How long will my leaf hops stay fresh?

Hey guys I just used part of my 3 pounds of leaf hops from hopsdirect tonight. After I cut the sealed bags my only option was to put the hops in large ziploc bags. We made sure to get as much air out of the bags as possible and we put them in the fridge which is about 39-40 degrees, no room in the freezer unfortunately. How long can I expect the hops to last in those conditions? Also on another note, I had no idea how big of a mess 6oz. of leaf hops make in a 5 gallon batch. My next brew I'm going to use muslin hop bags, has anyone noticed less hop utilization when they use hop bags vs. just directly throwing the hops in the kettle? thanks for any info.

if you get them in the freezer, they'll be good for a year or so before they start degrading. in the frig, the estimate is they'll lose 25% every 3 months. as far as using a hop bag, can't tell there; i don't use them

thanks for the info, I'll try to get them in the freezer.

http://www.brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue2.1/garetz.html

excellent article on hop storage and deterioration. also includes acid loss calculation and links to tables for different hops and their loss rates.

Thanks for the link, those charts are awesome.

Hi J - first excuse my English, I am from Germany and my English not so good. I used these muslin hop bags for many years, before I tied hops in cheesecloth. I never noticed any different other than that it now take me 2 minutes to clean up not 2 hours. Please let me provide to you a tip - never put too many ounces of hops into small muslin bags, if you do you limit the acid and flavor extraction, aroma not so much. Hops must be packed loose so the whole leaf can be exposed to wort evenly. In Germany I vorked for 22 years in Kloster Brauerei as I imagine in English you call it asociate master brewer. I was back home last year and to visit my old friends. They now use one form of hop bag for special beers made couple times a year. Ok, bye now.