Best way to vacuum seal homegrown hops?

[rwing7486]

I am about to vacuum seal my homegrown hops in the next few days and was hoping for some input. Last year I vacuum sealed bags of my hops using foodsaver FM2000 and food saver bags. I had no problem storing them or with the sealing the bags, but when I went to use them I noticed there was quite a bit of lupulin stuck to the inside surface of the bag. Is there a specific type of bag (material) i should be using when I store my hops to minimize this from happening? I am just trying to get the most out of my hops.

Thanks!

 

[Leezer]

I’ve used the same for my hops for a few years now, although model number a little different, and haven’t had that happen. I’m wondering if your hops were too dry and fell apart in the bag?

 

[hedgie57]

Maybe a regular plastic sandwich bag inside the vacuum bag?

 

[LokiM4]

Maybe a regular plastic sandwich bag inside the vacuum bag?

Or something non stick like parchment paper. Place a sheet on each flat side of the bag as a liner of sorts.

 

[Kaz15]

I've been using the clear plastic vacuum seal rolls as well. The ones you cut to size. I've noticed lots of lupulin in the bags as well. On brew day I try to scrape out that yellow goodness with my brew spoon to get it in the kettle. I'm generally not too worried about it. The aroma I get from my homegrown cascades is still amazing.

Something else to to ponder: I'm guessing most of us here are familiar with hop hash? That's essentially a product derived from lupulin that gets stuck in the machinery of the pellitizer. I'd almost equate that to the lupulin we have getting stuck inside the vacuum bag. Perhaps being devils advocate here, I'd still wager that we're getting more of the lupulin goodness than pelletized hops.

Full disclosure, I have no issues using pellet hops.

 

[Beerisgud]

How much weight would I be able to squeeze into 6x8” pre cut bags? I wanted the tear notch and not have to seal the bottom and top with rolls to make my life and food saving easier. Turns out I can only fit one fat chicken thigh in these and I’m a little worried there won’t be much room for the hops. Up to 2 oz packs are what I’m looking to seal. Also Is the Mylar stuff a waste of money if you plan on freezing and using within a year?

 

[LokiM4]

How much weight would I be able to squeeze into 6x8” pre cut bags? I wanted the tear notch and not have to seal the bottom and top with rolls to make my life and food saving easier. Turns out I can only fit one fat chicken thigh in these and I’m a little worried there won’t be much room for the hops. Up to 2 oz packs are what I’m looking to seal. Also Is the Mylar stuff a waste of money if you plan on freezing and using within a year?

YouTube homebrewer DrHans has a home grown hops video series. He managed to fit 100g of dried hops into a large (11”x15” approx) bag-that’s about 3.5oz. I’d think you’d be hard pressed to get more than an ounce In yours.

 

[Kaz15]

I’m shooting from the hip here, but best guess is you’d have a really tough time squeezing 2 oz into that sized bag. Sounds like 1 oz. might also be stretch. I use roughly ~11”x 8” size cuts for 1 oz whole cone. Probably would only need 11”x11” for 2 oz. That’s a total guess.

I just ran out of my last 11” wide clear roll. So I recently bought two rolls each of both clear and mylar from amazon. I haven’t perceived any quality loss in using clear plastic storing for 1-2 years. Kept as cold as possible in a freezer that whole time. That said, I bought the mylar for hops that I don’t have an immediate brew in mind.

Wasn’t super cheap buying both of these, but they should last 5+ years.

 

[Beerisgud]

Ordering a couple rolls of 11” x 50’ thanks guys

 

[Beerisgud]

I’ll save the small bags for the bittering hops

 

[LagerLover78]

@rwing7486 I use the FM2000-15 model and it's worked fantastic. A few weeks ago I pulled out some Cascade and Magnum hops that were packed in food saver bags for a just shy of 2 years and they smelled fine before they were tossed in and they still taste great in the finished beer. They maybe a bit on the weak side after 2 years sitting at the bottom of the freeze. I didnt nottice any luplin on the bags. Although, I've been curious for a while of there are better bags suited for packing hops.

 

[Joggin]

I go to the Dollar store and buy the plastic bags advertised for putting clothes in and vacuuming. Perfect for the freezer and only a buck each.

 

[FunkyMunk]

I have 8x10" (quart-sized) plastic vacuum sealer bags, and was able to squeeze 3 oz of dried cones in each bag without a ton of effort. They can pack down pretty tight.