Frozen sealed hop pellets

[HighVoltageMan!]

The biggest enemy of hops is oxygen. Mylar is a great o2 barrier, but, as much as I hate to admit it, Food Saver bags are not a very good oxygen barrier. I use them, but the clock on the hops starts to tick once the mylar bag is opened. Oxidized hops are kind of nasty, especially noble type hops in a delicate Pilsner. With other beers you can get away with a little easier, especially if they are mix in with fresher hops. Old hops work, but they're not as good as they once were.

Keeping them in the freezer slows down the degrading of hops over time, but if they are not protected from oxygen, the don't keep very long. If flushed with nitrogen and vacuum sealed in a mylar bag, they can lasts for years.

 

[Hawkbox]

What I've read says otherwise, temperature and variance has a bigger impact than oxygen.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

What I've read says otherwise, temperature and variance has a bigger impact than oxygen.

Either way. Keep in the freezer and keep out of oxygen. FoodSavers work, but not as well as mylar. Zip Lock bags are worse than FoodSavers, but better than nothing. Freezer burn is really bad.

 

[Nosybear]

All good reasons I keep my hop purchases to what I need for a batch. I tried the bulk thing but by the end of my pound of Magnum, I had no idea how much bitterness I was putting into my beers.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

as long as you vacuum seal and freeze it's fine, I use hops from a couple of years back that works just fine, now if you bust the bag or empty half out you need to vacuum back that's why I started breaking apart all packages into 1 ounce vacuum sealed packs and I set my recipes to use ounces only, I don't unseal until right before I add to the boil kettle

 

[Drewfus1]

Also, keep in mind that not all freezers are created equal. Ideally any hops (or food) that you want to store long term should be in a chest deep freezer. The freezers on most refrigerators are notorious for freezer burning food very quickly.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I agree, mine are in the bottom of a chest freezer in the garage that very seldom gets disturbed

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

All good reasons I keep my hop purchases to what I need for a batch. I tried the bulk thing but by the end of my pound of Magnum, I had no idea how much bitterness I was putting into my beers.

I've been going down this route as well, I rarely buy hops by the pound. Cheaper for sure but not better. Yakima Valley Hops has 2 ounce packages that are manageable, the nice thing about it is that hop blending on pale ales and IPA's is a piece of cake.

 

[Head First]

Would just like to add there are several ways to store hops. Most sealed versions work well. If they go bad they will add off flavors such as cheesy etc.

Hi,
I found almost 1 pound of hops in my refrigerator.
they were stored in normal bags at 5°C for 4 years ... can i still use them ? they smell good.
Thanks.

If they were in original package, go for it as long as they smell proper!

 

[BOB357]

The biggest enemy of hops is oxygen. Mylar is a great o2 barrier, but, as much as I hate to admit it, Food Saver bags are not a very good oxygen barrier. I use them, but the clock on the hops starts to tick once the mylar bag is opened. Oxidized hops are kind of nasty, especially noble type hops in a delicate Pilsner. With other beers you can get away with a little easier, especially if they are mix in with fresher hops. Old hops work, but they're not as good as they once were.

Keeping them in the freezer slows down the degrading of hops over time, but if they are not protected from oxygen, the don't keep very long. If flushed with nitrogen and vacuum sealed in a mylar bag, they can lasts for years.

I don't think the Mylar has as much to do with what you're talking about as the lack of O2 due to the Nitrogen flush most get as they are being packaged in the Mylar. Another plus of the Mylar is that it effectively blocks light. While being #3 in line as enemies to hop storage, light does make a difference. I can tell you from experience that vacuum packaging in FoodSaver bags and freezing does a great job. While I put stock in many opinions, I don't allow any of them to change my opinion based on what I have personally experienced.

That said, you make some valid points as far as good storage practices, as does everyone who swears by little or no exposure to O2 and storage at a very low temperature. We're not going to be storing bodies in hopes of resurrecting them in a century, rather extending the life of hops for a reasonable period of time. While I have successfully stored hops for 3 or more years, I'm perfectly happy with 2 years.