Hop Head Farms

I thought I'd share some info about these guys. I'm in no way affiliated with them other than they are one of the 2 hop suppliers that I use and they are the only supplier I use that supplies homebrewers. Throughout the last couple years I have developed a friendship with their sales manager (mostly because I've been very pleased with everything I've bought from them), but this post is written independently of that. It seems like not a whole lot of attention is given to these guys from homebrewers. I started using their hops 3 years ago and I love them. They use a low temperature pelletization process that leaves the pellets very loose and it does less damage to the hops than traditional pelletizers. While their prices are a bit higher than what you might expect to pay to other suppliers, I find it to be completely worth it even at the commercial level where the higher expense cuts into the bottom line... I prefer prioritizing quality over profits with faith that the quality will yield longer term success.

I am a big fan of their Chinook which has an intense pineapple aroma and is probably the variety of their's that I'm most impressed with. I just used their wet hops in a beer and the intensity of pineapple for the 2017 harvest is more than what I've experienced in the past (which was already quite intense). Other hops I've used from them include Crystal which to me has a flavor similar to Sierra Nevada's Cascade (which I find to be different than any Cascade I've found), but due to it's very low aa% it can be used at higher rates as late boil additions or whirlpool without getting too much bitterness. Their Cascade seems to display more of an orange rind character than Cascade I've bought from the PNW and it still has a lightly floral aroma as well. They are very picky with their lot selections for imported hops and I use their Mittelfruh a lot for my German lagers. If you haven't tried these guys out, I highly recommend it. Every year it seems like they step up their game just a little more than the previous year and they take a lot of pride in their quality.

 

I didn't brew with it, but had the Pipeworks beer with it and smelled samples of it during their last sales call. Peach, Passion Fruit, and floral are all good descriptors for it. I've been meaning to use it with Hallertau Blanc in a pale ale fermented with Kveik yeast. I just need some free time in my production schedule.

 

Let us know how the Zuper Saaz is. I've had some friends say really good things about it. From what I understand, it was a surprise hop that they grew a few years ago as an experiment with growing Saaz in Michigan and it unexpectedly came out at 8% aa and the flavor was good so they planted more.

One cool thing is that unlike most hop suppliers, instead of getting a blend of the leftovers that breweries didn't select, from what I understand, HHF has one lot of everything since their small(ish) and they homogenize all their varieties during pelletizing, so you get the exact same quality that we get as commercial brewers. They're the only supplier that I don't get to do a lot selection with, but I also have come to trust them enough that I don't feel like I have to do a lot selection. No doubt I'm a fanboy and want to see them succeed, but it is with good reason... Their stuff is good!

 

I've used Voss Kveik a few times from Yeast Bay. We were featured in Draft Magazine a few months ago for using it actually:

http://draftmag.com/kveik-the-hottest-new-centuries-old-beer-yeast-youve-never-heard-of/

 

I would say no if you're looking for something similar to a Belgian or French Saison. Virtually the only similarities would be mouthfeel and fermentation at high temp. You shouldn't get any phenols with this or any of the traditional saison esters. Instead, you get a really clean, dry beer with a lime like ester. Taking a normal saison recipe and pairing it with American citrusy hops instead of traditional hops, I could see a really pleasant summer beer, but I don't know if there would be a style that you'd be able to fit the beer into. I was a big fan of it in our gose. I'll be using it a lot coming up in the next couple months