Dry Hopping on a Whim and General Hop Storage

[icedub]

Hoping you can help with some hops questions.


Part A: Hop Storage: I have 1.75 ounces of nice whole-leaf Sterling Hops (7%AAU) stored in the bag they came, inside another ziplock bag in the fridge. They're leftover from my Whitey's Gone Fishin Pale Ale brew from last weekend. Is this the 'proper' way to store hops? Do you guys generally plan your next batch with using your leftover hops in mind?

Part B: I loves me some hops. Since the WGFPA recipe isn't all that hoppy, I was considering throwing in some or all of my leftover Sterling hops to dry hop. Would this make the beer super bitter, or just give me some more tasty hop aroma? What's a good way to determine how much (if any) I should put in?

Here's a PDF of the original recipe plugged into TastyBrew Calculator:
http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-07-21/EyBmsptvftwxjgcabwmJzeExDfozkgsiFtCIbqnhriyllouoeyflquFakqjw/palealerecipe.pdf

Thanks!
-Ethan

 

[weirdboy]

If you are hardcore, you vacuum-seal your hops and store them in the freezer. At the very least, keep them in the freezer instead of the fridge and they will last much, much longer.

 

[SumnerH]

If you are hardcore, you vacuum-seal your hops and store them in the freezer. At the very least, keep them in the freezer instead of the fridge and they will last much, much longer.

+1 on this. The colder, the better. Squeeze as much air out of the ziploc as you can easily (but no need to go all crazy trying to be absolutely perfect).

 

[icedub]

Thanks guys! And what about my idea to dry-hop my Pale Ale? Good or bad?

 

[weirdboy]

You can...that recipe is supposed to be an English style pale ale which aren't really supposed to have a strong hop aroma, but it sounds good to me.

 

[Bizoune]

I put my hops in the freezer in a ziplock as well. Go ahead and dry hop that Pale Ale. Then do the same recipe without dry hopping and assess the results. Repeat as necessary.