Hop storage - article

[Leon103]

A nice little article from Rammy CRaft
http://rammycraft.com/2016/01/hopping-mad

 

[HisDudeness]

This is a really interesting article and it has highlighted something that I haven't taken into consideration before i.e. hop degradation. Its likely that a few of my beers are a bit lower in IBUs than I perhaps intended because of this. How many people on here attempt to calculate for hop deg and account for this in recipes? The article mentions Beersmith having a calc for this which I will have a look at to see what sort of AA drops I might be looking at.

 

[MyQul]

Interesting article. I've got some hops (still unopened) from 2012 harvest . Think I'll chuck em

 

[HisDudeness]

Interesting article. I've got some hops (still unopened) from 2012 harvest. Think I'll chuck em

Realising now why some of the sale hops I have bought in the past were so cheap! I think I will make more of an effort to only buy hops from the last season where possible

 

[MyQul]

Realising now why some of the sale hops I have bought in the past were so cheap! I think I will make more of an effort to only buy hops from the last season where possible

It's not something I've really thought of before. I'll defiantely be taking harvesting date into account from now on when buying hops

 

[Leon103]

Again it's not something I think about either but I will be paying more attention to harvest dates etc in the future.

On a side note Rammy Craft do some nice brews. Got a friend who lives that way and picks me up some.

 

[BreadMurderer]

It's a bit obvious that hops degrade over time though no? Even if vacuum sealed. Along with this I always store my hops in the freezer to combat this as much as possible. I don't buy a big enough amount of hops to really worry about them degrading over time, but I still take into consideration when they were harvested. I think with the version of Beersmith I had it asked you this by default?

 

[HisDudeness]

It's a bit obvious that hops degrade over time though no? Even if vacuum sealed. Along with this I always store my hops in the freezer to combat this as much as possible. I don't buy a big enough amount of hops to really worry about them degrading over time, but I still take into consideration when they were harvested. I think with the version of Beersmith I had it asked you this by default?

Well yes but the rate at which AA percentage can potentially drop for varieties that don't store well was news to me and when buying older hops I had assumed the stated AA value should still be in the right ballpark. Beersmith has a calculator to work this out but as far as I can tell its not automatically integrated into recipe design or inventory.

 

[geetee]

The alpha acid component isomerises to iso alpha acid when boiled and it is the iso compond that gives the bitterness. this is why hops have to be fully boiled to get the bitterness. You will get a fraction of the bitterness from late hops as they have not fully isomerised.

When hops degrade the alpha acid degrades to a beta acid which itself has some bitterness but just not as much as the original alpha when isomerised.

The flavour components and resins may not degrade as much if kept air tight but once opened they will start to degrade. I have no problem using last years hops as long as they are sealed. its a good ideas if you have old hops to mix them with new ones to even out the bitterness otherwise you will get variation from brew to brew using old then new hops.

 

[BeerCat]

Realising now why some of the sale hops I have bought in the past were so cheap! I think I will make more of an effort to only buy hops from the last season where possible

I have definitely noticed a large difference in quality when buying hops! I cant comment on the AA or aroma but you can just tell by looking at them. For the IBU i guess just add more but you aint gonna get the aroma if there is none to start with. Also gonna be trying to buy fresh hops in the future.

 

[Hoppy]

Hi All,

Generally good advice from the forum members here, but the article is making many assumptions.

Not all Hops degrade at the same rate (look up HSI, hop storage index). Something like Columbus will only have 50% of its alpha @20C after 6 months, Apollo will have up to 90%! 0 degrees C is enough, freezing is convenient for you guys, but do keep them airtight as mentioned.

I feel freezing hops, is a bit like shutting the door after the horse has bolted in some cases. If they haven't been previously stored at your home brew shop (between 1-4C is the hop industry/processors recommended storage temp after 150 years of analysis) most degradation has already taken place. When whole hops are packaged, there is air in there, so degradation happens sooner, as oxygen is used up, then slows. Remember, even if you flush a pack of whole hops with inert gas, you then suck it back out by pulling a vacuum. This is why pellet has superior storage and aroma.

