The hops are in!

So, I took the plunge and ordered hops from Hops Direct. It took 48 hours to ship the order, and 5 business days to ship to Austin, TX. I got a pound each of Amarillo, Fuggles, Centennial, Cascade, Magnum, and Northern Brewer. The pound of Fuggles is 15.9 ounces, but all of the other bags are at least 18 ounces (Magnum was 19!). With that in mind, This would cost $324 if I were to buy hops as I needed them for each recipe and $180 to buy 1lb packs from the LHBS. I paid $77 plus 3 rolls of foodsaver bags...$110 total.



As you can tell, the Cascade and Fuggles were not vacuum packed. I took this opportunity to play with the new food saver and make 28g packets of Cascade. I promptly ran out of bags.


I can't wait to brew again!

Eric

Holy crap that's a lot of hops.

I know, it's exciting right?

Eric

So do you just shoot some Co2 into the packets before you seal them up then freeze them to make them last?

steinsato said:

So do you just shoot some Co2 into the packets before you seal them up then freeze them to make them last?

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I just measure the amount, put it into the bag and use the vacuum sealer, then stick them in the freezer.

Eric

EricCSU said:

I just measure the amount, put it into the bag and use the vacuum sealer, then stick them in the freezer.

Eric

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+1 I do the same thing. Works great.

Hey guys I'm just wondering how long they'll keep in the freezer? 6 months, a year, more?
I ordered 4 lbs from Hops Direct a few days ago and now that I see how much that actually is...I'm beginning to think I'm not able to go through them fast enough.

I love how you referred to buying them in pounds then packed them in metric.

peterfuse said:

I love how you referred to buying them in pounds then packed them in metric.

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They sell the hops by the pound. I measure using the metric scale because it is more precise and my brain processes that easier.

Eric

EricCSU said:

They sell the hops by the pound. I measure using the metric scale because it is more precise and my brain processes that easier.

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Good work i like it, i wasn't poking fun. I'm constantly converting recipes from this site to metric in my head.

peterfuse said:

Good work i like it, i wasn't poking fun. I'm constantly converting recipes from this site to metric in my head.

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Metric is so much easier to work with, I wish it was used here more often.

Eric

I don't have room in my freezer so I vacuum sealed mine and put them in a box in my keezer..about 48 degrees and dark...

I just figured you said 28 grams because that's what your scale reads. Due to past business practices I immediately recognized this as being an ounce.

Keith_Mahoney said:

I just figured you said 28 grams because that's what your scale reads. Due to past business practices I immediately recognized this as being an ounce.

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It is the rough equivalent of a US ounce. However, it is a more precise measurement because my scale will read to the nearest 1/8 ounce or 1 gram. My recipes all have hops in grams to account for differences in scaling or process or AA levels, so I usually open a bag or two and then reseal what is left. I usually use one or two ounces of hops when I dry hop though, so it is convenient to just open one or two bags and dump them in.

Make sense?

Eric

Awesome. Glad to know what the rough costs would be for an Austin shipment.

I keep my bulk hops in the original bag. After I open it, I just put the whole silver bag into a large vacuum sealed bag. When I need more, I just open it, measure the amount, and reseal. They take up less freezer space that way.

I put mine in a large food saver bag. Then just cut, measure out hops, then re-seal. I can't see wasting 16 bags on a pound of hops.

Yuri_Rage said:

I keep my bulk hops in the original bag. After I open it, I just put the whole silver bag into a large vacuum sealed bag. When I need more, I just open it, measure the amount, and reseal. They take up less freezer space that way.

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+1 I do this.

Yuri_Rage said:

I keep my bulk hops in the original bag. After I open it, I just put the whole silver bag into a large vacuum sealed bag. When I need more, I just open it, measure the amount, and reseal. They take up less freezer space that way.

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And use far less bags

As far as pellet hops go, 1 Lb = 1 Quart. Mason jars FTW

Keith_Mahoney said:

I just figured you said 28 grams because that's what your scale reads. Due to past business practices I immediately recognized this as being an ounce.

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Hahaha...nice. I just realized that I recognized it the same way when I read it LOL....

is there a specific life span for them in the freezer? I just ordered 4lbs of hops and am curious how fast i need to use them.

Grimm said:

is there a specific life span for them in the freezer? I just ordered 4lbs of hops and am curious how fast i need to use them.

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It varies based on storage conditions and the specific hop variety. There is a calculator in Beersmith that determines AA% degradation over time when you input storage conditions.

In short, keep them frozen. If you can, keep them away from oxygen.

Eric