable for formation of some aroma compounds. While I don't advocate a return to the good old days of hops kept in paper bags on store shelves, it is possible that reasonable care to limit oxygen contact is all that is necessary for good storage of hops.

Ever since I started brewing I have wrestled with the question of whether to use pellet or leaf hops. The improved utilization and slower degradation of pellet hops is appealing. So to was the fact that pellet hops were a lot more available ten years ago. Today I use only leaf. I believe improved storage methods have rendered the question of hop degradation moot. With the growth of brewing as a hobby has come increased availability of quality leaf hops, and fewer people are willing to sacrifice quality for speed or convenience. Processing hops into pellet form does result in changes in the chemical compounds of hops and until there is a convincing argument that this is not detrimental in any way I see no reason as a homebrewer to use them. Here at Evergreen Brewing Supply we carry over twenty-five varieties of leaf hops. We vacuum-pack them in oxygen and light barrier bags and cold store them (but not at -17° F). Naturally we list actual alpha-acids on the package. We also post all the obtainable information about the hops we carry. This includes pedigree information, aroma and lupulin quality, and levels of beta-acids, humulone, co-humulone, myrcene, caryophyllene, and farnesene.

Guide to selected Hop varieties

Hopunion USA publishes a guide to hops for commercial growers which contains considerable information useful to the homebrewer. This is particularly true for some of the imported hops available. This guide includes notes on hop pedigree, aroma characteristics, oil content, and general perception of each variety.
Here are some of the highlights:

Leaf Hops

 Hops are packaged in vacuum-packed, oxygen and light-barrier bags for freshness.

Imported - $2.85 per 2 oz. package

Domestic - $2.45 per 2 oz. package

Last Update: 6/23/98 by Westfork Software