How long to keep hops?

[Pavalijo]

Hi all, is there a general rule of thumb as to how long hops will last in a sealed foil bag? (Not pelleted)
thanks in advance

 

[Pavalijo]

Ok, 36 views and no advice - my fault maybe I need to clarify!
If I am offered hops that are 4 years old but in sealed bags (not frozen) are they likely to be ok for another year or two (or more?) if I freeze them when I open the packs?

 

[TheOsprey]

I'd say in general if hops are frozen, they'll last indefinitely. I know you said these hadn't been.

I've seen websites selling 2017 hops, which I assume haven't been frozen, so 2016 doesn't sound a huge stretch. Maybe use them for bittering rather than aroma/flavour?

What are they?

 

[foxy]

Ok, 36 views and no advice - my fault maybe I need to clarify!
If I am offered hops that are 4 years old but in sealed bags (not frozen) are they likely to be ok for another year or two (or more?) if I freeze them when I open the packs?

Are the bags vacuum sealed? Funnily enough I was reading some recipes which called for old hops. I think it was while I was browsing old beer recipes. I do know that the old breweries would stock pile hops for a few years.

 

[Henders]

As has been said, the best practice seems to be nitrogen purged foil packed and then frozen. Everything degrades eventually but the above will all help to further reduce whatever fraction of potential is lost in every arbitrary unit of time.
Once opened I do similar to what you suggest, seal and re-freeze.

Were I in your position it would come down to price. If it's free then it's worth a try and I'll satisfy myself with the first sniff when I open a pack :p. Even if they have lost 10% of their potency I've probably got bigger things to solve. If they are 'half' the price of a 2020 then I dunno, depends on your financial situation/approach to brewing.

I'd also be more tempted if it's a large amount of a variety, so I can test it in multiple beers as part of my wider learning. So yeah. How much? Money and grams :).

 

[An Ankoù]

My understanding is that the alpha acid content declines with age, but it varies from hop to hop. Some say that, as this happens, other bittering agents become more prominent. Aroma products don't deteriorate as quickly. Still, 4 years old is pushing it a bit, I would say; and have they been refrigerated even if not frozen? I got some hops from Stocks Farm recently, the leaf hops had a best before date of about this time next year and the pellets of the same hop had a two year date. I think it's all a bit vague. I also remember remember that Scott Janish had something interesting to say on the matter. I'll look it up later.

 

[Pavalijo]

I am waiting for more detail but will ask how they have been stored, hopefully frozen but as I said I suspect not - one photo shows them in sealed foil packs but some of the packs have been opened and they are offered at £1 for 125grams. I don’t want the ones that have been opened and am promised a list of the unopened packs (inc type, weight and price). From the doubt you guys express maybe I’ll leave them alone if not frozen apart from any aroma types (for a short dry hopping experiment). I can’t buff them before buying but if cheap enough it’s worth a punt and if they smell foists when I open the pack I can bin them. Thanks for the advice, I’ll report back if I get further with this

 

[An Ankoù]

How much is your punter asking for the unopened packs? I don't have a good feeling about this. I think you'd be better getting fresh hops of the varieties you want rather than trying to find a recipe to suite a random selection of old hops.
I had an email about a year ago from a shop Up North who were trying to move on a load of well-out-of-date hops from another business that had stopped trading. Needless to say, I didn't take the bait.