Are my hops still good

[DJL531]

Title is a bit wide, but here goes.

I bought several different hops over the last few years and I've wondered how much flavor or aroma will be decremented due to age. They are all still sealed from air. One example is 1/2 pound of Citra whole cone vacuumed in a mylar bag from a 2020 harvest that I am sure I bought sometime in 2021.

I was also a member of the Yakima Valley Hops 'hop box' so I have several cans left of assorted hops, again some are from the 2020 and 2021 harvest, still sealed in their nitrogen filled cans.

Last beer I made - about 4 weeks ago - was not as bitter as I expected, but real close. It was a pale ale and I purposely used more hops expecting a weakening of the pellets I had.

Next week I will be using whole cone and see how those come out.

So, prior to my experimentation next week, what sort of decline in AA strength and flavor should I expect with older hops as I described above?

 

[redrocker652002]

I have read and been told that as long as they are sealed and kept from the sunlight they should be ok. I have also been told to smell them and if they smell grassy then maybe not. I have pellets in my fridge that I got from a user here that were frozen and pressure canned and I used some the other day and they seemed fine. I have since broken up some of the bigger mason jars into smaller 2oz vacuum packed and in the freezer to help on space. I am no pro, so I will let them chime in.

 

[hotbeer]

I had one pack of pellet hops that I'd opened and stored for later use get nasty in < 6 months time. But then again I have a dozen others that have been stored longer after initial opening that still seem good when I use them.

If you know what they should smell and look like when you first opened them, they should pretty much be the same when you re-open them.

I just press the air out of the pouch and then seal with shipping tape folded over it's entire cut edge. Fridge or freezer which ever is more convenient. I do the same for dry yeast sachets.

The ones that went bad had gotten yellowish looking and smelled bad. So it seemed a no-brainer not to use them. Can't remember what they were. But all my hops are from the same source and pelletized. And come in a vacuum sealed pouch.

 

[madscientist451]

Keep ‘em in the freezer and they’ll Be fine…maybe not as good as “fresh” ones, but still good enough to make a decent beer.

 

[day_trippr]

At the end of the day, if the hops smell ok, they're probably ok to use. If they smell like bad cheese, let the wildlife have at 'em.

Evidently, these hops were sealed but not stored at freezing or even fridge temps. Ironically that makes them perfect for applying the "Hop Storage Index" metric, which predicts %loss of AA% over time when stored - sealed - at 68°F. Citra has an HSI of 25% per year under those conditions, for example.

But the HSI thing is specific to AA% degradation, and - especially for a heady aromatic strain like Citra - AA% may not even be that important to the brewer (there's always Magnum for IBUs ) and there isn't a metric that attempts to calculate "loss of character" over time...

Cheers!

 

[micraftbeer]

As with most things in life, "it depends" is always the safest answer.

The first "it depends" is what you're after with your brewing. If you're focused on repeatability, or figuring out what to change for your next recipe, then freshness matters. As @day_trippr teased, there's actually industry methodologies on how to measure/predict the drop in Alpha Acids based on storage length. That depends on the hop, on the particular hop harvest, storage temperature, and oxygen starvation. If you're worried about repeatability, get the most recent harvest year crop, ensure you have sealed hops (meaning you can't smell them through the bag), and store them in the freezer. And between oxygen sealing and storage temperature, temperature matters WAY more. Observe the plot at the end of this article from Michigan State University talking about Hop Storage Index.

If you're not worried about repeatability of a recipe, of course the same applies that recent harvest, coldest storage, and oxygen barrier effectiveness are all tools to keep your hops from spoiling. Then use your nose and eyes to avoid funky smelling or moldy hops and you'll be fine.

 

[mac_1103]

let the wildlife have at 'em

Except that hops are toxic to some of the wildlife.

 

[day_trippr]

The only species I'm aware of to which hops are toxic includes some strains of domestic canines that can develop malignant hyperthermia. And, yes, if my property was subject to visits from domestic canines that would be enough for me to dump them in the trash instead. Fortunately I've never had hops go bad - I vac-bag and freeze everything...

Cheers!

 

[mac_1103]

The only species I'm aware of to which hops are toxic includes some strains of domestic canines that can develop malignant hyperthermia.

I've seen conflicting information on whether cats are also susceptible to malignant hyperthermia from hops. Also some claims that hops are toxic to certain other animals (e.g., rabbits) but not by causing hyperthermia. Saw something about horses too, but I think that may have been a mis-statement of the "spent grain can cause colic in horses" thing.

 

[day_trippr]

Other than what I have read, I grew hops unprotected from animals and vice versa for seven years. Didn't lose any of our deer, raccoons, woodchucks or other random varmints, or the neighbors chickens or ducks. Don't have horses or sheep or lions or rhinoceroses so I can't speak to any of those from experience...

Cheers!

 

[mac_1103]

But did you lose any hops?

 

[InspectorJon]

Hops taste terrible. Ever put a little in your mouth? It’s one thing to infuse them into a sweet liquid like beer wort and another to eat them. I can’t imagine any animal eating hops. All my spent grains and hops go in the compost pile.

 

[mac_1103]

I can’t imagine any animal eating hops.

Many animals are drawn to things with strong odors and will eat a little bit of almost anything to try to figure out whether they want to eat more of it. With dogs, even a very little bit can be lethal.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Hops taste terrible. Ever put a little in your mouth? It’s one thing to infuse them into a sweet liquid like beer wort and another to eat them. I can’t imagine any animal eating hops. All my spent grains and hops go in the compost pile.

Dogs have been known to eat their own feces. So there's that.

 

[mac_1103]

Dogs have been known to eat their own feces.

And almost any other feces they find.

 

[MaxStout]

Vac seal and store in the freezer, should be good for a few years, maybe more.

I have a few pounds of 2019 hops in the freezer that still have most of their flavor and bitterness. Citra, Triple Perle and Centennial. I haven't experienced any off-flavors from them though I've had to increase the amounts by about 20% in brews the last year or so.