4 year old hops from a CL haul

[chefmike]

I bought a bunch of stuff from a guy of CL... among the piles of crap were a 50lb bag of 2 row (tastes fine) and 2 oz each of centennial and amarillo: from 2005. Originally 10.4% and 9.5% respectively.

I know hops degrade over time... These hops are plugs, which I have no experience with.

My plan is to bitter with them figuring a third to a quarter of their AA, if they smell good. They are sealed right now, and I have yet to open them.

Any experience at this age? If that is WAY too old... maybe I will try a lambic next fall....

If someone has beersmith and wants to punch it in the hop age calculator... I do not have that software on this computer.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Have to know what temp they were stored at to effective calculate Alpha loss. Package type also has some effect.

 

[RC0032]

Go Lambic on them old hops!

 

[SumnerH]

Have to know what temp they were stored at to effective calculate Alpha loss. Package type also has some effect.

To calculate their IBUs, you'd also need the beta acid percentage. Oxidized betas (which also contribute to IBUs) actually increase over time. The character of their bittering tends to be different from isomerized alpha bittering, though.

Brew Your Own: The How-To Homebrew Beer Magazine - Recipes - Behind the IBU: Advanced Brewing has some good info, especially in the "Fresh versus aged hops" section.

But lambic brewers try very hard to find aged hops. I'd be inclined either to do a lambic or to trade with someone who's going to do one.

 

[chefmike]

maybe i will post them over in that section... the guy SAID they were in the freezer... but...???

they are packed in the grey plastic, vacuum sealed,

 

[SumnerH]

FWIW,
Centennial: US CENTENNIAL Hop Detail - Brew-Monkey.Com ~4% beta acids
Amarillo: Amarillo Hops (pellets 90 gms) - Product Details - CraftBrewer 6-7% beta

That's a huge beta proportion in the Amarillos. It would make for a very interesting study in aged hops if they've had a chance to oxidize some. Could be exactly what the lambic people are shooting for.