Hops and how long they last

[redrocker652002]

Greetings to all,

I have some home grown hops, maybe a few ounces at best, that I put in vacuum sealed bags and into the freezer. They have been there about a year or so. In doing some fast research, it appears that they will only last about a year in the freezer. Is that correct? If so, I am going to have to toss them as I don't think I have any recipe in the works that will use them.

 

[D.B.Moody]

Surely there a SF area brewer that could use them. Why not post what they are and offer them . If you do, I will quit calling you Shirley.

 

[redrocker652002]

Surely there a SF area brewer that could use them. Why not post what they are and offer them . If you do, I will quit calling youShirley.

LOL. Awesome. Great movie too. LOL

 

[redrocker652002]

I have a recipe that calls for Magnum to bitter, so I might just throw the Chinook in to assist. We will see.

 

[BeerAndTele]

Honestly, with a good vacuum seal in the freezer, I wouldn't limit them to 1 year. I think you could get several years out of them if stored well. If you're using them for late addition or dry hopping, you might not get as fresh a bouquet out of them after a few years, but for bittering or mid-boil addition, I think you'd be fine. Just my 2 cents worth (adjusted to 1 cent due to stubborn inflation.)

Rock on.

 

[redrocker652002]

Honestly, with a good vacuum seal in the freezer, I wouldn't limit them to 1 year. I think you could get several years put of them if stored well. If you're using them for late addition or dry hopping, you might not get as fresh a bouquet out of them after a few years, but for bittering or mid-boil addition, I think you'd be fine. Just my 2 cents worth (adjusted to 1 cent due to stubborn inflation.)

Rock on.

That's the general feeling I have been getting. I am by no means a pro, so for me, any small amount of loss probably won't even be noticed. Gonna focus on trying to use them when I search for recipes. Thanks for the input. Rock On!!!!!!!

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, due to a back injury that required spinal fusion and a year long recovery therefrom I had frozen hops in YVH's mylar bags that were already a couple of years old age two more years before I was cleared to brew again. I used those hops with my regular recipes with no adjustment and the beers were the same as always or too close to notice any attenuation of hop character...

Cheers!

 

[redrocker652002]

fwiw, due to a back injury that required spinal fusion and a year long recovery therefrom I had frozen hops in YVH's mylar bags that were already a couple of years old age two more years before I was cleared to brew again. I used those hops with my regular recipes with no adjustment and the beers were the same as always or too close to notice any attenuation of hop character...

Cheers!

Good to know. Thank you

 

[Closet Fermenter]

I had some Centennial and Cascade hops in the fridge, that got pushed to the back. The foil bags were folded, then rolled & clamped with a close pin, then placed into a ziplock bag. Probably a half-dozen years later, I found them and decided to make a summer blonde. The Lutra Kveik kicked them in the pants and I had plenty of hop flavor!

 

[D.B.Moody]

Gonna focus on trying to use them when I search for recipes.

I think this is wise. I'm not sure the tales of longevity had to do with fresh leaf hops.

 

[redrocker652002]

I think this is wise. I'm not sure the tales of longevity had to do with fresh leaf hops.

I agree, and to my advantage, most of what I have is pellets, so I am guessing they will last a bit longer. But, none the less, gonna use them as quickly as I can. LOL. Have a few I need to look up recipes for, but heck, that's the fun part, right? LOL

 

[bwible]

In the freezer - not in the fridge. They don’t last long in the fridge. Thats been one of my problems - I have plenty of fridges but I don’t have any extra freezer space.

 

[redrocker652002]

All of mine are either vacuum packed or pressure sealed in Mason jars and in freezers.

 

[mashpaddled]

It's variety, storage and use dependent. If you're using them for bittering at some point you'll need to account for alpha loss if you care whether you are some IBUs off. For flavor/aroma/dry hopping if they smell fine they will taste fine.

Sunday I brewed a beer with late additions of hops I bought in 2014. Hops still smell and taste fine.

Around 2018 a friend who stopped brewing gave me a pile of mylar sealed hops bought around 2016 he found in his garage. Never opened but completely exposed to the summer heat. I opened them up and made an IPA with them as an experiment. Not the best beer I've ever brewed but I was the only one who felt like they were a little long in the tooth. I split off some of that IPA and pitched brett. I bulk aged that for another year and then bottled it. I still have some of those bottles and the hop flavor and aroma is still there.

These are not ideal circumstances but if I'm brewing with hops nearly a decade old, your chinook will be ok more than a year in your freezer.