Way to test old hops?

[guillaume]

I've got some 2 year old hops (whole, not pellets) in my freezer, not sealed, just freezer ziploc bags. I got both centennial and nugget. I had planned to make an IPA, but haven't brewed in a year.

Is there a way to test them? Like making a tea or something?

They still smell quite strong, everything I put in that freezer smells like hops, even those chicken nuggets loll If they're not good anymore I might keep a few bags there just because it smells nice.

 

[IslandLizard]

Once they start smelling cheesy (Romano/Parmesan-like) they're no good for brewing. I have hops in the freezer (-4 - 0F) in their original, well squeezed and taped up O2 barrier bags that are 4 years old. They're as fresh as when I bought them.

When in doubt, yeah, make some hop tea (using wort or water) with a few pellets or cones, then smell and taste.

 

[guillaume]

Once they start smelling cheesy (Romano/Parmesan-like) they're no good for brewing. I have hops in the freezer (-4 - 0F) in their original, well squeezed and taped up O2 barrier bags that are 4 years old. They're as fresh as when I bought them.

When in doubt, yeah, make some hop tea (using wort or water) with a few pellets or cones, then smell and taste.

Good to know, at least they don't when I open the freezer, but will try the tea. Is it a good way to check their bittering/aroma strenght too?

 

[IslandLizard]

Good to know, at least they don't when I open the freezer, but will try the tea. Is it a good way to check their bittering/aroma strenght too?

It will give you some idea, but when making a pint or 2 of hop tea it's hard to measure out the small amounts of hops needed precisely if you want to use them as calibrations. You're dealing with fractional grams.

To assess bitterness potential (or the loss thereof) you'd need to boil at least 30' to get about 2/3 of the theoretical bitterness they can yield.

From using those deep frozen hops I've noticed very little loss of bitterness, flavor or aroma. I compensate by using about 5% extra per year of age. That seems to work for my situation. 10% was definitely too much.

 

[IslandLizard]

The most important prevention from staling is not letting air/O2 get to them. Ziplock bags are not really airtight, they're a bit permeable, that's why everything smells like hops. The original mylar O2 barrier bags are worth saving for that. That's why most hops are vacuum packed (Foodsaver) or Nitrogen flushed. Not sure if CO2 flushing is useful, but I do it occasionally. Then squeeze as much of it out while rolling up the flap tight, and tape it shut to the body of the bag. Now the ultra low temps in the freezer slow down the staling reaction process dramatically.