Hop Storage

[BasementArtie]

Obviously we all know flushed vacuum sealed hops will last a long while in the freezer and conversely hops stored at ambient temperatures in oxygen rich environments i.e air will stale pretty swiftly, some say 2 weeks however I believe it's much shorter.

Does anyone know how hops deal with a 100% CO2 environment which is ambient ~20C but humid with a lot of moisture?

 

[day_trippr]

Would the hops be directly exposed to this environment?

Cheers!

 

[BasementArtie]

Would the hops be directly exposed to this environment?

Cheers!

In a hypothetical scenario of hanging hop pellets in bags after initial fermentation starts in an air tight fermenter until released when dry hopping then yes I believe they could. But I'm wondering if the CO² rich environment would negate the warmer humid effects of fermentation.

 

[hotbeer]

In a hypothetical scenario of hanging hop pellets in bags after initial fermentation starts in an air tight fermenter until released when dry hopping then yes I believe they could.

Others that dry hop do this all the time. Apparently many of them are happy with the results.

 

[Bassman2003]

I do my dry hopping this way. Seems to provide nice aroma. The best scenario is when I ferment under pressure and bring the fermenter up to pressure by filling it with CO2 right after pitching. This creates a "limited oxygen environment". Notice how I did not use 'air tight' or something similar as air is trapped in the fermenter when you close it. Even when I load in CO2 to 2 bar, the oxygen is still in there, even after some purging. Once the yeast get going the O2 will be pushed out though which saves us.

My issue with this type of dry hopping is the pellets get moist and swell up before going in the drink so to speak. I am on my third attempt/design to not have the expansion push the bag off the magnets!

 

[BasementArtie]

I do my dry hopping this way. Seems to provide nice aroma. The best scenario is when I ferment under pressure and bring the fermenter up to pressure by filling it with CO2 right after pitching. This creates a "limited oxygen environment". Notice how I did not use 'air tight' or something similar as air is trapped in the fermenter when you close it. Even when I load in CO2 to 2 bar, the oxygen is still in there, even after some purging. Once the yeast get going the O2 will be pushed out though which saves us.

My issue with this type of dry hopping is the pellets get moist and swell up before going in the drink so to speak. I am on my third attempt/design to not have the expansion push the bag off the magnets!

Sorry when I say air tight I mean sealed SS Fermenter with a blow off tube and CO2 capture. (See picture)

My hypothetical idea is to allow fermentation to start. Open up put the bags with hops on with the magnets on the outside and inside the bags. Hopefully as fermentation has started the O2 introduced is pushed out of the blowoff and limits the O2 contact time. After a couple of hours I open up the co2 capture. Once fermentation is done slide the magnets in at 14C leave for 3-5 days slide them out then cold crash.

 

[Bassman2003]

Sounds like a good plan. In your case "air tight" does not matter as your hops are not in at the beginning. Opening the fermenter and adding the hops after the yeast are going is a good approach. Since I am under pressure from the start, I have to add them early. I let the ferment almost finish, then drop the bag in, let sit for 3-5 days, then cold crash and close transfer to the purged keg.

Are those bags for CO2 capture to be used for cold crashing? If so, do you have them completely deflated when you start fermenting?

 

[BasementArtie]

Are those bags for CO2 capture to be used for cold crashing? If so, do you have them completely deflated when you start fermenting?

Yeah those bags are collecting CO², they are complete sucked then sealed so no air before going however just to be doubly sure I allow them to fill so the tubes are also purged then flatten again.

 

[odie]

I just put mine in mason jars and stick in the fridge.

I used to try sucking the air out with one of those vac sealer machines but it's hit/miss on mason jars.

Pretty sure I'm ok for several months or longer.

 

[day_trippr]

This thread isn't actually about storing hops...

Cheers!

 

[BasementArtie]

This thread isn't actually about storing hops...

Cheers!

Apologies. I thought storage data may help with understanding hops would deal with these conditions. You are correct this isn't specifically storage related.

 

[odie]

This thread isn't actually about storing hops...

Cheers!

well then it should have been titled something other than "hop storage".

OP seems to be asking a hops storage suituation.

 

[day_trippr]

A fascinating conclusion, considering the OP was actually asking about hanging hops in a keg and purging it with fermentation gases before filling it with beer...

Cheers!

 

[odie]

A fascinating conclusion, considering the OP was actually asking about hanging hops in a keg and purging it with fermentation gases before filling it with beer...

Cheers!

You are "partially" correct... The OP did not ask anything about that in their opening post.

This thread is indeed incorrectly titled.