Storing hops

Simple question - About how long can I store whole leaf hops in a freezer without losing freshness?

depends what you store them in. Vacuum packed? a year or more. In a air tight container? Perhaps 6-months... In a baggie/ziplock? 3-6 months... Who knows. There are lots of variables. And it all depends on what you consider a loss of freshness.

Keeping them in the freezer lengthens the time as well.

2-3 years in a freezer, if the bags are sealed.

Or you can use a vaccuum sealer with jars, so you dont have to use up bag material.

Wow that looks like lots of fun there. I like your little stash.

If you have the BeerSmith software it has a tool on it to calculate the loss of alpha acids from the hops based on what storage method you use, temperature and for what length of time. I think it's a pretty cool tool. I love the software because it helps take out a lot of the guess work of brewing and it gives me more confidence with formulating recipes and it keeps me extremely organized during brew day both mentally and physically. You can try the software out for 45 days free of charge. It says that after 21 days the software is not fully functional but I noticed no differences. After the trial period is up I think it was $25. This and the autosiphon were the two best products I bought so far.

I just checked beer smith as mnm129 suggested and the loss, well see for yourself.

Cascade at 5.5AA
Barrier Package/Jar at 28degrees F
6 month storage AA= 4.57%
12 month storage AA=3.79%

based off 50% HSI loss (whatever that means)

I wouldn't think anyone would store hops for a year but the loss is 1point for 6 months.

I have 4 lbs on order and I'd imagine I'll use most of that in 6 months and if not, then I'll just recalculate at the time they are needed and adjust qty as needed.

mnm129 said:

If you have the BeerSmith software it has a tool on it to calculate the loss of alpha acids from the hops based on what storage method you use, temperature and for what length of time. I think it's a pretty cool tool. I love the software because it helps take out a lot of the guess work of brewing and it gives me more confidence with formulating recipes and it keeps me extremely organized during brew day both mentally and physically. You can try the software out for 45 days free of charge. It says that after 21 days the software is not fully functional but I noticed no differences. After the trial period is up I think it was $25. This and the autosiphon were the two best products I bought so far.

Click to expand...

Promash has this tool too, but I dont know of any other programs that do.

orangeandblue302 said:

Wow that looks like lots of fun there. I like your little stash.

Click to expand...

I have about 9.5 pounds of hops in jars... all neatly labeled with the hop type and AA. It is like having a HB shop in my garage!