No Hops...Well Then... No Hops!

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3537147682557117770.post-79654989506097059532007-11-19T11:26:00.000-06:002007-12-31T12:33:48.166-06:00No Hops...Well Then... No Hops!What? No more hops? Well then, maybe I just won't put any in my beer. It's true, I can't order most of the hops I prefer...like Hallertau, Tetnanger, Saaz, Cascade, Centennial, etc. For a lot of German style lagers coming up, I've had to buy alternatives to ideal German varieties. I'm not too concerned because my curiosity of hybrids is high. In fact, my last order of ingredients from <a onkeypress="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="NB" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" href="http://www.northernbrewer.com/" rel="external">Northern Brewer</a> (NB)included enough alternative hops to get me through the winter lager season, and into the beginning of springtime ales. But, when it comes time to make an American Pale Ale with aggressive Cascade and Centennial hops, well, I'm out of luck. Again, I'm very interested in new blends of hops that wouldn't normally be thought of as a good mix for aromatic pale ales. We are definitely in the midst of a serious situation. At the time of writing this, the only hop varieties currently available through NB are Admiral, Ahtanum, Boadicea, Crystal, Galena, Marynka, Newport, Pride of Ringwood, Progress, Sladek, Spalt, and Tradition. Most of these I've never heard of before, nor considered in any of my brews so far. I also wonder how much of these are available. It almost looks like availability is more of a concern than price hikes. Tough times indeed, and sort-of scary. What can we do? Wait? It has been told by <a onkeypress="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="NB" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" href="http://www.northernbrewer.com/hops.html" rel="external">Northern Brewer</a> that they have not yet received shipments from the 2007 hop harvest. When that rolls in, we may be able to resume our hop-headed impulses for the most intensely hopped IPA's. At the very least we can brew some more traditional styles. Perhaps this shortage is trying to tell us something about our American ideals. Are we using too much hops? Sure hop-heavy Barleywines, American IPA's and Imperials taste great, but are they completely necessary? I'm starting to think they aren't. I don't have too much to say about this shortage. I am a bit concerned, but at the same time, I am looking forward to using different/unusual hop varieties and perhaps hop alternatives. I am interested in growing my own, and harvesting some from "herbal" friends of mine who have some pretty old and massive hop vines. On a positive note, this shortage has caused my brother and I to get started with our deeper interest in herbal/healing beers. We've had herbal beer ideas for almost a year now. If you are also thinking about shifting towards hop alternatives, I highly recommend getting started with this book...<a onkeypress="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Buhner" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" href="http://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Herbal-Healing-Beers-Fermentation/dp/0937381667" rel="external">Sacred and Herbal Healing Beers</a> by Stephen Harrod Buhner. As for non-hopped ideas, I'm looking forward to using bittering alternatives. Among others, herbs such as alecost, betony, dandelion, horehound, milk thistle, nettle, sage and yarrow can be used. Aside from providing bittering properties, many herbs, roots and barks also provide additional health benefits. I have concerns about the cost of some of these herbs as well, but I intend on growing substantial herb plantings for brewing and cooking. Undoubtedly, alternative bittering/flavor/aroma ingredients will cause beer to taste very different. Personally speaking, I've come to a point in brewing where my beer tastes as good as any commercially sold ale or lager. So I'm very interested in giving my beer a new twist by working into the recipes any good combo of herbs, roots and barks. We are home brewers. We brew beers the way we like them. We have the ability to be as inventive with our beer as we want. This means that any truly creative or inventive beer style comes from new ideas and innovation, and ultimately from personal taste. Using hops with moderation and including alternative bittering/flavor/aromas can prove to be just as appealing as solely hopped beers. I'm looking forward to posting about my first herbal beer experiments in the coming month. <div class="tasting">The following list of links are blogs/articles related to the world wide hop shortage: I'll be adding to it as more are published An article about the hop shortage by Gregory McLaw... <a onkeypress="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="MakeBeerAtHome" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" href="http://www.makebeerathome.info/homebrew-articles/41-articles/164-hop-shotage" rel="external">Will homebrewer’s get hopping mad or smile over the brew kettle</a> Beervana wrote about Northwest hop prices and the craft beer dilemma... <a onkeypress="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Beervana" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" href="http://beervana.blogspot.com/2007/10/this-hop-shortage-thing-may-be-serious.html" rel="external">This Hop Shortage Thing May Be Serious</a> Leah Beth Ward of the Yakima Herold writes about how... <a onkeypress="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Yakima Herald" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" href="http://www.yakima-herald.com/page/dis/290075330547310" rel="external">Hop Shortage Hits Home</a> Stonch writes... <a onkeypress="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Stonch's Beer Blog" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" href="http://stonch.blogspot.com/2007/10/spruce-up-your-ales.html" rel="external">Spruce up your ale</a> Travis writes... <a onkeypress="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="CNYBrew" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" href="http://www.cnybrew.com/2007/11/hops-of-wrath.html" rel="external">Hops of Wrath</a> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3537147682557117770-7965498950609705953?l=www.tedbrews.com'/></div>Ted Danylukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08416906043519452478noreply@blogger.com5