HopUnion: update please?

[pennbrew2]

Ralph or Ralph, can you give those of us on your waiting list an idea of how things are looking at this point? Any improvement in the situation? Any hope for the hopless??

Thanks!

---Guy

[kaiabrew]

BA Power Hour: State of the Crop: Hop & Barley Insights

There is a BA Power Hour on the topic:
Thursday, November 1, 2007
1:00pm Eastern; 12:00 noon Central;
11:00am Mountain; 10:00am Pacific
TOPIC:

State of the Crop: Hop & Barley Insights - 2007 and Beyond

SPEAKERS:

Ralph Olson, Hopunion LLC
Ian Ward, Brewers Supply Group


In our next Power Hour, these two well-respected experts will share their insights about the hop and barley crop, both domestically and internationally. With the current landscape of rising costs and declining availability, you won’t want to miss what promises to be a very informative session.
http://www.beertown.org/craftbrewing/power_hour.html

Here's another link:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/busine...04_hops17.html

[YCH Hops]

It has been quite the crazy year.

Dear Forum,

It has been quite the crazy year. The world is plain and simple short of hops for all the brewing needs. Good news is that we are working on getting bits and pieces as they become available, but I must say this has been very hard. European brewers are offering incredible amounts of money for the US supply and while I can get some hops, many are being sold elsewhere in the world. I will be on the BA "Power Hour" on November 1 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time to explain some of the situation. As you can guess, it isn't easy.

Bottom line is there will be some hops available, but don't count on them always being the variety you want. Many hops just aren't keeping up with demand and farmers are having difficulty getting acres into the ground. The acres that are being planted are mainly high alpha hops as they are getting by far the biggest amount of return to the grower. I am already seeing some aroma acreage being taken out. Doing our best to keep aroma hops in the ground, but is a tough battle. The main reason is aroma hops generally have a more poor yield than high alpha hops and worldwide there is a strong demand for alpha hops.

I will be doing a powerpoint for the November talk and will see if I can get some of this put on this forum. Must work on that tonight.

Cheers,
Ralph Olson

https://www.Hopunion.com

[BeersmithMT]

Ralph,

Thanks for the update! I know you have done alot over the years to help maintain the diversity of available hop (read Aroma) varieties. I'm glad to see that you are still trying to do so.

Now that I have brown stuff all over my nose, could you spare me a 1,000 lbs of Cascade?

Just kidding! I feel fortunate that we have enough hops for the year and feel for those who don't. I look forward to your presentation next week. Thanks again.

[ralpho123]

Hops

Hello All,

Been working all afternoon to try and figure out where we are in the world of hops. Everyday, I do try to find a few more that might be available and I do have some success, but must admit it isn't easy. For those of you on the Hopunion "Wish" list, there will be good news and bad news. The good news is that many of the requests can and will be filled. Bod news is not all of the varieties will be available. There is a short supply in the world and I will say other places in the world want our hops bad and are willing to do just about anything to get them. When we do call you regarding the wants do keep in mind that there are many substitions that can be used. My main motto now is "Do you wnat hops in your beer or not". It does say a lot about the situation. Don't get too hung up on a variety if it is not available, but concentrate on what else can be used. Many are fairly close to each other and all hops do make beer! Meanwhile I do open a new door every day or so and this means a hop that is out today, might be available tomorrow. Some hops that are going to be hard to get would be Centennial, Chinook, Crystal, Horizon, Magnum, Liberty, Millenium Newport, Nugget, Palisade, Santiam, Simcoe, Warrior and WIllamette. Also others will have some degree of hope and some we are looking pretty good on. I am working on getting more Chinooks and maybe Nugget. They would be a good example of not here today, but mabe tomorrow. Going to have the girls start calling next week regarding the list. Call us if you are not already on it.

Europe is extremely tight, but have made a few deals this week and can do more. Problem is I am paying very high prices and this can make life difficult with me and my banker. For example I can buy some German Select and Tradition today, but the price will have to be areound $15 per lb for me to get by. I am going to buy some, but you get the idea that spending this kind of money isn't easy. Anyway a little insight into my world. It is about 8:30PM and I am going home to eat, go to bed and then come back to work. Exciting life indeed!! Just remember, "There will be Hops"!

Cheers,

Ralph Olson
Hopunion LLC

[pennbrew2]

Ralph:

Thanks for the update! I'm glad to hear there's a ray of hope.

I'm on your "wish list" and I'll be waiting patiently for the phone call.

Thanks again!

---Guy
One Guy Brewing Co.

[Black Point]

Thanks Ralph for all the updates!

Any update from the November 1st conference call?

[ralpho123]

November 1st conference call

As many of you know I was on the BA Power Hour on November 1st. There were some questions submitted this past Friday and I have answered them today, but will wait to send back so I can review once more. Should be posted in a few days.

Cheers,

Ralph Olson
Hopunion LLC