BeerBorg

There's never been a shortage of any product where a higher price hasn't been the cure.

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edited fer grammer

After giving it some thought, the odds are in my favor of becoming a rich hop grower over becoming a king, although neither are likely to happen. When I get a sudden urge to brew a Belgian Witbier, my Orange Sunshine recipe let's just say, I will pay the current market rate for the ingredients without giving the price a thought. If there is a brewer out there who simply refuses to brew at all, because of the high cost of hops, I haven't met them yet.

There are few simple ways to reduce the cost of hops. Buying hops in bulk could save some real money. I wonder how many pounds I would need to buy in order to have the 6 varieties typically used in most of my recipes. I have been hopping IPAs at a rate of 1.0-1.5 ounces per gallon of beer, brewing fewer IPAs definitely cuts back on hop usage, but that isn't always an option if I happen to crave IPA. I'd like to say drinking less beer and brewing less often is an option too, but with 4 solid months of outdoor beer drinking weather ahead, I don't think so.

In the end I'll learn to absorb the extra cost of hops, still complain why they're so expensive, but be happy to get the varieties I need when I need them.

I tend to brew more malt forward beers simply because shelves are packed with IPAs... and not much more. The prices get too high for quality hops and homebrewers will do what they always do, express their creativity.

I do not brew too many hoppy beers...too many good ones out there that I can just buy anywhere. I'm also pretty old school with American hops when I do use them anyway so I do not know much about or use any of the new hops out there. So many new varieties out there, you think it would balance out the supply and demand.

Beer-lord wrote:I'm low now with about 11 lbs total.
My apologies to all!

Slacker! I found a stash I forgot about, actually thought I had tossed it out. Discovered in the back of the freezer, bout 4 lbs various hops. I'm good for a while.