Best Way to Store Hops?

Without getting one of those vacuum sealers?

Does anyone have any tips on how to store hops after opening the vacuum sealed bag?

I am thinking double bagging ziplock OR in 1/2 pint mason jars - then into the freezer with either.

Thanks for any tips...

They won't store as well without the vacuum seal. I'd only give them a shelf life of a few months. The foodsavers are a life saver in my opinion. I bought one for $60 and use it to store all my leftover grains and hops in air tight bags.

i prefer to store my hops in beer

brewmonk said:

i prefer to store my hops in beer

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Right on !!!!!!!!:rockin:

Suthrncomfrt1884 said:

They won't store as well without the vacuum seal. I'd only give them a shelf life of a few months. The foodsavers are a life saver in my opinion. I bought one for $60 and use it to store all my leftover grains and hops in air tight bags.

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Foodsaver for sure. Seal 'em up and stick 'em in the freezer.

This is my method. I get those really small snack sized ziplock baggies and fill each one up with an ounce of hops. I insert a small red straw stirrer into the bag and seal the whole thing up to the straw. Then I suck all of the air out through the straw, pull it out and seal the last small section. Then I fold the top of the bag over, tape it with masking tape, wrap the whole thing in aluminum and throw it in the freezer.

I hope that makes sense. I also know this isn't the ideal method but I love trying to do as much as possible on the cheap.

BuonAnno said:

This is my method. I get those really small snack sized ziplock baggies and fill each one up with an ounce of hops. I insert a small red straw stirrer into the bag and seal the whole thing up to the straw. Then I suck all of the air out through the straw, pull it out and seal the last small section. Then I fold the top of the bag over, tape it with masking tape, wrap the whole thing in aluminum and throw it in the freezer.

I hope that makes sense. I also know this isn't the ideal method but I love trying to do as much as possible on the cheap.

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That's a lot of work for something a foodsaver can do in 10 seconds. Time is money...

Suthrncomfrt1884 said:

They won't store as well without the vacuum seal. I'd only give them a shelf life of a few months. The foodsavers are a life saver in my opinion. I bought one for $60 and use it to store all my leftover grains and hops in air tight bags.

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My actual experience contradicts your opinion.

I have pellet hops at 18 months that are held in ziplocks in the freezer that are still quite viable. The leaf hops degraded in color, but still work quite well.

The hop age calculators on promash or the brewers lair site work quite well, though I find the hops will hold more AA than the calculations give them. Be careful of overhopping the lighter styles.

The calculators show vacuum sealed to maintain 1% better AA for the most part.

So relax, ziplock them and wait for the food saver to go on sale or to find one at the grocery store.

chefmike said:

My actual experience contradicts your opinion.

I have pellet hops at 18 months that are held in ziplocks in the freezer that are still quite viable. The leaf hops degraded in color, but still work quite well.

The hop age calculators on promash or the brewers lair site work quite well, though I find the hops will hold more AA than the calculations give them. Be careful of overhopping the lighter styles.

The calculators show vacuum sealed to maintain 1% better AA for the most part.

So relax, ziplock them and wait for the food saver to go on sale or to find one at the grocery store.

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I would assume the quality of bags come into play at this point then. I'm cheap so I buy crap ziplocs. I've had hops go bad after 3-4 months in the freezer.

Ziplocks, and other similar bags are oxygen permeable, I would think that the freezer bags would be slightly better, but more than likely are o2 permeable as well.

If you can smell the hops through the bag then they are not oxygen barrier. o2 will slowly be permeating through the plastic which over time will stale your hops.

Storing them in the freezer will help to keep them longer, but those bags will definitely oxidize your hops over time.

The absolute best way to store your hops would be in vacuum sealed mason jars. Food Saver makes a jar adapter that will suck the air out of the jars with the lid on. Oxygen cannot permeate through glass, and the seals on the jars are designed so that o2 cannot get in (designed for canning).

Just my .02 on the subject.

Schnitzengiggle said:

Ziplocks, and other similar bags are oxygen permeable, I would think that the freezer bags would be slightly better, but more than likely are o2 permeable as well.

If you can smell the hops through the bag then they are not oxygen barrier. o2 will slowly be permeating through the plastic which over time will stale your hops.

Storing them in the freezer will help to keep them longer, but those bags will definitely oxidize your hops over time.

The absolute best way to store your hops would be in vacuum sealed mason jars. Food Saver makes a jar adapter that will suck the air out of the jars with the lid on. Oxygen cannot permeate through glass, and the seals on the jars are designed so that o2 cannot get in (designed for canning).

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Also, you buy them once (it's like $10 for 12 1 qt mason jars on amazon) and never have to buy them again, and it's a lot easier just to use the jars repeatedly than to futz with lots of bags.

Vacuum sealed mason jars is not only the right thing to do, but it's also the cheap and easy thing to do IMO. I love it when right, cheap, and easy coincide!