As to the article, when pellets are made are not obliterated, they are hammer milled, preserving the lupulin glands and not creating dust. (P45 system separates lupulin from petal, put back a certain level of petal to increase increases lupulin/alpha content) and this is done in an inert atmosphere (CO2 or nitrogen) this has 2 effects, keep the hops cool and prevents oxidation during extrusion into pellet, this also forces out any air. Bags are then flushed with CO2, and sealed without a vacuum, nitrogen is pointless, as foils are checked for soundness by pulling a partial vacuum, there would still be nitrogen present so a CO2 detector is used. Sweepings? I think not, hops are controlled the same way as any food stuff!
As to T90 being coarse in flavour to leaf, nonsense. They are just fresher and have a higher Alpha, therefore the author has not taken this into account when brewing accounting for the extra alpha preserved. Pellets can also have a higher alpha after processing than the raw hop due to any dust removal. Most hops you guys receive are what brewers and merchants have selected at harvest, it is really how the HB shop has treated them afterwards.
BEST ADVICE. If you select your hops, do so around now, buy them for the year and freeze them, whether they are whole or pellet.

Hoppy

 

[MyQul]

Hi All,

Generally good advice from the forum members here, but the article is making many assumptions.

Not all Hops degrade at the same rate (look up HSI, hop storage index). Something like Columbus will only have 50% of its alpha @20C after 6 months, Apollo will have up to 90%! 0 degrees C is enough, freezing is convenient for you guys, but do keep them airtight as mentioned.

I feel freezing hops, is a bit like shutting the door after the horse has bolted in some cases. If they haven't been previously stored at your home brew shop (between 1-4C is the hop industry/processors recommended storage temp after 150 years of analysis) most degradation has already taken place. When whole hops are packaged, there is air in there, so degradation happens sooner, as oxygen is used up, then slows. Remember, even if you flush a pack of whole hops with inert gas, you then suck it back out by pulling a vacuum. This is why pellet has superior storage and aroma.

As to the article, when pellets are made are not obliterated, they are hammer milled, preserving the lupulin glands and not creating dust. (P45 system separates lupulin from petal, put back a certain level of petal to increase increases lupulin/alpha content) and this is done in an inert atmosphere (CO2 or nitrogen) this has 2 effects, keep the hops cool and prevents oxidation during extrusion into pellet, this also forces out any air. Bags are then flushed with CO2, and sealed without a vacuum, nitrogen is pointless, as foils are checked for soundness by pulling a partial vacuum, there would still be nitrogen present so a CO2 detector is used. Sweepings? I think not, hops are controlled the same way as any food stuff!
As to T90 being coarse in flavour to leaf, nonsense. They are just fresher and have a higher Alpha, therefore the author has not taken this into account when brewing accounting for the extra alpha preserved. Pellets can also have a higher alpha after processing than the raw hop due to any dust removal. Most hops you guys receive are what brewers and merchants have selected at harvest, it is really how the HB shop has treated them afterwards.
BEST ADVICE. If you select your hops, do so around now, buy them for the year and freeze them, whether they are whole or pellet.

Hoppy

Interesting and thorough counter to the article.

You say, "BEST ADVICE. If you select your hops, do so around now, buy them for the year and freeze them, whether they are whole or pellet."


What about just buying hops as you need them for the following couple of brews and freezing them upon purchasing. Only buying from the latest (if possible - so in this case only 2015) harvest?

When are hops harvested btw

 

[Hoppy]

Hi MyQul,

Hops (Northern hemishpere) are harvested August to September, about 2 weeks either way depending on variety/location.

