Foil material for Foodsaver

Germey · 12-05-2007, 06:38 PM

Can one buy the metallic /plastic foil for use in a foodsaver or other vacuum sealer? I found a sealer that specifically says it has different settings for plastic lined foil, but I'm having a hard time finding the material to put in it.
Does anyone have any experience here? Is it even important?
Thanks,

malkore · 12-05-2007, 10:27 PM

my guess is the foil lined stuff is using mylar.

see if a google for 'mylar food saver' or vacuum bags gets you anything useful.

**HenryHill** · 12-05-2007, 10:37 PM

That's the stuff we cut open last weekend at the brewery to sequence the hops; we labeled them at each addition the minutes we needed to add-never considered they were not compatible with common sealers. I'll check this out tomorrow with them.

And YEAH, it did seem to be Mylar...

Germey · 12-05-2007, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malkore

my guess is the foil lined stuff is using mylar.

see if a google for 'mylar food saver' or vacuum bags gets you anything useful.

I did finally manage to find some bags, but not the roll material that foodsaver uses. You're right, they are Mylar.
I guess my bigger question is, "is it worth the extra expense?"
Thanks,

Germey · 12-05-2007, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henry Hill

That's the stuff we cut open last weekend at the brewery to sequence the hops; we labeled them at each addition the minutes we needed to add-never considered they were not compatible with common sealers. I'll check this out tomorrow with them.

And YEAH, it did seem to be Mylar...

That's a cool concept. I could outsource the hopping to a brewing assistant and spend even more time drinking during a brewday.

**HenryHill** · 12-05-2007, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Germey

That's a cool concept. I could outsource the hopping to a brewing assistant and spend even more time drinking during a brewday.

Only delegate to proven individuals, lest you kick yourself in the ass at a later time...

**Chris_Dog** · 12-05-2007, 11:44 PM

Honestly I think the mylar is used to make an opaque seal. If you are going to store the hops in the freezer I couldn't imagine mylar would be needed.

**HenryHill** · 12-09-2007, 09:56 AM

OK, here's what I found out about the opaque/Mylar material; it's the static proof computer board type plastic, and it's cheap. When I asked what the stuff specifically was and how much, I was told it was cheap, and sealed with the normal settings that they use to bag up grain in plastic vacuum bags.

The stuff is narrower and lends itself to smaller of amounts as hops are usually purchased in, and easier to used for making up your sequential hop additions-they just follow the hop schedule of the recipe, when sealing up each individual sections with the correct amount and type of hop, marking it with the number in minutes at which each is added. The normal stuff for grain is pricier and overkill for hops anyway...remember, they seal up a LOT of grain in vacuum bags there. Doing this pre-brew day makes adding the proper amount of the proper type of hop a no brainer when you are actually trying to run around cleaning and dividing your attention to cleaning up your other dirty equipment while boiling. All hops for a brew day recipe are in one bag with multiple seals dividing them.

I'll try to remember to find out where they source them....

malkore · 12-09-2007, 03:18 PM

I think chad's right about mylar just being to block light, as hops are oxidized by both air and UV exposure.

I think normal foodsaver bags would work fine if you keep them mostly dark.

BrianP · 12-09-2007, 08:46 PM

If you have a Foodsaver, i'd recommend the bags that are made for it. I found that WalMart has a private label version of the bags, but they're only 15% less than the OEM foodsaver bags.