Vacuum sealer for hops

[Tunabeast]

So I bulk purchased some of my favourite hops from Get Er brewed and would like to ensure their shelf life in the freezer is maximised. Vacuum sealing in plastic bags seems like the obvious way to do this, I can split 1kg in to 10 separate bags and seal. Anyone got any recommendations for a cheap vacuum sealer?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Check this thread out https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/recommend-a-vacuum-sealing-machine.68608/

 

[Mungri]

So I bulk purchased some of my favourite hops from Get Er brewed and would like to ensure their shelf life in the freezer is maximised. Vacuum sealing in plastic bags seems like the obvious way to do this, I can split 1kg in to 10 separate bags and seal. Anyone got any recommendations for a cheap vacuum sealer?

This one's served me well for hundreds of bags so far.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06XR5RZ83/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Mike Smith]

The Andrew James brand is quite good and you can get the bags easily.

And if you have a temperature controlled mash tun you can sous vide too.....

 

[Drunkula]

I did some research on hop storage index and vacuum sealing really doesn't add much to the shelf life. As long as they're cold that's 95% of the work done**. Wish I knew that after I had a sealer. I'd recommend getting some of the mylar bags, filling, squeezing and sealing with an iron. Seal just the edge and you can snip off a strip and then keep resealing.

I was really surprised how well some wild hops I picked and just put in Ikea bags in the freezer kept before I could put them in better bags. Three weeks later and they were still fantastic before the vac bag.

** I can't find the link to it now, so ignore this until I find it. And I'm not in the mood for scouring for it.

 

[Tunabeast]

Thanks Drunkula. Not sure I can justify the cost of one for the amount I'll use it so going to go with your suggestion of mylar bags I think.

 

[Drunkula]

I've even cleaned out cat food pouches and sealed those. With the right size bag you can put hops in the bottom, seal a line, put more in, seal a line, etc - then you've got like a sausage and you can snip open say 10g at a time or whatever. Classy I am.

 

[Ghillie]

Does anyone else just push as much air out a ziplock freezer bag as possible?

 

[Sadfield]

Isn't hop storage index a factor of ageing on alpha acid potential? Vacuum packing probably doesn't make much difference if you only view hops as a source of IBUs.

I've heard of hops having catty aroma, I didn't realise this was Beef and Tuna.