Open hop pellets: freeze or refrigerate?

I ordered several 8oz bags of hops from Northern Brewer and now have several bags that are no longer vacuum sealed. I have them rolled up in ziplock bags. I plan on using these leftovers in maybe the next two months or so. I want to do what is best for my little hop friends, so is freezing or refrigerating better? They are currently refrigerated.

I keep mine frozen, and that seems to be the generally accepted practice.

Vacuum sealing is best, but try your best to squeeze out all of the air that you can and stick them in the freezer. With a vacuum sealer, they can last for a couple of years in the freezer. Without a vacuum sealer, they will lose flavor and aroma faster, so if you're using them in a couple of months you'll be fine. I'd still stick them in the freezer instead of the fridge, though!

Great, thanks for the info. How long will they last in the freezer?

oil is oil, it WILL break down. freezing prolongs that the longest (apart from storing them on the dark side of the moon). it's where i put my best, bulk coffee beans, too. for the same reason.

l;asts what, 6-10 months? hell don't ask me. i find old hops in a cardboard box in my basement (2 years +), hell I *USE* em.

Moody_Copperpot said:

Great, thanks for the info. How long will they last in the freezer?

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Ray Daniels says in Designing Great Beers that at most hops stored in a sealed bag in the freezer will only lose 25% of their AA over the course of a year, and even then the amounts of other bittering compounds can increase. Figure you lose a little more than that if they aren't sealed, and not sure if that still holds for the flavor and aroma compounds, but for 2 months I'd definitely toss them in the freezer and not worry about it.

brewmonk said:

oil is oil, it WILL break down. freezing prolongs that the longest (apart from storing them on the dark side of the moon). it's where i put my best, bulk coffee beans, too. for the same reason.

l;asts what, 6-10 months? hell don't ask me. i find old hops in a cardboard box in my basement (2 years +), hell I *USE* em.

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How do you get your coffee beans on the dark side of the moon, and don't you find it inconvenient to go to there whenever you need your coffee??

I_B_Mongo said:

How do you get your coffee beans on the dark side of the moon, and don't you find it inconvenient to go to there whenever you need your coffee??

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Not only that, but moving the coffee all over a planetary body to keep it on the dark side! I'd just put it in one of those permanently shaded polar craters instead!

ArcaneXor said:

Not only that, but moving the coffee all over a planetary body to keep it on the dark side! I'd just put it in one of those permanently shaded polar craters instead!

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No worries, the moon doesn't spin. one side is ALWAYS dark. And at negative 243 degrees and zero relative humidity, your hops are sure to stay fresh.

The moon most definitely spins, but since it spins on its axis as fast as it takes for it to rotate the earth, we only see one side. The "dark side" of the moon is illuminated too. We just can't see it -new moon phase.

There is no dark side of the moon, really. As a matter of fact, it's all dark.