If that's not enough, mason jars are versatile--see the yeast washing thread and save that much more money.

What about using 1/2 pint mason jars and just placing them into boiling water (about 3/4 of the way up the side of the jar) and putting the lid on. Doesnt that suck all the air out and create a vacuum tight seal? With the 1/2 pint jars I have they are only like 3 inches high so I would only need to boil like 1.5 inches of water.

Should this work?

Suthrncomfrt1884 said:

That's a lot of work for something a foodsaver can do in 10 seconds. Time is money...

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I think it sounds like it may take longer than it actually does. I buy in 4 oz bags and it takes me about two minutes to break that up into four bags, have it sealed and get it in the freezer.

I do see what your saying and if I had the cash I certainly would be using a foodsaver.

Schnitzengiggle said:

Ziplocks, and other similar bags are oxygen permeable, I would think that the freezer bags would be slightly better, but more than likely are o2 permeable as well.

If you can smell the hops through the bag then they are not oxygen barrier. o2 will slowly be permeating through the plastic which over time will stale your hops.

Storing them in the freezer will help to keep them longer, but those bags will definitely oxidize your hops over time.

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Again, I repeat what I said above. Hop degradation at 32 degrees is shown to be fairly close both in a vacuum and in a zip lock. Within about 1% AA.

The hops DO NOT go stale in a zip lock in the freezer. I have 8 different varieties that I use like this. I just used up Tett and hallertau that was 2008 crop. Held in plain, cheap ziplocks in the freezer.

Is it BETTER to use a vacuum? Yes, calculators show it to hold 1 to 1.5% more AA in a vacuum at similiar temps to just packing in a baggie. But is it necessary? No, it can be compensated for. Will you destroy your hops? No. Will they degrade in a few months? NO, you have plenty of time to use it up.

chefmike said:

Again, I repeat what I said above. Hop degradation at 32 degrees is shown to be fairly close both in a vacuum and in a zip lock. Within about 1% AA.

The hops DO NOT go stale in a zip lock in the freezer. I have 8 different varieties that I use like this. I just used up Tett and hallertau that was 2008 crop. Held in plain, cheap ziplocks in the freezer.

Is it BETTER to use a vacuum? Yes, calculators show it to hold 1 to 1.5% more AA in a vacuum at similiar temps to just packing in a baggie. But is it necessary? No, it can be compensated for. Will you destroy your hops? No. Will they degrade in a few months? NO, you have plenty of time to use it up.

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Chefmike, I too have some hops stored in small ziplock sandwich baggies, and they are double bagged in one gallon freezer bags, I just got a FoodSaver w/all the attachments at a yardsale for $3, (yes, it does work!)

So while it may be okay to store hops in Ziplocks, the OP's question was "Best way to store hops?" and w/o a doubt the best way is vacuum sealed in a oxygen barrier type bag or jar.

When you purchase hops they come in an o2 barrier type package, therefore, logic and the 1-1.5AA% retention data states that o2 barrier bag or container is the best way to package and store them.

jalgayer said:

What about using 1/2 pint mason jars and just placing them into boiling water (about 3/4 of the way up the side of the jar) and putting the lid on. Doesnt that suck all the air out and create a vacuum tight seal? With the 1/2 pint jars I have they are only like 3 inches high so I would only need to boil like 1.5 inches of water.

Should this work?

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Do you mean you'd boil the jars with the hops in them? That can't be good for the hops.

Seriously - get the Foodsaver Mason Jar attachment. Something like $10 on Amazon. You don't have to buy a foodsaver to use it - plenty of people here use the Alvin Sealer or other cheap-o ways to seal the jars. I use this pump, which I got for $4 or something at Target. It makes a nice, tight seal on the jars.

I looked on the foodsaver site and it said the jar sealer replaces the regular lid.

FoodSaver® Regular Jar Sealers replace standard Mason-type jar lids to create a vacuum seal that locks out air, the enemy of freshness.

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So I'd need a jar sealer for each jar, is that correct? I just bought a foodsaver and have a ton of mason jars but if I have to use the special $9 lid for each jar...kinda expensive.

Also, imo I'm not worried about a few AA%. It's the cheesy aroma and any other funky aromas that are in most freezers that I'm worried about.

I just listened to the Brew Strong episode on this. They essentially said that the number one detrimental factor to hops is oxygen. Thats why so many people recommend food saver bags. There is also another factor. Since chemical reactions take place at least twice as fast for every 10 degree Celsius. Thats why its good to store them in a freezer. The colder the hops are, the oxidative reactions occur MUCH slower. I know there have been reports of properly stored hops with negligible AA reduction after 5 years.

To avoid the freezer funk, make sure you put them in one thats NOT self defrosting. Self defrosting freezers cycle between below freezing and just above so accumulated ice melts. That temp swing isn't really great for hops. I heard the suggestion of putting them in a ziplock, then stashing inside a small cooler packed with ice if you have to use a self defrosting freezer.

