what is the best way to store hops?

[abeyptfc]

as above, should you put them in the freezer until ready to use? do u have to defrost them before use? i bought some to try a hop tea with my next brew, a coopers real ale. i was advised to try it with goldings, has anyone got a rough grams of hops to put in, and how much water to boil them in? ta. mark

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

At my house...lol :thumb:

 

[Aleman]

Vacuum Packed and in the freezer

No need to defrost them . . . they don't have a lot of water in them

 

[Good Ed]

GW has a recipe, Wadworth JCB, where he uses 1L of water and 10g of Goldings. Bring water to the boil, then turn off heat and steep hops for an hour or so, then add to the copper just before emptying. I've also read to steep hops at 70C for half an hour. As with all these things it's a matter of personal taste and experimenting. Good luck :

 

[abeyptfc]

cheers guys

 

[Aleman]

There is some research that the aroma compounds in hops are formed by oxidation, the more oxidation you have of your hops the better and longer lasting your hop aroma in beer. This can be achieved by 'rubbing up' your aroma hops to break the lupulin glands exposing the hop oils to air, then steeping the aroma hops in hot water (<65C) for 15-30 minutes, before adding to the cask or FV as 'dry hops' (Or indeed to the boiler for your hop addition).

This is also a valid explanation of why First Wort Hopping works (The hops are soaked in wort at 70C for the duration of the sparge). It is also a reason why a hot steep of the aroma addition after the boil) also leads to better hop aroma.

Bizarrely the process of Vacuum packing our hops (at home and via wholesalers) may well be preventing the necessary oxidation of hop oils required for good hop aroma development and duration during storage. However it does a great job of rupturing the lupulin glands (as does freezing)

DO NOT DO ENCOURAGE OXIDATION OF HOPS THAT ARE DESTINED FOR BITTERING

 

[johnnyboy1965]

First contraversial (sp) post...Never freeze hops. It breaks down the moluctular struture of the lupin gland. Keep your hops in a airtight container.

 

[Aleman]

First contraversial (sp) post...Never freeze hops. It breaks down the moluctular struture of the lupin gland. Keep your hops in a airtight container.

Freezing does nothing to the molecular structure of the lupulin gland . . . it does it on a much higher level than that . . . Certain homebrew authors have postulated that freezing will rupture the lupulin glands, but there is little evidence to back this up, as the hops he was examining had been vacuum packed . . . which certainly ruptures the lupulin glands.

The big hop wholesalers (Charles Faram) do not freeze their hops, but they are in such big bales that oxidation (Bad for Bittering, good for aroma) is very much reduced anyway . . . and the issue with freezing(possibly) or Vac Packing is that you rupture the lupulin glands and expose the hop oils to oxidation . . . hence freezing and vac packing as you keep the hop oils away from air reducing oxidation yielding good bittering properties . . . a warm steep of the same hops will encourage oxidation of the lupulin producing good aroma.

The craft breweries that I am involved with store their hops in cold rooms . . .in the vac pac containers.

 

[luckyeddie]

I leave mine at room temperature in a cupboard (apart from my Amarillo which are currently in the fridge). I'm not a huge fan of extremely bitter beers, but love the aroma that hops can bring, so I'm relieved that Aleman says that aged hops retain (or even enhance) their aroma.

I have just spent a few days on holiday and had the opportunity to sample some wonderful Belgian Lambic blended beers a friend had acquired during a recent stay in the Brussels area. I believe because of the delicate nature of Lambic beers, flavour hops would completely overwhelm the subtle citric and lactic tastes that feature, yet the beers are hopped for the preservative qualities.

Having read Michael Jackson's marvellous book on great Belgian beers, I seem to recall that Lambic beers are only hopped using really stale flowers (at least 2 years old).

 

[dennisking]

When I started in the 70`s I would buy my ingredients from a HB shop Busbys in The Farringdon Rd London. They sold hops form big, I think cardboard containers which I think were called pockets. They had never been frozen or vac. packed and were sold loose and put into brown paper bags. The other source of hops was Boots who sold them in clear plastic bags. In both cases I can only remember the hops being fresh even though ones bought in spring or early summer I assume would have been from the previous years harvest.