A mate of mine gave me a bag of hops (about 100g of unknown variety) that he got from a farm where they grow them. I never got around to using them and have stored them cool(ish) and dry but not in fridge or freezer for about 6 months. Would they still be any good? How long should they last for? Could old hops ruin a beer? What do you reckon, should I toss them or use them? They are in an open bag so would there be a contamination risk if using them for dry-hopping?
Hops - how long are they good for?
- Thread starter aidan
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The problem is that not knowing what kind they are you wouldn't know what to do with them. Are they best at bittering, flavour or aroma? You COULD experiment, but for the sake of a few bucks, plop them onto the compost pile and buy fresh and known.
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So if you knew the variety, you'd use them? or would the age of them be an issue?
theonetrueruss
Senior Member
If I were you, since I wouldn't have a clue what they are I'd save them all for 3 or 4 years then use them in some lambic and see what happens.
Either that or just roll the dice and make some beer.
Either that or just roll the dice and make some beer.
Ok, let's put aside the fact that I don't know what variety they are, how long do whole hops last for? Do they loose bittering potential/flavour/aroma with time? When do they reach the point where they would poil a beer?
they do degrade over time and each variety degrades at a different level. hops that spent 6 months at room temp would probably have lot a good deal of their potential but it's hard to know without knowing the alpha and beta acids or the variety. if you put them in a boil it won't spoil your beer but it might not contribute much either.
