Shelf life of an open bag of hops

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AgentHubcap said:
Why not use mason jars?
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Mason jars are great for storage but don't pack and stack nearly as tight as bags. I put all the sealed bags in a box, and the box just fits the one shelf. That is, until my new shipment of hops comes in next week. Then I'll have 2 shelves like that.

I have at least one advantage, over most guys, SWMBO does not want to own the kitchen.
 
ThatGeekGuy said:
I have found a source of Foodsaver style bags on eBay for about half of the cost of the brand name. I use one pint bags for four ounces of pellets and don't cut then down before sealing them. That way I can open the bag, take an ounce out and reseal the same bag multiple times until all the hops are used up. Very cost effective.
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Glad to know about the eBay source. Will definitely check it out first when I start running low on bags. I've been doing essentially the same thing lately but going to 6 oz. increments and using the rolls of bags. I cut them large enough that every time I pull an ounce or two out I have enough room to seal it again until they're used up.
 
I already have a foodsaver that we use a lot. Thinking of getting the mason jar attachment for this purpose. Do those of you who use mason jars then put the jars in the freezer or on a shelf somewhere?

I was concerned about them freezing together into a large clump in the freezer, but I guess as long as they are not wet that wouldn't be an issue.
 
I have the mason jar attachment (the wide mouth version is preferable over the narrow/regular mouth, but that's pretty much always true....)

Anyway, it works great. The hops don't really freeze into clumps (if they do settle and stick, a good thump on the jar will break the clump). It's super easy to pop the lid off, pour out the pellets you need, and seal it back up 30 seconds later. I have a strip of masking tape on the jar to denote when I first used the hops and roughly how much is left, and keep it updated until the jar is empty. They do take up a crapload of space in the freezer though, so it's really kind of a good solution only for those with a dedicated beer/yeast/hops fridge.

Edit: The glass jars are less air permeable than the Foodsaver bags, from what I've heard, but I have no personal evidence to back that up.
 
AlCophile said:
There exists a device called an aspirator. The old models were glass,...Where to get one? Why, the Internet!!! Good luck.
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Some water pumps work the same. You can make one with a plastic T fitting, about 3/8 for the top of the T, 1/4 or less for the tail of the T. Blow or run water through the top of the T and air will be sucked from the other port. Google for venturi effect.
 
Well then, more information that I did not know I needed to know.
 
Interesting. I hadn't thought of buying bulk. I overbuy hops every time I go to the LHBS. I pay 1.89/oz. I have a whole box of HopUnion 1oz packs in the freezer.
Of course, with the exception of maybe Cascade and Citra, I don't think I use enough of any one type in a year to warrant buying a pound.
 
Vacuum sealers are great but expensive. Before I started brewing I used Ziploc vacuum bags to store my garden veggies through the winter. Now I use them to store hops. This is a great way to go if you don't want to drop $150 on a decent sealer. The bags can be resealed several times, plus if you make your own wine too the pump works great for degassing from a carboy. I never had any luck degassing with the drill attachment.

The only downside? The only place I can get them consistently is Walmart. Blech!

http://www.walmart.com/search/searc...um&ic=16_0&Find=Find&search_constraint=976759

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ziploc-Va...Quart-Refills-and-8ct-Gallon-Refills/15125719

1113000233015_180X180.jpg
 
I use coffee bags a try. I used the ones from morebeer, although I'm sure there are other sources.
http://morebeer.com/view_product/6879//Valved_Hop_Storage_Bag_1_lb

Almost a year later and they still smell amazing. There's a one way valve and you are supposed to be able to squeeze the air out. It gets a lot of air out, but not all of it (and it always seemed to suck some back in). I ended up sucking all the air out with a vacuum and quickly putting a piece of electrical tap over the valve.
 
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MaddBaggins said:
Interesting. I hadn't thought of buying bulk. I overbuy hops every time I go to the LHBS. I pay 1.89/oz. I have a whole box of HopUnion 1oz packs in the freezer.
Of course, with the exception of maybe Cascade and Citra, I don't think I use enough of any one type in a year to warrant buying a pound.
Click to expand...

