Hops are the green flowery cones of a long vine, Humulus lupulus. Most of the hops used in the United States are grown in the Oregon/Washington region, with the majority of them coming from the Yakima Valley of Washington. This is where Main Street gets most of our hops from. Hops add bitterness to beer, as well as flavor and aroma. They also add anti-bacterial agents which contribute to the beer's long-term stability.
Although new brewers often think bitterness is bad, bitterness in beer is almost a necessity. When malt is fermented out, there is still a very strong residual sweet component. Without hop bitterness, the sweetness of beer would be like syrupy candy. People that are afraid of bitterness need to know that when only a minimal amount of hops are added, the resulting beers may be finish with a thick sweet consistency. More people find this unpleasant than a beer with a slightly bitter finish, from my experiences. Although there are many fine beers with sweet finishes: Scottish and Scotch ales, dopplebocks, some brown ales and some American ambers being some of the most prevalent.
The bitterness of each hop variety is rated by what is called the alpha level. Each variety of hop, each year, is tested for the alpha level. This tells us how bitter that hop is. The scale is linear, meaning that an alpha level of 12 is twice as bitter as an alpha level of 6. This also means that two ounces of a "6" hop is equal to one ounce of a "12" hop. The formula for how much bitterness gets into your beer from your hops (the IBU rating) is fairly complex, but here is a good explanation of hop bitterness and here is a link to an IBU calculator if you really want to plug in the specific numbers and see what you get. Meanwhile, we can help you at the store get the right bitterness into your beer according to personal desire, or style accuracy.
We like to sell fresh hop leaves, and here is my opinion on that, so don't flame me and tell me I am all wrong - it's just my opinion. Here in the Northwest, we live so close to the hop growing region, that there is no reason to shred and pelletize the hops into "rabbit food," damaging their lupulin glands and heating them up from friction. All of our leaf hops are kept constantly refrigerated all the way from the grower's warehouse in Yakima down to my cooler. We vacuum pack our hops in oxygen and light-proof Mylar bags to retain their maximum quality.
It is MUCH easier for me to repackage pellet hops, rather than leaf hops. I can package 5 pounds of pellet hops into 2-ounce bags in less than 30 minutes; it takes me two hours to do the same amount of leaf hops. I sell them for the same price. If I were unscrupulous, I would try to sell more pellet hops because it would make my life in the store much, much easier. Packaging leaf hops is extremely time consuming. I recommend leaf hops because I believe them to be better quality, more natural, as well as having a great filtering effect (for your trub) when you pour them through a strainer. Most of my customers agree, although we do sell five or six varieties of pelletized hops for those that want them. If you ahve only used pellet hops you may want to try leaf hops once and see what you think: many people would never go back.
2007 Update: Our wholesaler has restricted sales of hops to us to only two-ounce bags for the immediate future. Therefore, we have no one-pound and no five-pound bags of hops available for sale. This will change after the panic subsides due to the current hop situation, and people stop trying to hoard the sacred herb. We will sell larger bags sometime after the New Year. For the moment, all 2-ounce bags of hops are $4.75. Prices may change, as well, after we get a better feel of how supply and demand plays out in the next few months. The good news: Main Street has a full supply of hops, and will have access to all (or most) of our varieties. We have more hops contracted to us than we had in all of 2006. We will be set for the entire year, plus more. Woohoo!
The Hop Varieties
Hop Name
Alpha Level for 2006 Harvest
Flavor Profile
Traditional Uses
Price
Amarillo
Alpha 8.9
Spicy, rich flavor with some of that classic Northwest grapefruit/citrus character. This was hybridized from Cascade and can be used anywhere that Cascade can.
American ale ales and IPA's, or any Northwest-style microbrew
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Cascade
Alpha 6.0
The classic Northwest-style hop, this is our biggest seller. Grapefruit and citrus notes abound and it is responsible for much of the flavor of our Northwest-style microbrew favorites. Use it excessively.
All Northwest or American-style ales.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Centennial
Alpha 9.5
A "supercharged" Cascade. This is a strong bittering hop with lots of that intense, grapefruit Cascade citrus flavor.
Northwest or American-style IPA's, pale ales or any hoppy style where "grapefruit" is desired.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Crystal
Alpha 3.1
Hybridized from Hallertauer, perfumey and flowery, this hop is bred to have little to no bitterness, but lots and lots of strong, intense flowery aroma. This is one of my favorite finishing hops, and will add great smells to any of your beers.
Northwest or American-style ales, or any European-style ale or lager.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Chinook
Alpha 13.1
This is a piney, evergreen-flavored hop that is classically American. It has almost a resinous quality, even when used as a bittering hop.
West Coast stouts, bitter American microbrew styles.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Columbus
Alpha 16.8
One of the new "super-hops," this is an awesome bittering flavoring and aroma hop. It has a rich, full flavor with some citrus notes; this hop can do it all. One of our most popular varieties.
American and Northwest-syle IPA's, any beer you want to have a strong hop quality.
2-ounce bag: $5.00
Fuggles
Alpha 3.4
A more neutral, mild hop with an earthy, woody quality. Although a classic English aroma hop, I tend to prefer Goldings for aroma, and use Fuggles for flavor and bittering.
