Freezing wet hops?

[Homercidal]

Just curious if it would ok to freeze wet hops in a vacuum instead of drying first.

I am thinking about making a fresh or wet hop ale, and probalby won't be able to get to it right away. If it works out, I might want to do this later in the year or in spring...

My plan was to simply pick the hops and press into a seal-a-meal baggie and vacuum seal and use whenever I get time.

Obviously the weight would be wrong for general hop use.

 

[zrule]

I am interested in this also.

 

[Hopleaf11]

If you've ever seen lettuce that has started to break down despite being refrigerated then you'll know what can happen to hops that are frozen. I'm not sure what would happen if you used a vacuum seal bag, maybe better results with tha absence of air.

I'm actually trying drying my harvest out for the first time. Not sure how I want to keep them once they're dried. Any suggestions?

 

[Homercidal]

If you've ever seen lettuce that has started to break down despite being refrigerated then you'll know what can happen to hops that are frozen. I'm not sure what would happen if you used a vacuum seal bag, maybe better results with tha absence of air.

I'm actually trying drying my harvest out for the first time. Not sure how I want to keep them once they're dried. Any suggestions?

Answer second part first: I've dried on a couple of sliding screen doors. My setup is to lay them across the utility trailer in the garage and blow a box fan into the back of the trailer. The draft will dry them out over a couple of days, easy. Then pack them into vacuum seal bags and vacuum all the air out and freeze them.

As far as the first part, I'm not sure the freezer will produce the same effect as a cold but not freezing fridge. Have you ever seen dried lettuce? Plus, I don't really care if the cell walls break as long as the stuff doesn't go rancid. Would you think the flavor would remain the same even if they are frozen and thawed?

Physically, I can't think of how it would not work. They would take up more room and you'd need more per batch by weight, but then they would also soak up less wort. But I *think* the inherent problems shouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for a fresh hop ale. (maybe a fresh hop spruce ale??)

 

[thdrduck]

I froze last years crop in a zip lock bag in a deep freeze. Made a really nice Porter with them this last Spring and they looked no worse for wear. This year if the weather is right I'll sun dry for a couple of days but if it's crappy out, right into the freezer they go.

 

[Beezy]

I am drying some now. Just laid them on a screen door with a fan underneath. Ill bag em up in a couple days. I still have to get a vacuum system.

 

[day_trippr]

I froze last years crop in a zip lock bag in a deep freeze. Made a really nice Porter with them this last Spring and they looked no worse for wear. This year if the weather is right I'll sun dry for a couple of days but if it's crappy out, right into the freezer they go.

You probably don't want to sun-dry hops. If you think about the whole "light-struck bottle" paradigm, what goes all skunky is the hops in the bottle...

Cheers!

 

[thdrduck]

Shazzam! never thought of that. Only one side of my brain was working at that time... figured they are in the sun on the vine what could it hurt. No point in taking a chance, I'll just dry them in the shop. Thanks.

 

[Beezy]

Are you sure the light will skunk the hop directly? I have heard it should be in a dark room but just wondering if you know that to be true or are you just doing arithmetic?

 

[Homercidal]

They are fine to sun dry. The light struck part requires the hops to isomerized by the boil. People sun dry all the time.

I did it the first year and the only problem was the wind picked up and blew a bunch onto the sandy driveway. I dry in the garage now because of that.

I'll probably load what I can up on a screen door and see how much is left. I may just freeze the left over amount if it's not too much.

 

[zrule]

I use a combination screen screwed to the bottom of a rectangular box constructed of 1 X 4. It is aproximately 16" X 30" It will hold a 5 gallon bucket of hops which is 20-22 oz of dried hops. I load that up and put a box fan underneath in my garage. I can dry it down in 24 hours and then vacuum bag and freeze. I harvested 175 oz of cascades from four strings of three bines each. On the other hand my chinooks did only 22 oz from two strings of three bines each and my centennials even less. All my hops are picked.