These are held at the grower for about 3-6 weeks, while alphas are taken and selection, by merchants are made. Bear in mind hop growers grow other things such as apples and these cold store can be used for hops before the apple harvest comes in.These are then shipped to the processors/merchants (i know of one merchant who stores their hops in nitrogen flushed stores, where staff cannot enter and is automated) they are then gradually processed, with crop 15 becoming generally available around now, certainly for brewers.
My point was therefore, if you can get your hands on 2015 crop, buy now and store correctly. If stored correctly, leaf hops only have a BB of 1 year, pellets have 3 years. I have opened 4 year old T90 (Centennial), to find the quality far better than 1 year old leaf, stored under the same conditions.
Let me give you a fact, in 2013 total world hop production consisted of 61.3% of all hops into T90, and 37.6% into extracts, totaling 98.9% that doesn't leave a lot of leaf, does it?
Really only the UK uses leaf, a few UK, French, Canadian breweries and Budweiser/Sierra Nevada, before anyone comes in with exceptions:)

In all due respect to the article, these comments are coming from a commercial brewer of 25 years, who has visited hop farms/ranches/processing facilities (for CO2, Hexa, Tetra, Iso pellets etc) worldwide. I do not wish that sound conceited, sorry if it comes over that way, just trying to get you the best quality by means of advice.

Best regards

Hoppy

 

[MyQul]

Hi MyQul,

Hops (Northern hemishpere) are harvested August to September, about 2 weeks either way depending on variety/location.

These are held at the grower for about 3-6 weeks, while alphas are taken and selection, by merchants are made. Bear in mind hop growers grow other things such as apples and these cold store can be used for hops before the apple harvest comes in.These are then shipped to the processors/merchants (i know of one merchant who stores their hops in nitrogen flushed stores, where staff cannot enter and is automated) they are then gradually processed, with crop 15 becoming generally available around now, certainly for brewers.
My point was therefore, if you can get your hands on 2015 crop, buy now and store correctly. If stored correctly, leaf hops only have a BB of 1 year, pellets have 3 years. I have opened 4 year old T90 (Centennial), to find the quality far better than 1 year old leaf, stored under the same conditions.
Let me give you a fact, in 2013 total world hop production consisted of 61.3% of all hops into T90, and 37.6% into extracts, totaling 98.9% that doesn't leave a lot of leaf, does it?
Really only the UK uses leaf, a few UK, French, Canadian breweries and Budweiser/Sierra Nevada, before anyone comes in with exceptions:)

In all due respect to the article, these comments are coming from a commercial brewer of 25 years, who has visited hop farms/ranches/processing facilities (for CO2, Hexa, Tetra, Iso pellets etc) worldwide. I do not wish that sound conceited, sorry if it comes over that way, just trying to get you the best quality by means of advice.

Best regards

Hoppy

Thanks for all the info hoppy if I could 'like' your posts in this thread more than one I would. I think as well as myself, forum members will very much appreciate the view from an industry insider. Accurate well sourced information is what were all after, so I for one don't think your comments are conceited in the least. I've now bookmarked this thread and will (hopefully) use it to be able to choose/source my hops a little better in the future than I have previously done in the past.

 

[HisDudeness]

Yes thanks Hoppy, that does help to clarify that the degradation issue is much more relevant to leaf hops than pellets. I don't really believe the argument for more harshness from pellets anyway I just tend towards leaf hops as they are easier to use with my equipment.

 

[GHW]

The green bullet I used in a pale in October were 2012 and even though the pack hadn't been opened they were clearly well past their best. The beer is drinkable but there's a definite stale aftertaste to it. I'm cautious now about what years harvest I buy and I try not to buy too far in advance

 

[HisDudeness]

The green bullet I used in a pale in October were 2012 and even though the pack hadn't been opened they were clearly well past their best. The beer is drinkable but there's a definite stale aftertaste to it. I'm cautious now about what years harvest I buy and I try not to buy too far in advance

Were they leaf or pellet hops you used Gareth?

 

[GHW]

Were they leaf or pellet hops you used Gareth?

Leaf.

I generally only use leaf out of some unjustified snobbishness that they are somehow superior.

I've got some pellets that I'll be using soon though, those lovely riwaka I got of Steve!

 

[MyQul]

Opened a pack of 2015 perle hops today for my porter and the smell that came out the pack was so pungent and aromatic. I think it definatley pays to try to buy your hops as recently as you can