20 replies to this topic

[hullabrew]

I have some hops left from a purchase I made in January 2008. I haven't brewed for a while so I haven't had a chance to use them up. I have about 10 oz each of a Summit and Amarillo. I have had them sealed in a vacuum bag and in a freezer at about 0 degrees F the entire time I have had them. According to beersmith the Alpha should still be reasonable. I'll obviously need to adjust for the IBU, but will they still taste ok in an IPA, or should I just buy more?

[MtnBrewer]

Check them and see if they're good.

[Humperdink]

I have some hops left from a purchase I made in January 2008. I haven't brewed for a while so I haven't had a chance to use them up. I have about 10 oz each of a Summit and Amarillo. I have had them sealed in a vacuum bag and in a freezer at about 0 degrees F the entire time I have had them. According to beersmith the Alpha should still be reasonable. I'll obviously need to adjust for the IBU, but will they still taste ok in an IPA, or should I just buy more?

I've brewed with older hops than that. As long as they were stored well which it sounds like they were, you should be good to go. maybe someone else can chime in about AA degradation, I'm not sure of any percents off the top of my head.

[lowendfrequency]

If my hops are old, I just make sure to brew something funky and Belgian with them. Then you can brag and gloat to people about the great lengths you went to achieve authenticity by aging and curing your hops.

[djinkc]

I bought a bunch, like 15 -18# in October 2007 before prices went through the roof. Vacuum sealed and in a deep freeze. They were just fine, maybe a little alpha loss. If they smell good use them.

[MolBasser]

You prolly will get a little cheese aroma in your beers, but depending on how airtight the seal was, and if they are cone or pellets....Dang, I keep forgetting to talk to my hop dude. Well, I have no choice as I am going to be sitting on his GCMS/O for over an hour tomorrow.MolBasser

[Calder]

I've got some from a few years ago that I've been using. They were all pellets, vacuum packed and kept at 0 F. All seem fine. I suspect pellets keep better than leaf.I've since replaced all of them with fresh but thought I would brew up a few big IPAs in the near future to get rid of them. I just can't bring myself to toss them when there seems to be nothing wrong with them.There has been no noticeable problems with the beers I've brewed using them. I've upped the bittering additions to account for expected AA losses.

[hullabrew]

These are all leaf hops that I bought from freshops in Jan 2008. I have a few varieties, but am only planning on using Summit and Amarillo in an IPA.

[Calder]

If they look and smell OK, use them. Maybe make it extra hoppy; after all you don't really want to save the rest for another couple of years.

[MolBasser]

These are all leaf hops that I bought from freshops in Jan 2008. I have a few varieties, but am only planning on using Summit and Amarillo in an IPA.

Prolly be cheesy, but hey. Go for it!MolBasser

[MyaCullen]

Prolly be cheesy, but hey. Go for it!MolBasser

yeah leaf hops don't hold up as well, as pellets

[hullabrew]

Cheesy doesn't really sound too appealing! Is it in the flavor or aroma, and how bad is it? Would it be worth throwing them out and getting new? Can you tell by smelling them if they will be cheesy in the beer?

[MolBasser]

Cheesy doesn't really sound too appealing! Is it in the flavor or aroma, and how bad is it? Would it be worth throwing them out and getting new? Can you tell by smelling them if they will be cheesy in the beer?

Mostly aroma, and yes, if you smell your hops you will get an idea. Old hops go cheesy though, but it is a product of oxidation, so if you sealed your hops really well, it might not be so bad.With cheesy beer, it shows up in the nose pretty well, but I have a hard time translating this to people who have not been drilled on the aroma at close to threshold levels. I pick it up pretty easy, you may not.If it smells good to you in the bag, it should be good to go in the brew.MolBasser

[MyaCullen]

Cheesy doesn't really sound too appealing! Is it in the flavor or aroma, and how bad is it? Would it be worth throwing them out and getting new? Can you tell by smelling them if they will be cheesy in the beer?

it's like foot odor, with a twinge of garlic , that's my take on oxidized hops

[Humperdink]

it's like foot odor, with a twinge of garlic , that's my take on oxidized hops

Sounds like simcoe to me

[MolBasser]

Sounds like simcoe to me

No, Simcoe smells like the litter box... MolBasser

[Stout_fan]

it's like foot odor, with a twinge of garlic , that's my take on oxidized hops

yummy, just what I want in my beer : yuckyface:edit- I had the splint removed from my foot and had a cast put on after 4 weeks. So I finally got to see my toes.Sitting on my couch watching the toobe, I noticed this horrid smell. It was my foot.Deciding to clean it up as best as possible. Turns out I was removing pea sized chunks of toe-jam.The smell is unforgettable.

Edited by Stout_fan, 20 May 2010 - 06:52 AM.

[nbbeerguy]

I just used some 1.5 year old Amarillo whole leaf in an IPA that were stored in a freezer bag in a freezer and it turned out great Amarillo is the Hop I taste most so id say go for it

[hullabrew]

I have all my hops separated into 2oz vacuum sealed bags, so I decided to open one of the Amarillos last night and see how they were. I don't think the aroma was as intense as they were when fresh, but I didn't smell any pungent odors so I'm going to go ahead and use them.

[MyaCullen]

I have all my hops separated into 2oz vacuum sealed bags, so I decided to open one of the Amarillos last night and see how they were. I don't think the aroma was as intense as they were when fresh, but I didn't smell any pungent odors so I'm going to go ahead and use them.

let some warm up to room emp before you make that decision, cold stuff just doesn't give off aromatics like warm stuff