Depending on how much you brew and what styles you like you might be surprised how fast a pound will disappear! I like the "C" hops so I buy them by the pound for my American ales and IPA's.

Farmhouse Brewing Supply sells 4 ounce bags. I like them for the lesser used varieties.
http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/

I pay around $1 per ounce on average. I will also buy a bunch if I see a good sale.
 
I like to brew Amber and English ales so I always need Cascade, Willamette, Fuggles and EK Goldings. So I order these by the pound from Hops Direct up in Washington (state). When brewing a specialty brew that calls for some other variety I get the ounce or two for that batch from the lhbs when buying my malt.

The folks at Hops Direct have assured me that by vacuum sealing and freezing the hops I won't loose too much viability, even over an extended period of months. (How do we think THEY store the hops when they're only harvested a couple times each year?)

I brew almost every weekend and, so far at least, have had no problems with hops purchased in January being perfectly good for my July brews.
 
kh54s10 said:
Depending on how much you brew and what styles you like you might be surprised how fast a pound will disappear! I like the "C" hops so I buy them by the pound for my American ales and IPA's.

Farmhouse Brewing Supply sells 4 ounce bags. I like them for the lesser used varieties.
http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/

I pay around $1 per ounce on average. I will also buy a bunch if I see a good sale.
Click to expand...

I could probably use a pound of Cascade in a year. Otherwise I use a lot of different hops looking for the right combo. I only brew about 5g/ month now. I even stopped buying bulk 2 row because I wasn't using it fast enough.
From some of the prices by the oz I've seen in this thread, it looks like I get a pretty good price at 1.89/oz

But anyway, I think the bulk idea is great if you're gonna use them before they get old. I never thought about bulk hops when I was brewing really heavy. I was always concerned about longevity. I have about 30 recipes and rotate thru many of them, so my hop needs vary a lot.

Btw, I use always leaf hops unless I can't get the one I want, then I get pellet.
 
I have a foodsaver (which I use for other things as well) and buy most of my hops in bulk. I'm also of the generation that is used to sitting down with a brew and breaking up a pound of organic material into 1 oz portions :) so it brings back memories every time I do it. SWMBO actually loves the smell in the kitchen but the foodsaver noise infuriates her for some reason. I package mine in 1, 2 and 4 oz portions. I then take a pound's worth of portions and put them in a ziplock back, trying to squeeze the air out....and then, yeah, getting a bit carried away you think?....I put the ziplock bag in a brown paper sack and roll it up shut. All this goes in the freezer. I'm just trying to avoid the light as well as the O.
I have used hops that are 18 mos old stored this way and honestly find very little difference in a brew with "fresh" hops from a LHBS or online seller. One brew I did with old hops managed a 41 even in a competition without any "old" comments so I'm sold on the method of storage and bulk buying.
 
i buy bulk hops and break into 100g lots and vacuum seal and i also have some flower's in vac bags and still they smell wonderful and there two year old..get a vac sealer
 
kh54s10 said:
Depending on how much you brew and what styles you like you might be surprised how fast a pound will disappear! I like the "C" hops so I buy them by the pound for my American ales and IPA's.

Farmhouse Brewing Supply sells 4 ounce bags. I like them for the lesser used varieties.
http://www.farmhousebrewingsupply.com/

I pay around $1 per ounce on average. I will also buy a bunch if I see a good sale.
Click to expand...


This is pretty much what I do. My favorite recipes always use a C hop of some kind and I tend to burn through them pretty quickly. Also, it got really frustrating when my LHBS was out of a hop that I wanted. The price savings is nice, but it's more for availability than anything else for me.
 
darrrrkvengeance said:
any advantage to wetting and dropping one of those oxygen-absorbing bottle caps into one's freezer bag of hops?
Click to expand...

Now that's an interesting thought...never tried it. I wonder how much oxygen one of those can absorb?

I usually put my open hops in a ziploc, flush it with CO2, seal it, and throw it in the freezer. Then I try to use them within a couple of months.
 
