Storing Hops After Opening

What's the best way to store hops after you've opened them? I've got a couple half used 1 oz pkgs, and I've been thinking about ordering a couple lbs of leaf hops, if they can be kept fresh for a while. Is double bagging in ziplocks good enough, or do I need one of those fancy vacuum sealers, or what?

use ziplocks (remove as much of the air as possible) and store them in the freezer. they should keep fine for quite a while that way. If you'll be using them within 6 months, you should have no problems. After 6 months or more they might slowly start to degrade with respect to alpha acid content, but that just means you need to use more of them to get the desired bitterness after long storage.

of course, vacuum sealers would be ideal. if you've got that kind of money to spend on your hobby, go for it.

-walker

I store mine in the freezer in ziplock bags up to 6 months without any noticable effects.

Gilbey

Same here. On my last order from Freshops, some of the hops actually came in a reusable ziplock bag!

El Pistolero said:

What's the best way to store hops after you've opened them? I've got a couple half used 1 oz pkgs, and I've been thinking about ordering a couple lbs of leaf hops, if they can be kept fresh for a while. Is double bagging in ziplocks good enough, or do I need one of those fancy vacuum sealers, or what?

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That's a good question, and one which I was recently pondering. While we are on the question of storage of leftover brewing supplies, how should LME be stored, and how long will it last?

I store my LME out of the light, away in a dark closet. Not sure how long it lasts as I've never been able to keep supplies around long without brewing (I do prefer DME). I think there's a thread here that discusses lifespans of LME and DME. This is the only one I'm hitting on:

Shelf Life

I actually recently asked this question to the guys at the local shop. The summary of their response follows:

LME is a pretty damn viscous liquid, and nasty stuff is going to have a hard time setting it's roots in. Think of it in the same way as you would maple syrup. It takes forever for it to go bad, especially if kept in the fridge. If you *DO* see anything on the surface of it that looks bad, spoon it off... the rest is most likely still fine. And, after all, you ARE going to boil it when you use it.

-walker

I have been amassing quite the collection of hops in my fridge. my LHBS sells in 2oz ziplock bags so I just reseal and ot away. Since I've been doing lagers lately I hardly use any at one time.

2nd Street Brewery said:

I have been amassing quite the collection of hops in my fridge.

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Not in your freezer?

El Pistolero said:

Not in your freezer?

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I would imagine refrigetor temps are fine. Maybe not for 6 months... but, everytime I go to my local HBS their hops are stored in a regular refrigerator. Like most things, they can be stored fine at refrigerator temps, but will stay longer in the freezer.

The ones at the LHBS are vacuum sealed...seems like after opening you'd want them in a freezer to slow down oxidation.

My HBS stores them in the fridge too. I do reseal them theu come in little ziplock bags. Last time I was in the owner gave me a handful of the bags because I use them to set up my hops for my boil. I have them marked, Start, 45mins and 55mins so I just dump 'em in when brewing.

2nd Street Brewery said:

My HBS stores them in the fridge too. I do reseal them theu come in little ziplock bags. Last time I was in the owner gave me a handful of the bags because I use them to set up my hops for my boil. I have them marked, Start, 45mins and 55mins so I just dump 'em in when brewing.

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Of all the homebrewers I have met, you seem to have the most methodical and precise preocess in place (from what I have gethered from your posts). Me? Well, I wouldn't call myself methodical, I like to, errrr, wing it.

I have a vacuum sealer and about 6 lbs of hops in my freezer.

I don't think I could use 6 lbs of hops in a year, but hopefully I'll be able to use the 3 lbs I just ordered.

Well, almost every other batch I make is a Weizen.

Sometimes 3-4 Weizens in a row.

I try to brew almost every weekend I am home. I'm planning on brewing a batch later tonight.

I'm having a couple of guys over on Sat where I'll probably brew...a Weizen.

I'm thinking that every other batch I do will be a wiezen, too...just can't get enough of that stuff, so I ordered a lb of fresh hallertauer.

El Pistolero said:

Not in your freezer?

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Keepum frozen El P.

Yep, I freeze everything. I'm mainly just wondering how careful I need to be to avoid freezer burn. I've got lb size zip lock bags of chili powder that I just purge the air out of and zip em back up...they seem to last forever that way. I'm thinking the hops might need to be double bagged tho...maybe even wrapped in aluminum foil too. Or is that just getting way to anal?

I think it really depends on how long you plan to keep them in there. If for longer than a couple of months then yes wrap them. They don't last long
at my house but since I ordered lbs from directhops I am having the same issue.

The pillow idea is lookin better huh?

Sudster said:

The pillow idea is lookin better huh?

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It works for me...and it'll dang sure run the wife off.

That's funny ..and I guess its common....but I think they smell wonderful.
I said , Honey smell these , oooooo yuk, what is that...get that away from me..

The hops, the steeping grains, the boiling wort...to me they smell like heaven. To the wife...OOOHHH what's rotten in here, or, OOOHHH who brought the bale of hay home.

El Pistolero said:

The hops, the steeping grains, the boiling wort...to me they smell like heaven. To the wife...OOOHHH what's rotten in here, or, OOOHHH who brought the bale of hay home.

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What's the deal with that? I get the same thing, 2 daughters and a Fiance' all think wort stinks. I said," Oh, just taste it see how sweet it is." They think it's bitter and I taste sweet? I just don't get it.

Smells great! Taste Great! It must just be a man thing.

Read this once about storing paint. They said you should take a deep breath, hold it ( to use up oxygen), and blow it into the can before sealing it. Hops come packed with CO2 in the package. Why not zip lock then and blow in the bag to remove oxygen? I've never really thought about it. I just roll the little pouch down a bit and tape it shut before throwing it back in the fridge.

Sudster said:

... I said , Honey smell these , oooooo yuk, what is that...get that away from me..

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You're still talking about hops here, right?

I store mine in the freezer, but I have several varieties for a total of about 70 ounces. It could take me awhile to use all of them!

I'd probably store mine in the freezer too, if I thought they'd be around that long. Only have a few oz's.

Rhoobarb said:

You're still talking about hops here, right?

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uh, actually no, I'm turning 50 tomorrow...so......well, not too much more needs to be said....