Vacuume sealed hops bag punctured. Will they still be ok?

[atwoheadedcat]

Brewing today and went to pull some of my whole leaf hops out of the freezer. They were in plastic vacuumed sealed bags but one of them seems to have been punctured letting some air in.

Will they still be ok to use or should I toss tag one?

Thanks!

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

How long were they in there? Many people just put them in zip lock bags for short periods of time and don't seem to have any trouble. Even though there is air in the zip locks and they are gas permeable.

 

[alexnova]

How long were they in there? Many people just put them in zip lock bags for short periods of time and don't seem to have any trouble. Even though there is air in the zip locks and they are gas permeable.

That's the $64 question. Was there any freezer burn? If so, I'd consider tossing em. Otherwise, follow your nose and look to use them sooner rather than later.

 

[IslandLizard]

Tossing them? Heck no, smell them first. Also consider this:

Do you always use up a whole bag of hops the same day, once you open it?
How do you deal with the opened bag? Is this really that much different?

Chances are that those hops are A-OK. Freezer temps slow down reactions drastically. It's not that the bag has been breathing like an animal while lying there.

 

[thaymond]

If it smells cheesy or garlicky or otherwise out of the smell profile of the hop, then 86 em. Otherwise make beer with them.

 

[atwoheadedcat]

Thanks for all the suggestions! My fiance's cousin has a hop farm and this was the first time I ever had bulk hops laying around.

I'll give them a good smell before dry hopping. Worst case I'll just have to be out of 2oz or so of hops.

 

[RM-MN]

I try to use opened bags of hops in the same year they were opened.

If I use a partial bag of hops for flavor and want to dry hop later with that hop, I fold the top of the packet over, secure it with a clothespin, and refrigerate it.