New Ziplock Vacuum Bags for Storing Hops

Heres a great new product from Ziplock to help you keep your hops fresh. Food Storage Ziploc® Bags and Containers
This is a great product for those of you that don't want to spend the money on an electric vacuum packer. The Ziplock system has a starter set with the pump and 3 bags for under $2.00 at Walmart. I just packed an ounze of Cascade and it did a great job of getting most of the air out of the bag. I marked it and tossed it in the freezer awaiting my next brew.

I've heard of others on the forum who have had great success with this item and haven't experienced any vacuum loss.

Some people on here have said that sometimes hop dust can make it hard to get it to seal or stay sealed...It even said on the website that it shouldn't be used for powder.

I believe that someone figured out that if you put the hops in a regular ziplock first, squeeze out the air, then put that bag inside the vacuum bag, and that worked.

If you run into some problems try that...

Let is know in a couple of weeks if the seal holds...some people have reported that they give up the vacuum after a couple weeks.

I've been looking at those things, but they get mixed reviews on here.

Revvy said:

Let is know in a couple of weeks if the seal holds...some people have reported that they give up the vacuum after a couple weeks.

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That's good info. to know. I was mistaken I guess.

I'll keep an eye out on the seal in the upcoming days. I gotta think this product is a cheap alternative than using a professional vacuum sealer or not using any type of sealer at all.

I have very poor results with Ziplock freezer products. The zips are unworkable when cold and even worse, the plastic becomes brittle and just picking the bag up breaks it. Lost a lot of hops that way.

I've done much better with the bags my tortillas come in, so I save them.

runhard said:

That's good info. to know. I was mistaken I guess.

Click to expand...

There's been a couple threads on here in the last few weeks...the reviews are mixed, and nothings definitive on it yet, probably because the product's so new.

The issue has tended to do with the hopdust, I guess around the seal.

If you search the forums you should find the couple threads on it...but there's been no oillow up on them...That's why it would be nice to have someone report back a few times letting us know if they hold up.

I mean they are so cheap, so if it doesn't work we won't be out a lot of money. But it would be nice to have some definitive info on it.

I love when a gizmo gets "repurposed" into our hobby.

david_42 said:

I have very poor results with Ziplock freezer products. The zips are unworkable when cold and even worse, the plastic becomes brittle and just picking the bag up breaks it. Lost a lot of hops that way.

I've done much better with the bags my tortillas come in, so I save them.

Click to expand...

What kind of tortilla's do you get? And are you saying you vacuum seal them?

Here is an update on these vacuum freezer bags. They did not work. I checked on my bag of hops after a few days of storing them in the freezer and the vaccum did not keep.

Amazon.com: Reynolds® Handi-Vac? Vacuum Sealer - Vacuum Sealing System Starter Kit with Handy Vac Freezer Bags and Batteries: Kitchen & Dining

This product seems to get a lot better reviews, and while it's a bit more $... it's still cheap.

Any experiences? Looking at buying bulk hops and need a cheap storage method.

Kilgore_Trout said:

Amazon.com: Reynolds® Handi-Vac? Vacuum Sealer - Vacuum Sealing System Starter Kit with Handy Vac Freezer Bags and Batteries: Kitchen & Dining

This product seems to get a lot better reviews, and while it's a bit more $... it's still cheap.

Any experiences? Looking at buying bulk hops and need a cheap storage method.

Click to expand...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/reynolds-handi-vac-46234/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/reynolds-handi-vac-bag-sealer-89929/?highlight=Reynolds+Handi-Vac

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/reynolds-handi-vac-46234/?highlight=Reynolds+Handi-Vac

Damn you Revvy.

Making me look like a hypocrite, what with the searching and such!

A brewing buddy showed me this little item. Works like a champ for storing hops in canning jars. You can cram 2 to 4 ounces into a quart jar. Put the lid on - pump the air out - put the jars in the freezer. I have never had a seal failure with this system.

Pump and Seal food saver vacuum sealer is better than Tilia FoodSaver

Dragging this one out of the grave to add to the conversation for posterity. I just bought one of these to bag hops (should have checked here first...). The power from the hops does indeed clog the valve, you can see it in the sticky adhesive around the valve. What I ended up doing was to put the hops in a first bag and pump it down (the vacuum will not hold due to the power in the valve). I then put this bag into a second bag and pumped that bag down around the first. The vacuum holds! Whew. I wasn't regretting the $4 for the pump and a few bags but the 6 boxes of bags I ordered at the same time...