Anytime you buy Nodi, Beef Jerky, and various other vaccuum sealed products, they'll have O2 absorbant packets in there. I usually reuse those for my underwater camera and other projects. However Target will have clearance sales and I picked up a $130 Foodsaver vac for $85, as much fish as I spear or catch, they've paid for themselves. I've had this guy for almost 2 yrs and can do moist or dry selections and marinates. The heavy duty food savers packs are amazing and you can easily vac seal grains or hops or your choice of stuff. Pre-measure, and then precut some bags, double bag groups together that will go for longer storage, just remember to mark with a sharpie.
 
When I was researching how to store my base grain long term, I found a lot of information on survivalist forums and other doomsday prepper forums. I think those nutters...I mean people... spend more time figuring out the best way to store grains long term than homebrewers do.

I bought some mylar bags from amazon for pretty cheap. I tried sealing them with my food saver buy using a small strip of foodsaver bag, it did allow the air to be vacuumed out, the heating strip was not strong enough to get a complete seal on the bag. So I just put my hops in the mylar bag, folded the top over and placed it inside a foodsaver bag and vacuumed and sealed that. That should be a decent oxygen barrier and keep the hops fresh for a good while. I did the same thing with the oxygen absorbers that I bought. I pulled one out, and sealed the rest up quickly to prevent them from going bad. I wish they were individually packaged but what can you do.
 
I also buy my hops in bulk. I found a vendor online who sells for little under 50 cents and oz. I package all my hops in vacuum sealed mason jars. Now why spend $100 dollars on a vacuum sealer when you can spend $3? here is how you do it.

1. Buy a ziplock brand vacuum sealer. I found mine at walmmart and also came with a few special vacuum sealbale bags

2. Fill jar with hops
3. poke a hole in the lid of the mason jar with a thumb tack
place a small piece of duct tape very loosely over the hole so that if you pushed down on the tape it would cover the entire hole, but by leaving it loosely air can get in and out
4. use the ziplock brand vacuum sealer, cover the duct tape and hole with sealer and pump away. negative pressure opens the tape like a valve and the it closes itself, once you have adequately pumped the air out, press the tape down firmly and your done.

works everytime like a charm, cheap and easy!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003UEMFUG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 
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So i am cleaning my beer fridge and have a giant bag of hops varying from 4 oz fuggles purchased in 09 never opened to centennial 2 oz purchased in 11 resealed in the mylar. To a scattering of 0.5 to 1.5 resealed packs in both mylar and foodsaver. All have been in the freezer in a sealed ziplock Anyone have a rough idea of what percent loss per year to deduct from the alpha to approximate? I remember reading it here before but can not find it

Edit: for those interested. this was written in 2008. I do not use beer smith so will still be looking for a rough correction factor if anyone has one

http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/04/15/brewing-hops-storage-preserving-precious-hops/

Edit again. reading the similar threads at the bottom helps>

http://www.brewerslair.com/index.php?p=brewhouse&d=calculators&id=cal16

a lot of the above is left over from when I brewed monthly or more often
2013 only brewed twice until now. am going to try to use up some of the hops with brewing 2.5 gallon batches every 2 weeks now that I have my wednesday evenings back
 
theciderkid said:
I was forced to buy a pound of Amarillo hops at my lhbs, due to lack of 1 oz bags. I used what I needed and put the rest of the pound in a freezer bag, and placed it in the freezer. i have been told that those hops will be unusable come next brew day ( a week later), ruling?
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sounds like you LHBS lacks some customer service!!!

to answer your question and I'm assuming your talking about whole leaf hops, in the freezer the break down of the AAs in the hops should be pretty minimal. This is how most homebrew shops store theire hops before repackaging them.

what you could do that somehow seems to help with me (and i cannot quite figure out why, mind you) is break up the pound into quarter pound, half pound, ounce, etc bags (this depends on how low you want to go and how much time you want to spend using your scale). The result seems to be that the more I break down a large bag of hops into smaller bags the better the longevity. :ban:

now if you're dealing with pellet hops, i wouldnt worry about it at all. those little buggers are far more resilient than people give them credit for. And as for plugs i cannot speak to how well they keep as i have not used them.


