Unopened Hops

[JamieGalea]

Hi,

I have an unopened sealed pellet hop bag of 30g.

It has been 2 months in the drawer at room temp. Should i use it or not ?

Regards,
Jamie

 

[PCABrewing]

Hi,

I have an unopened sealed pellet hop bag of 30g.

It has been 2 months in the drawer at room temp. Should i use it or not ?

Regards,
Jamie

Vacuum sealed? With nitrogen or just vacuum? How fresh were they to start with?
What do you call room temp, 71, 68, 65?
What variety, some go mush faster than others?

 

[JamieGalea]

Nitrogen, temp 70, saaz.

 

[Beerstein]

Hi,

I have an unopened sealed pellet hop bag of 30g.

It has been 2 months in the drawer at room temp. Should i use it or not ?

Regards,
Jamie

Personally, I'd not hesitate to use them. Give them a smell, and you'll know. Avoid hops that smell like cheese.

 

[MaxStout]

If you don't use them now, put them in the freezer, to minimize any additional degradation.

 

[PCABrewing]

Nitrogen, temp 70, saaz.

Pretty low initial AA% ? 3.5 or so?
Beersmith says you'll lose .4% AA at 70 for two months.
That's just theoretical of course but you're likely choosing Saaz for aroma right.
That might be your biggest test and smell can help make the call for you, help mind you not absolute.

I would buy a fresh batch and put them in the fridge, then on brew day open and sniff.
Make your call based on that, if they smell cheesy toss them and use your backup.
But it's your call, you could just go with the new hops and write off the 6 or 7 bucks you might have paid for them.
Cheaper than writing off a full batch.

 

[PCABrewing]

I have several packs of hop pellets from 2016 that I probably won't use but they have been in the freezer (5 degrees F) since I bought them. They are vacuum packed in barrier bags.
I opened a pack the other day to smell and they smelled bright and fresh.
I tossed them because a batch of my time is worth more than the hops cost and I just received 2 lbs of 2021 yesterday.
But in a pinch I might roll the dice on aroma hops based on smelling that good. Probably not on bittering though.

I made sure to spread them liberally in the kitchen trash to brighten the room up a bit.
Now everytime you open the lid you get a burst of hop aroma. Not my wife's favorite but I like it.

 

[JamieGalea]

Pretty low initial AA% ? 3.5 or so?
Beersmith says you'll lose .4% AA at 70 for two months.
That's just theoretical of course but you're likely choosing Saaz for aroma right.
That might be your biggest test and smell can help make the call for you, help mind you not absolute.

I would buy a fresh batch and put them in the fridge, then on brew day open and sniff.
Make your call based on that, if they smell cheesy toss them and use your backup.
But it's your call, you could just go with the new hops and write off the 6 or 7 bucks you might have paid for them.
Cheaper than writing off a full batch.

I think this would be the safest bet ! For next time i ll simply freeze them as many suggest.

Thanks everyone for your input

 

[BrewMan13]

No comment on the actual thread topic, but OP has the same last name as me

 

[JamieGalea]

No comment on the actual thread topic, but OP has the same last name as me

Are you a Galea ? Where are you from ?

 

[BrewMan13]

Are you a Galea ? Where are you from ?

Indeed I am, near Albany, NY. Truth be told I don't know a lot about that side of my family as my paternal grandparents got divorced when my dad was very young.

 

[JAReeves]

One option you have, if the aroma isn't what it should be, is use the hops only for bittering/flavor additions.

 

[JamieGalea]

Indeed I am, near Albany, NY. Truth be told I don't know a lot about that side of my family as my paternal grandparents got divorced when my dad was very young.

Most probably you have Maltese blood I am from Malta and Galea is a maltese surname with roots from south Italy

 

[BrewMan13]

Most probably you have Maltese blood I am from Malta and Galea is a maltese surname with roots from south Italy

According to 23 & Me it's southern Italian. I think my paternal great-grandfather was the first to immigrate to the US.

 

[dwhite60]

I've got year old Centennial in the freezer I still use. I keep them in a mason jar. After taking out what I need I pull a vacuum on the jar and reseal it. I've done EKG's I keep the same way that seem to still be fine.

Two months old but sealed? I'd used them without question.

 

[JamieGalea]

I've got year old Centennial in the freezer I still use. I keep them in a mason jar. After taking out what I need I pull a vacuum on the jar and reseal it. I've done EKG's I keep the same way that seem to still be fine.

Two months old but sealed? I'd used them without question.

Yesterday was the brewday. When I opened the packet i was like .... woooww ok the aroma is still there .

So 2 months old sealed hops at RT is ok to use haha