Importing whole cone hops?

[Nick Demetras]

Got back from a holiday in the US six months ago and brought back a few ounces of Citra, Sarachi Ace and Amarillo whole cone hops. MAF didn't even bat an eyelash when I showed them. These varieties are the BEST I've ever brewed with, nothing grown in NZ seems to compare. I've found a few places I can get imported amarillo hop pellets from but I don't really like using them in my all grain system, quite a pain in my opinion. Seeing as I've finished everything off I'm itchin' for a new batch of the above mentioned varieties. I've contacted freshops.com and they are willing to ship them with MAF approval. Before I contact MAF I thought I'd see if anyone else has done the same and what were the outcomes?

 

Cheers

Nick

[Tilt]

Definitely looking forward to that fresh Riwaka in March, I was quite taken with the last batch - sadly all gone by early this year with no more to be had. 

I'll be planning a couple of brews for autumn on the back of the good news from Jo

[denimglen]

" Hmm, that gets me thinking, maybe youll see a few sour and fruit beers from my brewery this year :o)"

 

Good thinking.

 

Maybe we can just make II/I/A PAs with real citrus and fruit instead haha.

 

I've read a little on fast psuedo-lambics, could be worth playing with too.

[MrC]

There will be heaps of Riwaka available in March bro...

Great!  I've been missing the occasional Riwaka feature in my beers. 

 

I've been missing it in Bookbinder too.  Last time I tasted it didn't seem to have that uplifting Riwaka freshness that I'd grown to love :-(

[Doug]

Hi Nick,

We are aware that the gap exists within MAF's capabilty to effiently protect our borders. PEQ 3 protocols should set off an alarm bell with inspection officers. In response to your question on pellets the processing of pellets which requires pulverisation and heat generated through the press is generally considered sufficient to ensure seeds are not viable and that spores are destroyed. It's also unlikely that anybody would try and propogate a plant from a pellet. We certainly do not want to see a ban on the importation of pellets.

 

Cheers,

Doug

[Reviled]

Random question - Is hop 'blending' an option prior to the brew kettle?

 

I've been thinking lately- As hops are seasonal, and their character can change quite a bit from year to year, for example, Sierra Nevada blend their hop bill to try and get as close to the original recipe which used mainly cascade - I read a bit from their brewer saying its been quite some years since they used mainly cascade due to hop changes seasonally..

 

So I was thinking, would it be possible to blend variety's pre-packaging to get a product close to say 2008 Riwaka? Or 2009 Sauvin?? Probably not right? But its an interesting thought IMO

[Doug]

Sierra Nevada would probably notice a greater difference than others as they strictly use whole hops which do not have the storage stability of pellets over a year’s usage. In the hop trade you occasionally hear anecdotal reference to annual variation in flavour and aroma, and a belief around extending the picking window for oils development but for the most part the oils do not move around substantially year on year, although their ratio to alpha will as the alpha's tend to move around quite a bit. There is already considerable blending occurring where several kilns may be blended together during the floor conditioning stages and of course bales from various growers are blended prior to pelleting  to achieve a consistent pellet across a variety. I first visited Sierra Nevada in 1986, I thought their beer was good then and still think its good today but I’m not sure how close the two would be. On my last visit they had just developed their Torpedo technology which is a system of dry hopping prior to packaging. All beer evolves

[Reviled]

Interesting feedback Doug, cheers for taking the time :o)

[denimglen]

I haven't heard this specifically in relation to SN but I have heard of some other breweries doing it before although in a slightly different way.  Mainly that it's an upside to using multiple varieties in a beer.

 

Eg - If a brewery is using a mix of centennial, columbus and cascade for a beer.  The next year the centennial (or whatever) is a bit out of whack it will be less noticable than if it was a single hop or one hop was in massive amounts compared to the others.  Sort of a buffer type thing.

 

But it wouldn't surprise me if they start blending last years hops with the new years hops as they make the change over, would quite a difference in some beers if you all of a sudden switched from one harvest to the next.

[Doug]

In my experience in brands of beer where new season hops may  make an flavour or aroma impact  blending new and previous seasons hops was standard practice... operationally it makes sense as well.  I have also seen where beers were brewed with the different season’s hops and subsequently blended to an agreed ratio prior to packaging.