Hi,

Why are hops so hard to get a hold of? Where can I find them? Can they be found while exploring?

Hops are one of the higher end rare items.  They can be found exploring and it helps if you have astroligist and set it to hops.  If you want I can give you some to start off.  

Also if you get a hops golem, you can sell them after you dont need them.