HOLY $HIT Hop Order

[Roadie]

Holy $hit Batman. It was too easy to keep hitting "add this to my cart" at Hops Direct and Label Peelers when I saw the prices and the fact that I'm tired of paying $3 an ounce for hops at my LHBS.

By the time the dust settled I found that I had ordered 1 pound each of 15 different types of hops! Oh my goodness... time to head to Amazon and purchase one of those vacuum sealer units. Guess I'll have to do some searches for the recommended unit. If you have any thought on which one to get please do give me your recommendation!

[Homer Simpson voice] Ummmmm Hoppppppps.

 

[kh54s10]

I have one of the simpler (older) Food Saver models. It works great.
15 pounds of hops!!!! OMG! that is a lot of beer.

Are you going to do exclusively IIPA's??

 

[SavoryChef]

get one of these
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005TN7H/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
then one of these
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002FWIVCA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

then this
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002UORPR0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

and use mason jars. All this together is cheaper than a vacuum sealer

 

[Roadie]

I have one of the simpler (older) Food Saver models. It works great.
15 pounds of hops!!!! OMG! that is a lot of beer.

Are you going to do exclusively IIPA's??

Are the Food Saver models still good that I should look at those?

Our new electric brewery should be up and running soon. We are going to start with Kal's Signature Pale Ale then go to a Stone Enjoy By clone then brew a Pliny clone...at least that's the plan right now.

 

[Hello]

Well, what hops did you buy?

 

[Roadie]

get one of these
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005TN7H/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
then one of these
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002FWIVCA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

then this
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002UORPR0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

and use mason jars. All this together is cheaper than a vacuum sealer

That seems the way to go and I like the idea of using glass mason jars. Does it work out of the box or do you have to modify it somehow?

 

[chocotaco]

You have a lot of brewing to do. Stop wasting time and get to it!

Either that, or start selling dimebags of hops to local homebrewers.

 

[mrduna01]

That seems the way to go and I like the idea of using glass mason jars. Does it work out of the box or do you have to modify it somehow?

I for one do not want to fill my freezer up with bulky mason jars. For those with bulky freezers it may not be an issue I guess but should still be considered.

Sent from my KFSOWI using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Roadie]

Well, what hops did you buy?

From Hops Direct

Calypso
Cascade
Chinook
Citra
Columbus
Target
Willamette

From Label Peelers

Amarillo
Centennial
Galaxy
Mosaic
Motueka
Nelson Sauvin
Simcoe
Warrior

 

[Roadie]

I for one do not want to fill my freezer up with bulky mason jars. For those with bulky freezers it may not be an issue I guess but should still be considered.

Sent from my KFSOWI using Home Brew mobile app

I have a full size fridge in the basement for drinks and the freezer is completely empty so plenty of room.

 

[mrduna01]

I have a full size fridge in the basement for drinks and the freezer is completely empty so plenty of room.

Fair enough


Sent from my KFSOWI using Home Brew mobile app

 

[theck]

Just found label peelers the other day good amount cheaper than my local shop and only 1 hour away. I visit the Kent area often as we still have family there, going to stop by for a big order sometime soon. You like em?

Sent from my SGH-T769 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[passedpawn]

You can't remove the O2 from those mason jars. If that doesn't bother you, go for it. But if it doesn't bother you, why buy anything at all? Just use baggies.

The entry-level $69 food saver is very useful for a lot of things. I bought mine for hops, but now I have all sorts of stuff frozen in them in the freezer. I highly recommend the Foodsaver V2244.

Look around for the rolls of 8" wide bags. You just cut them yourself, to length, then seal with the machine. Works great for hops, pulled port, ribs, burgers, chicken, anything you might want to freeze for a while.

 

[Roadie]

You can't remove the O2 from those mason jars. If that doesn't bother you, go for it. But if it doesn't bother you, why buy anything at all? Just use baggies.

The entry-level $69 food saver is very useful for a lot of things. I bought mine for hops, but now I have all sorts of stuff frozen in them in the freezer. I highly recommend the Foodsaver V2244.

Look around for the rolls of 8" wide bags. You just cut them yourself, to length, then seal with the machine. Works great for hops, pulled port, ribs, burgers, chicken, anything you might want to freeze for a while.

So you're saying the Foodsaver items recommend above don't work??

 

[blizzard]

+1 to a regular food saver. Bought a cheap one off craigslist for hops. Now I use it for all kinds of things.

I don't have experience with the mason jar sealer, so it might be totally awesome, but I like to see all the air sucked out of the bags. Plus, I have more limits on space. I'm curious how much room 15# would take up in mason jars.

 

[thadius856]

Temperature is ~10x more important than O2 permeation on AA loss (assuming 40% loss/yr and 70F vs -20F). Search my post history for a full writeup.

Might as well use the most convenient container if you can freeze. Btw, if you decide to get the attachment, note that the widemouth one works on widemouth jars. The non-widemouth one works on non-widemouth jars. They can't be swapped.

Price difference is negligible on both the attachment and the jars. Non-widemouth are slightly easier to pour, widemouth are substantially easier to clean without needing a bottle brush.

You can't remove the O2 from those mason jars. If that doesn't bother you, go for it. But if it doesn't bother you, why buy anything at all? Just use baggies.

