Keeping dried hops

[richardagutteridge]

: Hi all. What's the best way to keep ½ packet of dried hops, 50grms Bobeck, as I will not need them for a few months.

Regards Richard G :drink:

 

[Tony]

HI Richard
Wrap them up as tightly as you can (I put mine in freezer bags with a clasp on them) and put them in the freezer. They'll be fine there for several months!

 

[Wez]

Agree with Tony, Airtight and Frozen :thumb:

 

[richardagutteridge]

: Thanks lads :thumb:

 

[evanvine]

Do you still need to freeze if they're vacuum packed?

 

[bolty]

I think the colder they are, the slower the AA decomposes (as well as aroma/flavour etc).

 

[Aleman]

Yes,

The colder you keep them teh better they retain their aroma.

Scottish Craft brewers reported an experiment with Deuchars (IIRC?) where they brewed beer using old hops (Kept in the hops store) with Fresh hops . . . while the IBU od the beer with the old hops was barely changed the aroma components was missing.

. . . This is not what I have found IME I'm finding a significant drop in bitterness from using my old (Vac Packed cold stored) hops . . . I'm going to have to get some fresh hops or use some pellets to see if I get the bitterness back where I need it.

 

[Halite]

I have a drawer in the freezer just for hops. Tend to store them in airtight small food containers. You will certainly experience some degradation as compared to fresh hops but should be good to store this way for quite a while.

 

[evanvine]

Do the professional hop merchants freeze them or do they have another way of keeping them?

 

[Aleman]

they are kept in cold storage . .but in bloody big bales which have a much smaller surface area : volume ratio that out tiny bags and therefore do not oxidise as quickly as ours do.

 

[evanvine]

Thanks AM.
I knew they packed them in large bales, but didn't know they put them into cold storage as well.

 

[richardagutteridge]

: Thanks for the tips folks. When I come to reuse the hops should they be thawed first, or just put use frozen? :hmm:

Richard :)

 

[jamesb]

Just throw them in. The moisture level in the hops is so low that they don't actually freeze.

 

[Halite]

The moisture level in the hops is so low that they don't actually freeze.

yeah it doesn't matter iof they are pellets or leaf just chuck them in.

 

[snail59]

Rather than start a new thread I will jump on the back of this thread if thats ok. :whistle:

Just taken delivery of my first batch of ingrdients but wont be useing them till bank holiday weekend. Hops are vac packed so would it be wise to pop them in the freezer till im ready to use them.

 

[prolix]

yes chuck them in the freezer, won't make much of a difference for a week but it stamps your authority on that freezer draw. First one pack then three, then 4 kg! Its the only way to go :lol:

 

[State of the mind]

Yeah, I would just throw them in the freezer whenever you arn't using them. I have also heard that hops should be kept out of light. But at the end of the day, the hops will last for aegis, however the AA might drop a little bit. Relax, Don't Worry, & Have a Homebrew. :