Palefire said:

Do you mean you'd boil the jars with the hops in them? That can't be good for the hops.

Seriously - get the Foodsaver Mason Jar attachment. Something like $10 on Amazon. You don't have to buy a foodsaver to use it - plenty of people here use the Alvin Sealer or other cheap-o ways to seal the jars. I use this pump, which I got for $4 or something at Target. It makes a nice, tight seal on the jars.

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You use that pump w/the FoodSaver jar attachment?

SpanishCastleAle said:

I looked on the foodsaver site and it said the jar sealer replaces the regular lid.


So I'd need a jar sealer for each jar, is that correct? I just bought a foodsaver and have a ton of mason jars but if I have to use the special $9 lid for each jar...kinda expensive.

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They make certain lids for their containers, but they also make an attachment for mason jars so you can use the mason jar lids.

Schnitzengiggle said:

Originally Posted by Palefire
Do you mean you'd boil the jars with the hops in them? That can't be good for the hops.

Seriously - get the Foodsaver Mason Jar attachment. Something like $10 on Amazon. You don't have to buy a foodsaver to use it - plenty of people here use the Alvin Sealer or other cheap-o ways to seal the jars. I use this pump, which I got for $4 or something at Target. It makes a nice, tight seal on the jars.

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You use that pump w/the FoodSaver jar attachment?

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Yep. Pretty ghetto, admittedly, but also nice and cheap. It makes a pretty tight seal (tight enough that the jars are tough to open without a knife) with very little effort. Maybe not quite as great as a foodsaver, but it'll do!

Palefire said:

Yep. Pretty ghetto, admittedly, but also nice and cheap. It makes a pretty tight seal (tight enough that the jars are tough to open without a knife) with very little effort. Maybe not quite as great as a foodsaver, but it'll do!

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I ask because I got a FoodSaver at a yardsale recently, and although it does work, I have yet to try the jar attachment, so if all else fails I may go the inexpensive and ghetto route myself

Either way I'm out less that $10!

Schnitzengiggle said:

So while it may be okay to store hops in Ziplocks, the OP's question was "Best way to store hops?" and w/o a doubt the best way is vacuum sealed in a oxygen barrier type bag or jar..

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The OP's question was what is the best way to store hops WITHOUT the foodsaver! Everyone keeps telling him to get a foodsaver.

I was trying to reiterate that it is feasible to do in the way he expressed his question.

Lots of good talk about food savers too, but he asked if anyone had tips for bags or bottles in storing hops. Which I do. Hence, I gave him advice he asked for

chefmike said:

The OP's question was what is the best way to store hops WITHOUT the foodsaver! Everyone keeps telling him to get a foodsaver.

I was trying to reiterate that it is feasible to do in the way he expressed his question.

Lots of good talk about food savers too, but he asked if anyone had tips for bags or bottles in storing hops. Which I do. Hence, I gave him advice he asked for

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OP should have been more specific in his thread title, I only see BOLD type.

Schnitzengiggle said:

I only see BOLD type.

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I think thats how I met my wife! :fro:

What about using glass canning jars and blanking out the oxygen with CO2? I know you would have to reblank every time you opened a jar but CO2 is cheap and if you have a keg setup you would already have it anyway.

stumbled on this, may be a good cheap alternative:

http://www.harborfreight.com/jar-lid-vacuum-system-kit-96414.html

vincemash said:

stumbled on this, may be a good cheap alternative:

http://www.harborfreight.com/jar-lid-vacuum-system-kit-96414.html

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That is a very inexpensive setup, the only drawback is you don't get to use the original lids that your canning jars come with.

Regardless, its only $2!!!

BTW, I used my $3 yard sale FoodSaver this weekend to package some hops and leftover grain, it works perfectly w/ the bags, and the jar/lid attachment is awesome! Worth the $3 IMO

For what it's worth, I make homemade hop plugs from leaf hops using some PVC pipe and a wooden dowel. Once they are compressed I wrap them in foil to retain their compressed shape and keep light out. Then I put those in ziploc freezer bags and freeze them. I used something similar to this:
http://brewtech.blogspot.com/2008/09/hop-plugger-project.html

Thanks for the replies... especially the ones that didnt answer my question of "how to seal hops w/o a foodsaver" by suggesting "buy a foodsaver"

I ended up getting high quality double locking freezer bags ($2) and sealing them in there by using one of those little red bar stir/straws. I squeeve out as much as I can, then close the bag around the straw and suck out the air.

Then I take these bags and place them into a larger freezer bag and repeat. Takes about 10-20sec. and it works extremely well. The amount of air is negligible and the amount of time, space and money used is way less than a food saver.

Great conversation. I am getting ready to buy 8lbs of hops from hopsdirect and this gives me a plan on how to store them effectively. Thanks.