using wine preserver to store bulk hops??

I have found some great deals on bulk hops. I have read that many people have stored their hops in freezer bags and claim that they are still fresh 6-9 months later. 1. I am concerned about freezer burn. 2. I would be buying falconer's flight, citra, etc. Highly aromatic hops used for flavoring and aroma. I just can't believe that hops stored in ziploc bag for 6 months are going to be bursting with 100% of the aroma and flavor they came with.

vacuum sealers can be expensive so what about this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CO804MA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Its a pump that you attach to the top of a wine bottle and then you pump out the oxygen. Just clean and sanitize a wine bottle, throw your hops in and pump away.

A better option would probably be the following http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001AS4NCM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

It is a can that squirts argon (heavier than air) into your wine bottle. Cap it and the wine stays fresh. (This thing has great reviews btw) Why not do the same thing with hops? The advantages of this are: 1. You don't have to use only wine bottles. 2. You don't need to buy a new can for each jar of hops as you would with the pump. 3. I drink wine sometimes and this would be useful for that and also to preserve a half drunk bomber of beer as well.

You don't need a high priced vacuum sealer. I got one off amazon for $40 with free shipping. Sealed up 5 lbs of hops no problem. Didn't **** the bed or anything. If you want to store hops long term vacuum sealing is the only way to go.

orangemen5 said:

You don't need a high priced vacuum sealer. I got one off amazon for $40 with free shipping. Sealed up 5 lbs of hops no problem. Didn't **** the bed or anything. If you want to store hops long term vacuum sealing is the only way to go.

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I realize vacuum sealing would be the best, but wouldn't this option be almost as good? Certainly better than just putting them in a Ziploc bag I would think. If that's the case then I would opt for this just b/c of the lessened expense and multiple uses.

Better than putting your hops in a Ziplock bag, but only marginally.

You'd have to flush with a lot of argon to get all if the air out if the hops. It would be nearly impossible to do in pellets.

Removing as much air as possible is a better idea. Over time, the pressure inside the hop pellets will equilibrate with the vacuum outside the pellet, but the partial pressure of the oxygen will be lower than without air removal.

BTW the mini pump thingy is just about useless in practice. It can't pull enough of a vacuum to be even remotely worthwhile.

Save your shekels for a vacuum sealer. Check on homebrewfinds.com for deals.

Don't use vacuum. The aroma compounds in hops are aromatic because they turn from liquids to vapor(which you smell).
If they do this at atmospheric pressure, they surely will do it under vacuum. Where will they go?
Best bet is an inert gas atmosphere, and squeeze out the bulk of the gas, seal well, freeze. Freeze as cold as possible. Inert gasses are argon, nitrogen, Freon. Don't use propane or heating gas, as these are odorized with sulfur compounds.

AlCophile said:

Where will they go?

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In a sealed Mylar bag? Probably right there in the bag.

Inert gas is a great idea, except that it would take a huge amount of expensive gas to thoroughly purge the air from hops, leaf, plug or pellet.

When buying hops in bulk, they almost always come vacuum packed. I don't ever recall seeing a single pack purged with inert gas.

Not so, ian. Stick the gas inlet at the bottom of the bag, with minimal volume in the bag. Let it stand a short time to equilibrate, squeeze out all gas, add more inert gas, repeat. Done. Freeze.
Btw, my bad: Carbon dioxide is good, and dirt-cheap. In fact, considering how useful it is in HBing, every brewer should have a small cylinder of it. It can be used to sparge out air, provide inert headspace when your fermenter is too large, push gassy beer over during siphoning, etc.