EDIT: all in all id say after about six months you may not want to make anything thats going your going ot be too serious about. try looking into some sour beer recipies. If the AA of the hops in question are low enough to begin with you now have yourself some aged hops.
 
Smell them. If they smell like cheese, toss em. If you seal the original bag they will last longer, flushing with CO2 or vac sealing will extend it out even longer still.
 
Haha, I almost posted this thread a few days ago.

Left a beer in the basement tooooo long (about 3 months). Went down and 2 of my batches were fine, one was smelly nastayyyyy.

I'm not one to waste things though, so i dry hopped it with 7 ounces, all about a year or two years old.

It's either gonna be terrible or.... Well, who am i kidding, odds are its gonna suck. But I'll try anything once!
 
DrunkleJon said:
Smell them. If they smell like cheese, toss em. If you seal the original bag they will last longer, flushing with CO2 or vac sealing will extend it out even longer still.
Click to expand...

Does flushing with CO2 extend anything or did you make that up?
 
grathan said:
Does flushing with CO2 extend anything or did you make that up?
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Flushing with CO2 prevents staling due to oxygen exposure. An example would be like leaving a slice of bread on the counter. After a few hours it will get hard and eventually become stale. Same concept goes with hops that's why you want CO2 in the headspace of your storage medium instead of oxygen.
 
IL1kebeer said:
Flushing with CO2 prevents staling due to oxygen exposure. An example would be like leaving a slice of bread on the counter. After a few hours it will get hard and eventually become stale. Same concept goes with hops that's why you want CO2 in the headspace of your storage medium instead of oxygen.
Click to expand...

Well said.
 
Do you have N2 at home? CO2 works, maybe not as well as N2 (there is still O2 in CO2 so the hops can still oxidize), but definitely will stretch the shelf life of hops further than atmospheric air will.
 
What I've done to store opened packets of hops is tightly roll the packets and then tightly wrap an elastic band around it. I've found this method keeps air out as there is constant compression on the hops in the packet. I then throw the whole thing into a ziplock and into the freezer. No vacuum sealing.

The other day I used an 8 month old previously opened packet of hops and it still smelt wonderfully aromatic.
 
Tippsy-Turvy said:
What I've done to store opened packets of hops is tightly roll the packets and then tightly wrap an elastic band around it. I've found this method keeps air out as there is constant compression on the hops in the packet. I then throw the whole thing into a ziplock and into the freezer. No vacuum sealing.

The other day I used an 8 month old previously opened packet of hops and it still smelt wonderfully aromatic.
Click to expand...
This has been my method simply due to not having vacuum sealer equipment currently. Seems to work pretty well. I just made an APA using older previously opened hops, probably ranging in age from 2-6 months. It did seem like the pellets were fresher than the leaf, in that there wasn't as much aroma coming off the leaf when opened. I bumped up the quantity a tad...we'll see how it went in about 3-4 weeks.
 
I just finished a book by Dan Woodske titled "Hop Variety Handbook". It was an interesting read and a good reference for future brews.

According to him the variety of hop you're working with makes a huge difference on shelf-life. He says that some varieties loose their oils way faster than others. He gives each variety a storage rating. I found it to be very informative.
 
Puddlethumper said:
I like to brew Amber and English ales so I always need Cascade, Willamette, Fuggles and EK Goldings. So I order these by the pound from Hops Direct up in Washington (state). When brewing a specialty brew that calls for some other variety I get the ounce or two for that batch from the lhbs when buying my malt.

The folks at Hops Direct have assured me that by vacuum sealing and freezing the hops I won't loose too much viability, even over an extended period of months. (How do we think THEY store the hops when they're only harvested a couple times each year?)

I brew almost every weekend and, so far at least, have had no problems with hops purchased in January being perfectly good for my July brews.
Click to expand...
Very sensible comment...
 

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