Old Hops

[Ell]

OK - I was rummaging through my old Mr. Beer crap last night and happened upon an ounce of Cascade hops pellets. It's in a vacuum sealed bag and it's been in my cabinet for a year and change. Still worth dropping in a beer?

I've put them in the freezer now, so hopefully it'll slow whatever damage has been done.

Thoughts?

 

[Malintent]

There are calculators available to determine the alpha reduction with age. I think BeerSmith has it built-in.

 

[Rahahb]

I've put them in the freezer now, so hopefully it'll slow whatever damage has been done.

Thoughts?

Unless your freezer is also a time machine, I don't think you can slow the damage that has already been done. :cross:

There are no storage instructions/expirations on the pack?

 

[Homercidal]

If they were light and O2 tight, they are probably still useful. The AA's will have dropped some. Use a calculator online to determine how much.

And open then up and give them a careful sniff before tossing them in. I opened a bag of hops once and used half. Next time I wanted to use that hop I grabbed the bag and took a sniff (I have to smell EVERY bag of hops!) and found they had a bit of "cheese" aroma to them. I was kind of surprised since I always keep my hops in the freezer.

 

[Rahahb]

(I have to smell EVERY bag of hops!)

Me too. I even saved a couple bags for a few days after brew day. I love the smell. Even growing my own this year. :rockin:

 

[Homercidal]

Growing your own is nice. You can go out and almost WATCH them bines growing! And a couple of plants makes enough to allow you to make a potpourri if you like.