Any English-style pale ale, IPA, brown ale, stout or porter. Not recommended for American-styles.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Goldings
Alpha 4.8
A rich aromatic hop with a great herbal quality. This is a classic, high-quality true English hop. Highly recommended.
Any English-style pale ale, IPA, brown ale, stout or porter. Not recommended for American-styles.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Hallertauer
Alpha 3.9
A flowery, perfume-y aromatic German style hop. This is grown in America, which tends to alter the flavor and aroma characteristics away from what they are in Germany. See the Mt Hood variety.
Wheat beers, fruit beers, golden and blonde ales, kolsches, lagers, or any beer where you want a light delicate hop presence.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Horizon
Alpha 11.6
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Magnum
Alpha 11.5
A great bittering hop. This hop is from Germany and has a very low cohumulone level, which gives it a very clean, non-harsh bittering. Not recommended for flavoring or aroma.
Use as a clean bittering hop in any beer. Be careful of overbittering, as this hop has a fairly high alpha level.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Mt. Hood
Alpha 4.5
A Hallertauer hybrid. This hop is bred to resemble true German Hallertauer (as opposed to American-grown Hallertauer). It has a strong floral characteristic and can be used in any beer where Hallertauer is called for.
Blondes, goldens, wheat beers, fruit ales, kolsches or lagers. Use in any beer you want a true German hop presence.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Northern Brewer
Alpha 8.5
A good, clean bittering hop, but also has a woody, earthy hop flavor and aroma. Not fancy, just a good solid all-purpose hop.
American and Northwest style microbrews, particularly pale ales and stouts.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Nugget
Alpha 12.5
A fairly strong bittering hop. I am not a big fan of the aroma and flavor, but I have seen it used successfully for those purposes many times.
American and Northwest style microbrews, particularly pale ales, IPA's and stouts.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Palisades
Alpha 8.3
The new kid on the block, this is a high-alpha Tettnanger hybrid. Lots of spicy, floral character and a good clean bitterness. Like many new hops, this is an all-purpose bitter/flavor/aroma hop. Highly recommended.
American and Northwest style pale ales, IPA's or any microbrewed style, as well as kolsches, or any German style hybrids.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Perle
Alpha 7.2
A Northern Brewer cross, this hop has a more refined flavor and aroma than Northern Brewer and still a good, solid, clean bitterness.
European lagers, kolsches, alt beers, wheat beers or American amber ales.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Saaz
out for the season
The spiciest of the hops, Saaz has a very distinctive peppery flavor and almost no citrus character. Used exclusively by Pilsner Urquell, this is considered one of the finest "noble" hops in the world.
Any German or European lager, esp. pilsner. Also German style ales and wheat beers.
Unavailable for 2007
Simcoe
Alpha 13.2
Another new American "super hop." This has a great floral/spicy mix and a good clean (although strong) bitterness. Highly recommended for American hoppy ales.
American and Northwest style microbrews, particularly pale ales and IPA's, or any beer you want to have strong hoppiness.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Spalt
Alpha 3.8
A German "noble" hop, this has less spiciness than Saaz and less floral quality than Hallertauer, but a little of both to make it interesting. Available at this point only in pellets.
Any German or European lager, esp. pilsner. Also German style ales and wheat beers, or kolsches and alts.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Sterling
Alpha 5.9
A Saaz hybrid. This has some of the spiciness of Saaz, but with more bitterness and more floral aromas. Some of my customers like it better than Saaz.
European and German style lagers, German style ales, blondes, goldens, and wheat beers.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Styrian Goldings
unavailable at the moment
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N/A
Summit
out for the season
The newest of the hops we carry. This is a monster hop. The bitterness is very strong, almost tannic and the aroma is intense. It fills the store with hop perfume anytime I open a bag. Some hop scientist did good with this clone. I don't know much about its origins, but it promises to be one for the future.
American style pale ales and IPA's or any beer where you want to maximize the hoppiness and bitterness.
2006 crop only.
Limited quantities.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Tettnanger
Alpha 4.8
Another classic "noble" variety, this has some of the spiciness of Saaz and some of the floweriness of Hallertauer, but it seems - to me - to be more neutral and non-intrusive of a hop.
German style ales and lagers, European lagers, wheat beers, blondes, goldens, or any beer you want a soft but noticeable hop balance.
2-ounce bag: $4.75
Willamette
Alpha 4.0
A Fuggles hybrid. This has a neutral woody character and is fairly gentle and non-intrusive. I tend to recommend it for beers where strong hoppiness is not desirable. It has a good clean bitterness.
Any English-style beer (porter, stout, brown ale, pale ale) or any malty amber ale.
Hops are the green flowery cones of a long vine, Humulus lupulus. Most of the hops used in the United States are grown in the Oregon/Washington region, with the majority of them coming from the Yakima Valley of Washington. This is where Main Street gets most of our hops from. Hops add bitterness to beer, as well as flavor and aroma. They also add anti-bacterial agents which contribute to the beer's long-term stability.