What happened to Galaxy?

Just to double check, this is from a telephone/electronic conversation?

If you go to the website there is zero mention of "Victoria" as being where the Galaxy hops are from.

https://yakimavalleyhops.com/products/galaxy-hop-pellets?variant=34082560737413

Cheers!

 

On their fb post about the galaxy sale.

"Hi, we actually have both lots on hand but we are currently shipping out Victorian Galaxy. Alpha oils at 16.9 // Oil 2.8 ml/100g"

 

How do you blindly buy hops and know if they’re of sufficient quality? Your ordering in quantity as well, so it’s a significant amount of money invested. Especially for the smaller breweries buying in appropriate amounts, you might lack the punch to make a difference to the vendor. Would you get a take it or leave it offer?

 

Crux uses a lot of Galaxy hops, particularly in their flagship beers. I've also noticed a lot of consistency issues with the notes I'd normally expect from the hop.

 

A few years ago a pro friend was complaining about the quality of the Citra he was getting.

 

Many of the hop farms in Yakima have invested on modernization. When the different varieties come to peak harvest time, throughput is an issue. They lose time when the change varieties because they clean the pickers, which can take several shifts. One place had put in the American equivalent of the German Wolf picker to process varieties with limited acres. The juggling act they do in the harvest window is impressive.

 

And absolutely critical IMO.

Previously in this thread I speculated that the issue with Galaxy now is that there is likely lots more acreage now vs. a few years ago and properly managing the harvest to ensure that the hops are harvested at their peak vs. a late harvest is challenging for them. Perhaps in another year (or two) they will adopt the modern/best practices as exercised in the Pacific Northwest?

Cheers!

 

This is one of the cool things about having access to so many fresh hop beers in the PNW every year (I know that they're made all over now, but I can think of a very small handful of local breweries that don't do at least one fresh hop during the season, and we often get access to experimental and small yield hops being within driving distance). We get to see harvest variances on a year to year basis.

 

The quality of hops from NZ keeps getting better and better whereas the Aussie hops seem to moving the other way. Nelson was bad there for a while but there’s a lot of really good Nelson now. Nectaron is better than any hop from Australia. Let’s hope they can keep the quality up as it gets more acreage.


Aussie hops are so harsh and abrasive and lately the Eclipse, Galaxy, Vic Secret have all had a lot of black licorice like flavor to them. Zero desire to use Galaxy again anytime soon. Enigma still interests me and the quality of what I’ve used the last few years has been great.

 

Clown Shoes dry hops their Galactica WCIPA with Galaxy. It's damn good. Perhaps they would have some good insight as well. Cheers!

 

From the article you linked (with bolding by me):

Shaun Hill, brewer and founder of the world-renowned US brewery Hill Farmstead, is considered so crucial to a New Zealand hop development programme that he has been allowed through Aotearoa’s borders for the country’s hop harvest.

Hill, who arrived in New Zealand on 1st February for a seven-week period, entered the country on a Critical Skills Visa and spent a fortnight in a managed isolation facility in Christchurch.

He is in the country to work on the Hāpi – Brewing Success programme, a seven-year Primary Growth Partnership project between the Ministry of Primary Industries, Garage Project brewery and Freestyle Farms hop farm, which aims to develop a thriving international hop industry through a sustainable supply of premium hops, precision farming and processing methods, and direct to market channels.

The Hāpi research programme manager, Matt Crowther, describes Shaun Hill’s role in the project as so vital, that they couldn’t risk the 2021 hop harvest going ahead without him.

“His input last year in selecting hops that have got a higher probability of success helps us accelerate this programme, because you’re working with a cycle of annual harvests. So missing out a year is a year lost, if you like, to bring these hops to market,” Crowther said.”

The Hāpi – Brewing Success programme started in 2018. The New Zealand folks working with Shaun Hill are serious about improving their hop industry.

Cheers!

 

Hopefully Wasatchback will have an answer here.

I have already speculated in this thread that they need to improve harvest management of their growing hop farm acreage.

Cheers!

 

Greed... They know their product is in high demand and they can charge and arm and a leg for it. Acreage has gone way up for Galaxy especially. Just blend the junk with some decent stuff and you end up with somewhere between junk and decent.. passion fruit and pencil shavings. I’m sure weather has something to do with it as well but from the sounds of it there’s just very little transparency so who knows. NZ used to be the same way until Freestyle started doing what they’re doing which will hopefully help the quality of everything coming out of NZ. From my experience it has.

 

I agree. Feel like Nelson has chanced and lost a little bit of that super unique and unmistakable Nelson character. I don’t think it fell off the deep end like galaxy, but it’s not quite where it was. Was my favorite hop but I find myself let down by Nelson beers a lot these days when years ago they always slapped.