Beer Forum

I want to do a Lambic, but no way can I wait two years to age my own hops before I even brew. Hopsdirect has them reasonably priced, has anyone used them? Thanks.
http://www.hopsdirect.com/choice-debitt ... hops-leaf/

I have not used them, but I have brewed quite a few many lambics over the years. Here are two options for you to consider -

1. Approach your local homebrew shop owner and ask them if they have any low AA% hops that have not been in the fridge but still well sealed. Sometimes owners will have older hops they are willing to get rid of either for free or for a fraction of the cost. For example, my LHBS owner had a pound of Mt. Hood pellets that no one purchased that was over 8 years old. He gave them to me for free and they worked great.

2. Simply use a smaller amount of low AA% hops (preferably noble type) which will give you the appropriate acids desired for your lambic boil. You do not typically need a lot of IBU's in these beers. Below 8 is best for lacto.

brewinhard wrote:I have not used them, but I have brewed quite a few many lambics over the years. Here are two options for you to consider -

1. Approach your local homebrew shop owner and ask them if they have any low AA% hops that have not been in the fridge but still well sealed. Sometimes owners will have older hops they are willing to get rid of either for free or for a fraction of the cost. For example, my LHBS owner had a pound of Mt. Hood pellets that no one purchased that was over 8 years old. He gave them to me for free and they worked great.

2. Simply use a smaller amount of low AA% hops (preferably noble type) which will give you the appropriate acids desired for your lambic boil. You do not typically need a lot of IBU's in these beers. Below 8 is best for lacto.

Awesome, thanks. Are we not looking for complexity in flavor from the old, "cheesy", aged hops?

crashlann wrote:

brewinhard wrote:I have not used them, but I have brewed quite a few many lambics over the years. Here are two options for you to consider -

1. Approach your local homebrew shop owner and ask them if they have any low AA% hops that have not been in the fridge but still well sealed. Sometimes owners will have older hops they are willing to get rid of either for free or for a fraction of the cost. For example, my LHBS owner had a pound of Mt. Hood pellets that no one purchased that was over 8 years old. He gave them to me for free and they worked great.

2. Simply use a smaller amount of low AA% hops (preferably noble type) which will give you the appropriate acids desired for your lambic boil. You do not typically need a lot of IBU's in these beers. Below 8 is best for lacto.

Awesome, thanks. Are we not looking for complexity in flavor from the old, "cheesy", aged hops?

I think the point in aging hops is for them to lose their character/complexity.

I've used the aged hops from Hops Direct in a number of Lambic-style beers and I think they worked great. I used 8 oz of the Choice Debittered in an 11.5 gallon batch.

Give 'em a go!

Fermented_minds wrote:I've used the aged hops from Hops Direct in a number of Lambic-style beers and I think they worked great. I used 8 oz of the Choice Debittered in an 11.5 gallon batch.

Give 'em a go!

Thanks! The shipping is spendy, I think I might just get 2-3# while Im at it, that will probably last me atleast 3-4 batches.