The next Malt buy by the South Cheshire Co-operative

[Clint]

By the skin of my teeth...

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

During the time that we have been running this co-operative, several people have asked could we look at hops

Hops are much harder though due to the sheer variety of them and the storage requirements

Now working in collaboration with @ColinDalziel, and as pilot, we will shortly be able to offer 500gs of 2021 Saaz hop pellets for £8.50 (which have been properly stored)

This will work the same as the malts for collection from one of our collection hubs or from Shropshire

We should be able to go live with this in the next few days

I will keep you posted

 

[Paul7189]

During the time that we have been running this co-operative, several people have asked could we look at hops

Hops are much harder though due to the sheer variety of them and the storage requirements

Now working in collaboration with @ColinDalziel, and as pilot, we will shortly be able to offer 500gs of 2021 Saaz hop pellets for £8.50 (which have been properly stored)

This will work the same as the malts for collection from one of our collection hubs or from Shropshire

We should be able to go live with this in the next few days

I will keep you posted

Thats a bargain. I would definitely be interested. Especially if you where able to source the likes of galaxy, citra, mosaic etc.

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

Thats a bargain. I would definitely be interested. Especially if you where able to source the likes of galaxy, citra, mosaic etc.

The key here is proper storage of bulk amounts - in this case 5kg. If we had a few people who had some freezer space (enough to take 5kgs), each person could store a particular hop

We'd have to work out the logistics though - hence the pilot with Saaz

:hat:

 

[Cheshire Cat]

During the time that we have been running this co-operative, several people have asked could we look at hops

Hops are much harder though due to the sheer variety of them and the storage requirements

Now working in collaboration with @ColinDalziel, and as pilot, we will shortly be able to offer 500gs of 2021 Saaz hop pellets for £8.50 (which have been properly stored)

This will work the same as the malts for collection from one of our collection hubs or from Shropshire

We should be able to go live with this in the next few days

I will keep you posted

Brilliant well done Ken and all.

 

[ecirpian]

The key here is proper storage of bulk amounts - in this case 5kg. If we had a few people who had some freezer space (enough to take 5kgs), each person could store a particular hop

We'd have to work out the logistics though - hence the pilot with Saaz

:hat:

I too would be interested in purchasing and as always happy to help how I can, though I’m on the periphery of the buying syndicate so not the best option for folks

 

[Paul7189]

The key here is proper storage of bulk amounts - in this case 5kg. If we had a few people who had some freezer space (enough to take 5kgs), each person could store a particular hop

We'd have to work out the logistics though - hence the pilot with Saaz

:hat:

I wish I had the storage space in the freezer. I get half a drawer in our fridge freezer unit in the kitchen at the moment haha. With this group buy I'm still good to collect on behalf of others and take to Ellesmere Port if that is easier for others to collect.

 

[ecirpian]

During the time that we have been running this co-operative, several people have asked could we look at hops

Hops are much harder though due to the sheer variety of them and the storage requirements

Now working in collaboration with @ColinDalziel, and as pilot, we will shortly be able to offer 500gs of 2021 Saaz hop pellets for £8.50 (which have been properly stored)

This will work the same as the malts for collection from one of our collection hubs or from Shropshire

We should be able to go live with this in the next few days

I will keep you posted

I’m sure you guys have got it covered, but is it worth creating a hop questionnaire? Select the top five hops folks buy regularly and qty, might pinpoint the best choices to start with. Citra, mosaic, EKG, simcoe & fuggles for me. All of which I buy in 1KG then split, vacuum and freeze.

 

[Paul7189]

I think because it’s a group buy you might get away without the freezer. If they are already sold before you order them then you could package them in a vacuum sealed bag and they are going to be picked up within a few days. Then it’s upto the people ordering to collect promptly and freeze themselves.

 

[Paul7189]

Seeing as I'm buying more and more 3kg malts with each order, does anyone have any cheap containers they can recommend to fit 3kgs of malt in? Going to make a nice shelf to put them on and the bags aren't ideal for long term storage.

 

[Lynx Brewery]

The trick is to keep moisture (& rodents out). My wife buys these for her feathery friends. I reuse them and they just about hold 3 kg.

 

[Lynx Brewery]

Seeing as I'm buying more and more 3kg malts with each order, does anyone have any cheap containers they can recommend to fit 3kgs of malt in? Going to make a nice shelf to put them on and the bags aren't ideal for long term storage.

 

[Paul7189]

Might have to boy about 10 of them and throw the contents to the garden haha

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

The trick is to keep moisture (& rodents out). My wife buys these for her feathery friends. I reuse them and they just about hold 3 kg. View attachment 66734View attachment 66734

Nice idea Andy

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

Nice idea Andy

My wife constantly complains to me about what I am doing with my loose balls, and asks me to stop.

 

[Clint]

My wife constantly complains to me about what I am doing with my loose balls, and asks me to stop.

You may have to tie them down.

 

[Lynx Brewery]

I I I I use these for my bulk grains. They are 2nd hand food containers. These ones are 45 litre barrels. They hold about 21kg of grain, so not quite a full bag. You would need a 60 litre barrel for a full one.

I got them from:

https://www.dvcontainers.co.uk/
I’ve no connection with the company but I recommend them and they were really helpful. About an hours drive from Sandbach.

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

You may have to tie them down.

Can't find strong enough rope

 

[Northern_Brewer]

The key here is proper storage of bulk amounts - in this case 5kg. If we had a few people who had some freezer space (enough to take 5kgs)

You don't need to store in a freezer, if they're vacuum-packed then a fridge is fine - or in winter it wouldn't even need to be a fridge, just a garage would be OK.

And realistically it should only be for a few days, which again takes the pressure off a bit.

Just for the record, the top 10 hops by acreage in the PNW in 2020 were :
Citra
CTZ
Mosaic
Simcoe
Cascade
Centennial
Pahto
Amarillo
Chinook
El Dorado

Goldings and Fuggle would be the obvious UK picks, maybe Bramling Cross and First Gold, maybe one of the cool kids like Harlequin which can be difficult to find in retail?
And then there's Saaz, Savinjski, and the big Germans like Tettnang and Hallertau.

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

Thank you all for your thoughts and comments

You may have noticed that (for me) I have been very silent on the issue and that is because I am just not sure

For me, the list from @Northern_Brewer nails it

If we are to offer hops, we need to do it in a way that ensures that we can sell them in prime condition but, bearing in mind that we are all volunteers here, in a way that does not require a lot of work on our part

That's the reason we are trialling the Saaz hops with @ColinDalziel

Let's see what develops from that