Long term hop storage data.

So I've been on hiatus for over a year and have not brewed a drop. I know, I know.

I have bulk grain that I am pretty sure is shot (stored 65ish in various sealed plastic containers). However I have a few lbs of various hops that were vaccum sealed and frozen the entired time.

Does anyone know of any hard data an how long the Hops can really go when frozen and vaccuumed seaded?

I have ran several searches and have found comments ranging from months to years.

Thanks.

Why do you think the grain is shot? I've used (am using in fact) grain that's probably a year and half old, and it tastes and smells good as does the beer made with it.
I am able to store it a bit cooler than you, probably around 55.

with hops, the one thing i have heard is that the hops will start to loose the AA% i could be wrong but it kinda makes sense..

carp said:

Why do you think the grain is shot? I've used (am using in fact) grain that's probably a year and half old, and it tastes and smells good as does the beer made with it.
I am able to store it a bit cooler than you, probably around 55.

Click to expand...

Speculating.

I haven't gone down and tasted any of it yet, I'm hoping anything that had a good seal is ok. It was a pretty big batch of grain.

Hops wise, the AA is what I am worried about. I know if just refigerated, or just frozen the AA may suffer, I'm hoping that the hops being frozen and vacuumed will help.

I just cannot find any "we've tested this and it is so" information.

I would chew a few kernels of the grain. If they taste like caca then toss them. If they are palatable then you are probably safe to brew with them. I have used whole grain stored in sealed buckets 2 years down the road and have still made great beer.

The hops will lose some AA% but if they were vacuum packed and kept cold or frozen they should still have some kick left but probably several % points lower than they were originally. Compensate by increasing the amount of hops (i.e. if the recipe calls for 1 oz at 60 minutes then increase it to 1.5 - 2 oz).

For the hops, there is a chart in Designing Great Beers that shows decline of AA% over time for similar conditions (frozen, vacuum sealed). I think for one year, it's not a very significant amount of loss.

I've found an inexpensive way to store my hops long term in a vacuum sealed jar. Can't take credit for this idea as I saw it posted on a website about how to make salads in a jar. I'm currently conducting an experiment on 1 empty jar to see if it works.
I picked up a Ziploc hand operated vacuum food storage starter kit that included 3 quart freezer bags at Walmart for just over $4.00. I then took a 1 quart wide mouth mason jar with the ring to hold the cap tight along with a "new" lid made by Ball and placed the lid and ring on the jar. Took a thumb tack and pushed it though the middle of the lid in order to create a small hole in the lid. Covered this hole with a piece of vinyl electrical tape about 1/2" long and sealed it down to the lid. I placed the vacuum pump centered over the hole and pushed down on it to seal it firmly against the lid and started pumping. I don't know for certain how the pump was able to pull the air out of the jar through the tape, but it worked GREAT! Created enough vacuum to pull the lid down tight on the jar. The vacuum is strong enough to pull the tape down into the pin hole I made in the lid. I did check the vacuum once last night and you could hear a nice strong sounding vacuum release when I pealed back the tape to expose the pin hole. When the tape wears out, you just replace it with a new piece of tape.
I left it overnight and the jar was still maintaining a vacuum. I placed the empty jar in the freezer this morning to see how the -0° temperatures would affect the vacuum inside the jar and will check on it tonight and will keep you posted on the progress of this experiment.
If this works, its a lot cheaper than buying an expensive vacuum food storage system.