The entry-level $69 food saver is very useful for a lot of things. I bought mine for hops, but now I have all sorts of stuff frozen in them in the freezer. I highly recommend the Foodsaver V2244.

Look around for the rolls of 8" wide bags. You just cut them yourself, to length, then seal with the machine. Works great for hops, pulled port, ribs, burgers, chicken, anything you might want to freeze for a while.

Why can't you? When I use the mason jar attachment on mine and open a jar, I get the same "vacuum" sound as when I open a vacuum sealed bag.

 

[thadius856]

So you're saying the Foodsaver items recommend above don't work??

They work.

I'd avoid the handheld battery powered model. It lacks cajones.

 

[acidrain]

I have a full size fridge in the basement for drinks and the freezer is completely empty so plenty of room.

Ha!
You have no idea what you're in for.
There is no way 15 lbs of hops will fit in a standard freezer.

 

[Evan_L]

Nice! Had been putting off my hop order since this is only my second season in. Not sure what to order since my brewing has been all over the place. My first Jan. I ordered at a great discount but found myself wanting to brew with non-traditional, or should I say less used hops. Because of this I spent the last few months using up a freezer-full of hops; my inventory dictating my brewing rather than my tastes etc. Was wary of what I might use this year or where my brewing interests would take me style-wise but figured I know I will want more of my favorites and there are a few that I tried to find late last year but were scarce (belma) so why not go for it.

grabbed pounds of:
Amarillo
Ahtanum
Mosaic
from Label Peelers and
Belma
Calypso
from Hops Direct.

 

[passedpawn]

Temperature is ~10x more important than O2 permeation on AA loss

Yea, I read that before.

Why can't you? When I use the mason jar attachment on mine and open a jar, I get the same "vacuum" sound as when I open a vacuum sealed bag.

That only means the pressure inside the jar was below atmospheric pressure. But probably not by much. I spent some time trying to how much of a vacuum they pull, but was unsuccessful. I doubt it's much. Which means there's O2 still in there. Might not be enough to worry about, though. Not sure.

 

[passedpawn]

So you're saying the Foodsaver items recommend above don't work??

They don't remove all of the air from the jar. You can only do that with the bags.

 

[Evan_L]

**** totally wanted some Zythos too, but forgot to check the hydrometer sample I had pulled. First tastes suggest I will be wanting a pound of those too!

 

[SavoryChef]

You can easily store 15# of hops in a freezer.

So your saying when I open my Mason jars with hops and getting the same vacuum sound from my home canned meats, stock veggies when I open them that there is o2 in there?

 

[Evan_L]

I think he meant that to remove all O2 via a vacuum, the jar would implode therefore since it has not, there is still O2 residing in it. Whereas a bag will collapse and allow more gas to escape and provide better O2 protection.

 

[greyghost]

Get this then you can use Mylar bags like the big boys do.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...957&creativeASIN=B004ZVJ088&linkCode=as2&tag=
Also reuse mylar bags from other hop bags

 

[day_trippr]

Ha!
You have no idea what you're in for.
There is no way 15 lbs of hops will fit in a standard freezer.

Really?

That's the freezer compartment of a 17cf fridge/freezer - hardly a mammoth unit. When I took that shot in late September I had just filled the major space with over 10 pounds of harvested cones (each of the large vac bags holds 4 ounces, the little ones mostly 1 ounce, with a few 2 ouncers in the mix) and the door had roughly 9 pounds of various pellets with a bit of space left. And that was before two pounds of Citra and two pounds of Amarillo pellets arrived - so at least for a week or so there was over 23 pounds of hops crammed in there.

So, there actually is a way. But not if you packed all that in glass...

Cheers!

 

[acidrain]

I'm talking all leaf hops...
I bought 4 lbs, divided it into 2 oz. vacuum bagged packets, and it completely stuffed my freezer. I had no idea how much space the individually bagged hops would take up. I was quite surprised.
Still... 15 lbs is a lot, you'll have to admit.

 

[Roadie]

I should have specified the hop form I ordered because they displace different amounts. All 15 lbs are pellets!

 

[MrNatural]

That only means the pressure inside the jar was below atmospheric pressure. But probably not by much. I spent some time trying to how much of a vacuum they pull, but was unsuccessful. I doubt it's much. Which means there's O2 still in there. Might not be enough to worry about, though. Not sure.

What about some of these rascals in the mason jar? Sounds ideal.
http://www.happypreppers.com/oxygen-absorbers.html


$0.20 each and good for #10 can.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003F960Z2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[brewcephus]

That seems the way to go and I like the idea of using glass mason jars. Does it work out of the box or do you have to modify it somehow?

Just for reference, you don't have to put them in mason jars as soon as you get them. I just recently opened 4 of my 14lbs of hops I ordered last September when I did a brew last weekend. what was left over of the lbs that were opened were put into mason jars and vacuum sealed. I already had a food saver and had ordered the wide mouth mason jar attachment because I knew that I would need it for this exact purpose. It works right out of the box, but do yourself a favor and read the instructions that come with the wide mouth attachment so you don't waste 30 mins trying to figure out why your jars aren't sealing, like I did. LOL

To save you some reading, don't put the screw on part of the lid on, just the cap. Place the jar attachment over that and seal, then carefully pull the attachment off and screw the lid on