Glass jars for freezing pellets?

[kohalajohn]

Pellets stored in glass jars, purged with co2 and frozen?

I read about how well frozen hop pellets last in the freezer. And I have a vacuum pack machine.

But the vacuum bagging method is not convenient. I have to open a bag containing many ounces of pellets, just to use one ounce. And bagging tiny amounts also seems inconvenient.

So how about a mason jar, pour the pellets in, purge with co2 then put the lid on, and put in the freezer. Then I can take out a tiny bit of pellets for a batch and immeditely return the jar to the freezer.

Seems better than vacuum bagging.

What do you think?

 

[redrocker652002]

I obtained a large amount of pellets from a member here who was getting out of the hobby. He gave me a few mason jars that were sealed so I put them in the fridge. Also, he gave me some loose pellets that were frozen, so I took those, put them in vacuum bags and froze them. I opened a mason jar and only used a small amount so I put the rest in vacuum bags in two ounce increments and they went into the freezer as well. I have used most of the hops he gave me with exception of a huge jar full of Cascade that are pressure sealed and in the fridge as of right now and have not noticed anything wrong with any of them

 

[day_trippr]

[...]Then I can take out a tiny bit of pellets for a batch and immeditely return the jar to the freezer.[...]

I think the good intention falls apart at that point. You're not going to be fast enough to not admit plenty of air in the jar.

I buy from vendors that use resealable metalized mylar packaging, one that does evacuation, the other does nitro flushing. I put their bags in freezer bags and keep them in the freezer, measuring out what I need when I need it, then sucking out as much air as I can before resealing the inner and outer bags and stuffing them back in the freezer. Imo that's about the best one is going to do without getting heroic about it. And you can't really suck the air out of a jar without a machine getting involved...

Cheers!

 

[worlddivides]

I buy from vendors that use resealable metalized mylar packaging, one that does evacuation, the other does nitro flushing. I put their bags in freezer bags and keep them in the freezer, measuring out what I need when I need it, then sucking out as much air as I can before resealing the inner and outer bags and stuffing them back in the freezer. Imo that's about the best one is going to do without getting heroic about it. And you can't really suck the air out of a jar without a machine getting involved...

I do the same. A glass jar is going to have so much headspace that it's going to expose the hops to way, way, way more oxygen than zip lock bag that you remove as much air as possible from before resealing and putting back in the freezer. I've used hops I bought more than a year ago and have used multiple times in batches and resealed without being able to taste any oxidation, so this method seems to work pretty well.

 

[hottpeper13]

I used the vacuum sealer for my jars but sometimes it would loose the seal. I went back to the bags and have hops that are 5 years old and still making good to excellent beer.

 

[DavidWood2115]

I used the vacuum sealer for my jars but sometimes it would loose the seal. I went back to the bags and have hops that are 5 years old and still making good to excellent beer.

I use pint jars and a vacuum sealer to store my hops. The vacuum sealer pulls -24 inHg, which means it removes about~80% of the oxygen. This is equivalent to reducing atmospheric O2 to ~4%, which is good but not ideal.

I usually go through a jar in a year or two (much faster for commonly used hops and I buy rarely used hops in smaller bags). I have had good luck with this process.

I have considered two refinements, but so far haven’t tried them.
* Flush the jar with CO2 or nitrogen before putting the lid on, to further reduce O2.
* Fill a small balloon (or condom) with CO2 and stick it in the jar before sealing. As the pressure drops, the balloon will expand reducing the head space for the air.

 

[kevin58]

I buy hops in bulk and as soon as I get them home just sit down at the kitchen table, weigh them out and seal them in 1 ounce packages. I've tried the jar sealing method but as others have said, the jars sometimes loose their seal. You would need to re-seal the jar after measuring out a quantity so you would be dragging out your vacuum sealer each time. Better in my mind to sit down and do it all at once.

 

[kohalajohn]

I think the good intention falls apart at that point. You're not going to be fast enough to not admit plenty of air in the jar.

I buy from vendors that use resealable metalized mylar packaging, one that does evacuation, the other does nitro flushing. I put their bags in freezer bags and keep them in the freezer, measuring out what I need when I need it, then sucking out as much air as I can before resealing the inner and outer bags and stuffing them back in the freezer. Imo that's about the best one is going to do without getting heroic about it. And you can't really suck the air out of a jar without a machine getting involved...

Cheers!

@day-tripper please give me a link to that mylar packaging, thanks

 

[mac_1103]

I repackage in vacuum bags and just leave enough extra material to reseal several times. One of these days I might get organized enough to do individual 1-2 oz packages.

 

[kohalajohn]

Ok, I think I've found what works for me.

My vacuum bags come in long rolls.

So instead of vacuum bagging an ounce each time, I vacuum bag a large amount. I leave an extra six inches of bag at one end

I use scissors to cut away the seal, take out an ounce, then use the machine to vacuum and seal the bag again. I don't mind using the machine to add a new seal.

Different methods for different folks

pics below

 

[day_trippr]

@day-tripper please give me a link to that mylar packaging, thanks

Yakima Valley Hops

North West Hop Farms

Cheers!

 

[BrewZer]

Yakima Valley Hops

View attachment 884158

North West Hop Farms

View attachment 884159

Cheers!

Those vacuum packs are hard as a rock!

 

[TexasTea]

I use this for vacuum sealing mason jars. (It's a food saver lid, link goes to amazon)
https://www.amazon.com/Accessory-interface-Compatible-Foodsavers-NutriChef/dp/B0BD4K6PJ8/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3FZMFZEDEOXRD&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.H8vIU-xHYIt3LskkHTfB3Q_kUAYoBpJ5c0-gCco8DFUuN82DQm7C9zTSyUjhqtdAet3vEgqa41cK6MQ3cPgflJN44myT2Rta5AFzTVweUqRJyvyhhqW-WFs7QryZrDbMyMKMe4ptgZ8o5GKXegHXapR65FIA015xDmbI5Y3Sora_Hma-Sbt-G7H4j4q0Wo6onjuLBz7l4IDDn2s1QNMTMEmmkYiCY3veoccateHiv5A.paFr2KR9Jwyx1vXUY6ErvMLnl0HNTBsyM2qfeKnjrOw&dib_tag=se&keywords=foodsaver+vacuum+lids&qid=1757886616&sprefix=foodsaver+vacuum+lids,aps,166&sr=8-3

Its a lid with a gasket inside you place over the mason jar with the normal mason jar lid on it. I use a brake bleeder with a little fitting stuck in the foodsaver lid to pump the air out of the jar. They have a video at the link of the lids being used on mason jars which will give you a better idea than my poor narrative.

Since you already have a vacuum sealer you won't need the brake bleeder/ aspirator but I put that info here for those who do not have vacuum pumps. I have several laboratory grade vacuum pumps and they aren't cheap.

Or I could place it on an aspirator (like they had on the faucets in High School Chemistry Lab) attached to my kitchen faucet which will draw a good vacuum too instead of using the brake bleeder. Aspirators are cheap when compared to vacuum pumps-I think I paid a little over 20 bucks for mine

The lids suck down and seal just like you were canning veggies. At first I was a little concerned repeated opening would damage the seal on the mason jar lid but I'm careful and gentle opening these things and have not had a problem so far. I use this for anything I want to vacuum seal in a mason jar. I've got some in the freezer right now. I have also used them in the fridge. They made the foodsaver lids regular size and also for the wide mouth mason jars too.