 

[Beezy]

They are fine to sun dry. The light struck part requires the hops to isomerized by the boil. People sun dry all the time.

I did it the first year and the only problem was the wind picked up and blew a bunch onto the sandy driveway. I dry in the garage now because of that.

I'll probably load what I can up on a screen door and see how much is left. I may just freeze the left over amount if it's not too much.

Cool that's what i was thinking. I had to get creative because I have a small house. I ended up getting enough to fill 4 gallons of a bucket. One screen is near a window with a fan but it shouldn't get much sun. The other is in a darker room.

 

[Retrofit]

I'm going to stick my neck out and call 4 gallons of a bucket 3 pounds- roughly. Not bad. Next you'll have more. Love this hobby.

 

[zrule]

My five gallon bucket of picked cascades ended up being 20-22 oz of dried.

 

[Homercidal]

My first year 3 plants netted about a small bowl full...

Next year was much different.

 

[Beezy]

I'm going to stick my neck out and call 4 gallons of a bucket 3 pounds- roughly. Not bad. Next you'll have more. Love this hobby.

No because they aren't my plants heheh. I got them off someone that didnt have time to take care of them this year. I think he said they are 5 or 6 years old. I am going to plant my own next year so I won't get much.

 

[thdrduck]

Are you guys really early, or am I running that late???? Mine are just now starting to flower. Maybe 3 - 4 weeks yet before I can even think of harvest.

 

[day_trippr]

Are you sure the light will skunk the hop directly? I have heard it should be in a dark room but just wondering if you know that to be true or are you just doing arithmetic?

Definitely was just doing arithmetic - calculus, I believe This will be my first harvest and I've been all over this forum looking for tips, and of all the ways I've read here about how to dry hops, I hadn't come across anyone advocating sun drying. And with the whole "light struck" thing I put 1 and 1 together and concluded it must not be a good way to go.

My bad...

Cheers!

 

[zrule]

No because they aren't my plants heheh. I got them off someone that didnt have time to take care of them this year. I think he said they are 5 or 6 years old. I am going to plant my own next year so I won't get much.

My last 5 gallon bucket of chinooks are drying and will be packed, sealed and frozen by tomorrow night. I am in Northern IL so am farther South than you. Sounds like you have a ways to go. Simple Earth Hops across from Governor State Park North of Dodgeville are harvesting this week. Looks like you are North of them a ways.

 

[Beezy]

My last 5 gallon bucket of chinooks are drying and will be packed, sealed and frozen by tomorrow night. I am in Northern IL so am farther South than you. Sounds like you have a ways to go. Simple Earth Hops across from Governor State Park North of Dodgeville are harvesting this week. Looks like you are North of them a ways.

Ahh I think you quoted the wrong one was confused. It is harvest time in Western PA.

 

[Homercidal]

Are you guys really early, or am I running that late???? Mine are just now starting to flower. Maybe 3 - 4 weeks yet before I can even think of harvest.

Mine were getting large, but I hadn't even looked at them because the past several years it's been about the mid of Sept when they were ripe.

But when Yoop said hers were ready I checked em out and she was right! Now I gotta scramble to pick and dry before they go past their prime.

And my usual drying device (trailer with screens laid across) has a piano in it!

I picked 2 bines, one was the scrawniest and the other about average, and I got about 8 gallons.

Honestly, I don't know how I'm going to have room to dry all of them at the same time. I'd be hard pressed to have enough stuff to do half at a time. I might have to run to the hardware and buy more screen and build more racks.

 

[zrule]

Are you guys really early, or am I running that late???? Mine are just now starting to flower. Maybe 3 - 4 weeks yet before I can even think of harvest.

OOps....I did quote the wrong one.
My last 5 gallon bucket of chinooks are drying and will be packed, sealed and frozen by tomorrow night. I am in Northern IL so am farther South than you. Sounds like you have a ways to go. Simple Earth Hops across from Governor State Park North of Dodgeville are harvesting this week. Looks like you are North of them a ways.