longevity of opened hops pellets

[havardjc]

Question for you experienced brewers. I have some open, partly used packets of dried hop pellets. They're several months old. I stored them in ziploc bags in the refridgerator. Are they still usable?

 

[hottpeper13]

Short answer is yes. Keep them in the freezer, and most of us vacuum seal. I use the wide mouth canning jars. They are clear,stand up and the inventory is easy to see. Plus they hold a pound.......well after you open and use some of course.

 

[Qhrumphf]

For a non-vacuum sealed package even in the freezer, a few months is iffy. Some varietals are more resistant to degredation/oxidation than others. Also depends on the crop/crop year.

They may be just fine. Or you may pick up some vegetal/phenolic/cheese notes or harsher bitterness (especially if used as a dry hop, oxidized alpha acids will dissolve in beer without boiling temps, and it's a different bitter than iso-alphas from the boil, and in my opinion unpleasant).

Only way to know is to brew with them. You could try hot water steeping them first.

Vacuum sealing is your best bet going forward. Bags are space effective but home vacuum sealers don't seal hops well (hop oils and dust break the seal). Jars work better but take up more space. Nitrogen flushed barrier bags would be best (that's how theyre packed when you buy them), but you could probably get a similar effect flushing with CO2 before sealing the bag/jar.

 

[havardjc]

Thanks, y'all.

 

[GPP33]

For a non-vacuum sealed package even in the freezer, a few months is iffy. Some varietals are more resistant to degredation/oxidation than others. Also depends on the crop/crop year.

They may be just fine. Or you may pick up some vegetal/phenolic/cheese notes or harsher bitterness (especially if used as a dry hop, oxidized alpha acids will dissolve in beer without boiling temps, and it's a different bitter than iso-alphas from the boil, and in my opinion unpleasant).

Only way to know is to brew with them. You could try hot water steeping them first.

Vacuum sealing is your best bet going forward. Bags are space effective but home vacuum sealers don't seal hops well (hop oils and dust break the seal). Jars work better but take up more space. Nitrogen flushed barrier bags would be best (that's how theyre packed when you buy them), but you could probably get a similar effect flushing with CO2 before sealing the bag/jar.

It’s true that care must be taken to get a good seal but I’ve only ever had one bag loose its seal.

Nitrogen flushing on a home (or LHBS) scale is guaranteed to be ineffective, how are you ensuring all of the oxygen is out? You have no way to verify the effectiveness and the way gases mix and all the nooks and crannies in a bag of hop pellets will make it all but impossible to flush it in any reasonable amount of time. Plus you still have the sealing issue and now you don’t have a clear sign if that seal is compromised. The only effective way to nitrogen flush is to pull a vacuum and back fill, I hop this is how the big guys do it.

 

[Qhrumphf]

It’s true that care must be taken to get a good seal but I’ve only ever had one bag loose its seal.

Nitrogen flushing on a home (or LHBS) scale is guaranteed to be ineffective, how are you ensuring all of the oxygen is out? You have no way to verify the effectiveness and the way gases mix and all the nooks and crannies in a bag of hop pellets will make it all but impossible to flush it in any reasonable amount of time. Plus you still have the sealing issue and now you don’t have a clear sign if that seal is compromised. The only effective way to nitrogen flush is to pull a vacuum and back fill, I hop this is how the big guys do it.

I meant flush then vacuum seal. Sorry if that wasn't clear. No, doing it on small/home stuff won't be as good as multi thousand dollar industry equipment, but some displacement of oxygen is better than none. But it's probably overkill unless you plan on keeping things a year.

My luck with food saver bags has been about 50:50, and some varietals seal better than others.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Question for you experienced brewers. I have some open, partly used packets of dried hop pellets. They're several months old. I stored them in ziploc bags in the refridgerator. Are they still usable?

check out ...

Brulosophy Podcast Episode 046 | Maintaining Hop Freshness
"Hops are made up of various compounds that serve to impart bitterness, aroma, and flavor to beer. With the growing popularity of IPA, hops have become a major focus of brewers, to the point it seems they get more attention than any other ingredient. In this episode, contributor Jason Cipriani joins Marshall to talk about this wonderful plant, specifically how certain conditions can affect the way they present themselves in beer."


http://brulosophy.com/podcast/

... for some additional ideas on storing hops.