Preserving surplus hop pellets

[davidgrace]

I always brew 11L of beer using the brew in a bag method. Some recipes require 3 or 4 types of hops with one type as low as 10g which means 5g for my 11L brew. The smallest unit of hop pellets I can by is 50g which means I will have lots of hop pellets left over. For each recipe I have had surplus pellets. So I want to ask if anyone can recommend a simple and cheap way to preserve/vacuum seal the pellets for future use?

 

[MickDundee]

Airtight container in the freezer is probably your best/cheapest option.

 

[An Ankoù]

I reseal the bag with sellotape, squeeze out as much air as I can and put them back in the (dedicated) hops and yeast fridge. I try to use open packets up within 6 months. I work on the principle that hops lose their alpha acid content quicker than their aromatic content so I always use the freshest hops for bittering.

 

[JonBrew]

This first tip I would offer is to buy 100g pack of a very neutral bittering hop such as Magnum and just sub that into all your recipes as your bittering (60 minute) addition. That way you should only need to be cycling your aroma hops.

For storage I use these food bag clips - squeeze as much are out the bag as possible, put the clip on and store in the freezer. Most hops should be fine if stored in the freezer for at least 12 months (you may experience some alpha acid loss).

You can also pick up vacuum sealers pretty cheaply now - Aldi had one the other month for £20. I've been thinking about getting one but constantly bursting and binning the plastic bags seems wasteful.

 

[Ben034]

Vacuum sealer and freezer is a good option (although more expensive than above). Some of the £20 sealers on Amazon are meant to be decent.

I use the maltmiller recipe design feature. This way I can order 4/5 recipes and the grain is crushed and sealed and hops are individually sealed (as small as 5g if needed). It costs more than buying ingredients in bulk but makes small scale brewing in a flat much more manageable and is easy to store.

 

[phildo79]

Apparently wrapping them in clingfilm works. I haven't bothered trying this though. I squeeze as much air as I can out of the, usually, foil bag and tape it up and chuck it in the freezer.

 

[Drunkula]

I've got a vacuum sealer but wouldn't have bothered if I'd read this first:

http://brulosophy.com/2017/07/17/hop-storage-vacuum-sealed-vs-non-purged-baggie-exbeeriment-results/

I picked some fresh hops and didn't have a sealer and just had them in Ikea bags and squeezed the air out and a couple of months later they still smelled gorgeous when they warmed up. Of course that's not scientific but I thought the really fresh zestiness would have died off.

So yeah, cold.

 

[Pavros]

Crossmyloof sell hops in 25g packs so that may help you.

I would also do as JonBrew suggested and settle on one hop for bittering in most recipes so that only late addition/aroma/dryhop hops are the ones that you may need to keep for a while.

 

[MmmBeer]

I use a vacuum storage bag (the type you use for putting away yoour winter woolies for the summer), reseal bags with sticky tap, put them in the vacuum bag and suck the air out with the hoover, then just stick them in the freezer.

 

[An Ankoù]

This first tip I would offer is to buy 100g pack of a very neutral bittering hop such as Magnum and just sub that into all your recipes as your bittering (60 minute) addition. That way you should only need to be cycling your aroma hops.

For storage I use these food bag clips - squeeze as much are out the bag as possible, put the clip on and store in the freezer. Most hops should be fine if stored in the freezer for at least 12 months (you may experience some alpha acid loss).

You can also pick up vacuum sealers pretty cheaply now - Aldi had one the other month for £20. I've been thinking about getting one but constantly bursting and binning the plastic bags seems wasteful.

Exactly what I do. Magnum for general bittering unless otherwise indicated. Except I don't freeze. Not sure it's necessary, 3-5C works for me.

 

[ChrisRedWills]

I just seal with a clothes peg & wack em in the freezer ifs there's no room they go in the shed I've not had a problem with them as long as there not there for weeks on end always check for a cheesy smell

 

[Mavroz]

I seal the bags with a heat sealer, put in freezer, last forever..... not that they are there too long.

 

[davidgrace]

Thanks for all these suggestions. All very helpful and I am likely to go with some of them in the future. For now, I am going with Ben034 getting my ingredients through the Malt Miller and their recipe generator feature. That way I can order hops individually sealed as small in grams as I require. Just right for my 11L brews.