Bulk hops storage.

[BrewKnob]

How do you do it? I'm looking or a better way to store bulk hops purchases.

 

[Weezy]

Vacuum sealer and freezer. They last for years.

 

[signpost]

I use a hand held vacuum sealer with a mason jar adapter. Keep the hops in the jars. It's worked well for me. Had some hops sit for a couple years and come out smelling awesome and working well in beers.

 

[Gravity]

I have pounds of hops that I've vacuum sealed and in my freezer. Every time I make a brew, i take them out accordingly and brew like a mfer

Never had a bad batch or bad hops in the 10+ years of storing hops this way

 

[imasickboy]

Vacuum sealed mason jars. A pound of pellets fits in a quart jar.

 

[Birdgunner]

Like others have said, can't beat a vacuum sealed bag in the freezer. I recently used the last couple of ounces of Northern Brewer I had stored from 2013 and my sassy summer ale turned out great and tasted like it always does.

 

[todddav]

+1 for mason jars and a vacuum sealer. 1lb of pellets fits well in a quart mason jar (like imasickboy said). It's easier and less wasteful and less fussy than bags.

I have found the wide mouth jars take a seal better than the standard size, but that may be my sealer.

 

[danthebugman]

I also use wide mouth canning jars and the vacuum sealer attachment. Works great and super easy.

 

[Pintabone]

I just purchased a vacuum sealer and bags. I did see on theElectricBrewery.com that he makes vertical seals in the bags so that you can separate into smaller portions of only what you need and not have to worry about resealing or putting in a different bag.

 

[pshankstar]

Vacuum sealer all the way! Its the only way to go, bag or mason jars it doesn't matter.

 

[Bilsch]

If you do leaf hops, squeeze your bags between two boards while vacuum sealing. Makes for a tighter easier to store package. That's 2 lbs of hops in the second pic.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I have over 19# of hops in my freezer in vacuum sealed bags right now.

My hops are almost ready to harvest. I'm hoping (hopping) for another 2+# crop this year.

 

[pvpeacock]

I also use mason jars and use a mason jar vacuum sealer adaptor. However, I had two handheld vacuum sealers break in less than a year. These things: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002FWIVCA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
So I bought a large syringe like this and it works perfectly with the mason jar adapter. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072QCFX5J/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[peterlonz]

I know what a Mason Jar is - called canning or "bottling " jars in Australia & New Zealand.
And of course I get how a vacuum sealer works with plastic bags.
But how on earth do you get a vacuum in a mason jar?
Surely that would need a very good vacuum pump?

 

[pvpeacock]

Here you go.

 

[imasickboy]

I know what a Mason Jar is - called canning or "bottling " jars in Australia & New Zealand.
And of course I get how a vacuum sealer works with plastic bags.
But how on earth do you get a vacuum in a mason jar?
Surely that would need a very good vacuum pump?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016OL1AB6/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Many vacuum sealers have an accessory port. That's what the hose plugs into.

 

[kh54s10]

I am down to 20 different hops, some only an ounce. It's bags for me. Jars would take up too much space.

 

[daveMN]

Vacuum sealers are easy to find at a Goodwill or thrift store too. I bought my Foodsaver for $5. A bag roll will last a long time sealing hops. I like the idea of sealing the bag down the middle. Think I'll give that a try.

 

[Smellyglove]

Don't open the bags until you need to use what's inside. Then pack the whole lot with a vacum sealer.

One tip is to make "longs" bags, like a sausage, so you just snip off the short end and use what you need, instead of opening the bag on the long side, then it's more difficult to seal it with the vacuum sealer unless you use a bunch of the hops as you need some plastic sticking out for the sealer to grab.

 

[ncbrewer]

I haven't tried a vacuum sealer yet. I was wondering - Are foil bags (or other oxygen barrier bags) available?

 

[Smellyglove]

You can get rolls with vacum sealer bags at a home-something-store. I've found that oxy-barrier bags are near impossible to seal with a sealer for kitchen-use.

 

[home-brew-dude]

Vacuum sealed jars for sure (they stack better and are easier to label than bags). YouTube and Ebay are great sources for low cost implementations.

 

[day_trippr]

As I typically deal with 12-15 pounds of dried home grown cones along with even more poundage of assorted pellets, unless ones freezer compartment height is a precise integer multiple of the jar height, I disagree...

Cheers!

 

[Vandulus]

While keeping oxygen away from the hops (vacuum sealing) is a huge win, keeping them at the lowest temperature possible will further reduce the AA% loss.

 

[signpost]

As I typically deal with 12-15 pounds of dried home grown cones along with even more poundage of assorted pellets, unless ones freezer compartment height is a precise integer multiple of the jar height, I disagree...

Cheers!

That is definitely more hops than I keep on hand. I don't do a lot of hop-heavy styles, though. I'll do an IPA once in a while, but it's not the bulk of my brewing.

 

[dstockwell]

I have 6lbs, 16 different hops, all vacuum sealed in the freezer.

 

[peterlonz]

Mason jars with Vacuum seal attachments - Not something I have ever seen.
Any links to a source(s) for purchase in Australia.
Thanks

 

[signpost]

Here's a link to the regular lid size version of the attachment. I use mine with a handheld foodsaver.

FoodSaver T03-0006-02P Regular-Mouth Jar Sealer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000CFFS6/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[DurtyChemist]

Add me to the "Food Saver and Mason Jar" crowd. I sometimes split them between two pint jars if it is something I don't use a lot of like Warrior. It makes me feel like half of the hops will last longer and won't be exposed to oxygen when I open the jar for 1 ounce. They don't take much more room but you need more of them.
A free deep freezer works wonders for hop storage too. The top shelf has a few 12-16 ounce packs(Sorachi Ace, Summit, Citra, Jaryllo, Cascade, Centennial, Magnum, Mosaic, Sterling, Pride of Ringwood, Galena to name a few) along with a few smaller packages of hops saved over.

I also can't find a way to seal the mylar bags however youtube food preppers have a way. Some use a straw and a flat iron while others put them into a vacuum seal bag which works. Others buy the special sealer.