# Freezing Frsh Hops



## QldKev (3/6/08)

All of my spare hops from this season's growth have been placed into zip locks bags under a slight vacumn and stored in the freezer. ie. I did not dry any of the hops prior to storage. Fresh herbs and spices in cooking make a huge difference; and there is nothing like fresh hops in beer. I assume commercially dry hops last longer in transit, and they dont have to be kept frozen; also lighter for transport costs. So does anyone else freeze their hops from fresh; or have I just gone hopping mad!

QldKev


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## ozpowell (3/6/08)

QldKev said:


> All of my spare hops from this season's growth have been placed into zip locks bags under a slight vacumn and stored in the freezer. ie. I did not dry any of the hops prior to storage. Fresh herbs and spices in cooking make a huge difference; and there is nothing like fresh hops in beer. I assume commercially dry hops last longer in transit, and they dont have to be kept frozen; also lighter for transport costs. So does anyone else freeze their hops from fresh; or have I just gone hopping mad!
> 
> QldKev


I freeze all my hops. If you use Beersmith, you can use it to calculate the loss in Alpha Acids over time using various different storage techniques. Airtight container in the freezer is best.


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## T.D. (3/6/08)

Yes, freezer is best for dried hops, but is it the right thing for green hops? I would also love to know as I had a whole batch of green hops spoil recently because I didn't try them fast enough (vacuum packed them but obviously that wasn't enough to preserve them in their green form).


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## mfdes (3/6/08)

I never do it because mine have gone brown and mushy before. Dried is much safer.
Let us know how you go!

MFS.


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## Shortz (3/6/08)

Where does one get hops from to grow?? I grow a couple of seasonal vegies, so i know a little bit about growing stuff.....you feed it with beer right [or beer related products]??

Is it like growing grapes where you graft it onto a rootstock??


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## Sammus (3/6/08)

I imagine with fresh hops if you freeze them it would be like freezing other fresh fruit/veg etc. You get the thing where the cell walls burst and it spoils the food, makes it go brown and mushy, as mfdes pointed out.


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## PostModern (3/6/08)

Sammus said:


> I imagine with fresh hops if you freeze them it would be like freezing other fresh fruit/veg etc. You get the thing where the cell walls burst and it spoils the food, makes it go brown and mushy, as mfdes pointed out.



Unless you can snap freeze then to minus 40C almost instantly so the ice crystals form really quickly and are really small so they don't protrude thru the cell walls. Pellets don't mind being frozen as their cell walls are already corrupted by the pelletising process. I keep my non-compressed flowers in the fridge on the advice of knowledgeable people. Hop plugs and pellets, I freeze. I've never stored wet hops and don't think I would. It'd be like trying to keep fresh basil indefinitely, wouldn't it?


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## T.D. (3/6/08)

Sammus said:


> I imagine with fresh hops if you freeze them it would be like freezing other fresh fruit/veg etc. You get the thing where the cell walls burst and it spoils the food, makes it go brown and mushy, as mfdes pointed out.



Yep, that was my hunch too. Maybe there's a reason why hops are generally dried!


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## QldKev (3/6/08)

Thanks for all the replies.



mfdes said:


> I never do it because mine have gone brown and mushy before. Dried is much safer.
> Let us know how you go!
> 
> MFS.



Would these go brown/mushy in the freezer or when you take them out? I have about 4 bags I put in there middle of Apr and they look ok so far. I just haven't tried taking them out to use yet.



> Where does one get hops from to grow??


Do a search for rhizomes on here. There's plenty of info on it.

QldKev


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## mfdes (3/6/08)

Hi Kev,

They go mushy when I take them out. Perhaps not a problem if you put them into boiling wort directly, but be warned it happens pretty fast 
Having used fresh and dried hops, I prefer to dry mine. The flavour difference is minimal (I actually prefer the dried ones). I hear fresh hops do wonders for long term flavour stability, which might be worthwhile in a barley wine or dopplebock... I might do a seasonal barleywine next year with them and see 

MFS.


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## Steve (3/6/08)

PostModern said:


> Unless you can snap freeze then to minus 40C almost instantly so the ice crystals form really quickly and are really small so they don't protrude thru the cell walls. Pellets don't mind being frozen as their cell walls are already corrupted by the pelletising process. I keep my non-compressed flowers in the fridge on the advice of knowledgeable people. Hop plugs and pellets, I freeze. I've never stored wet hops and don't think I would. It'd be like trying to keep fresh basil indefinitely, wouldn't it?



I grow herbs every year the main one being coriander. The leaves are stripped, straight into a zip lock back and into the freezer. I use them for cooking throughout the year. They taste as fresh as when they were first picked. They are soggy yes but definately still have the flavour and aroma. I was given a bag full of fresh wet POR a month or two ago and I stuck them straight into the freezer. Im quite reluctant to use them because of the same questions being asked here. A $10 tai green chilli dinner is easier to sacrifice than a double batch of beer.
Cheers
Steve


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## Steve (3/6/08)

Shortz said:


> I grow a couple of seasonal vegies, so i know a little bit about growing stuff.....you feed it with beer right [or beer related products]??



:blink: 

Do you feed your pumpkins with pumpkin soup? NO. Do you feed your tomatoes with dolmeos pasta sauce? NO. Do you feed your zuchinis with a zuchini slice? NO. Are you serious? You feed a hop plant with the same products that all plants love...nutrient rich compost and the likes.


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## Pumpy (3/6/08)

Encapsulate your hops in ice they dont dry out this way 

just use a plastic mould add 14 gram lots and add water and freeze .

Cryogenic suspenion of your hops in a soluble solution is the modern home brewers way to preserve thier hops precious oils and aromas  

pumpy


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## barls (3/6/08)

i did my first years batch wet they weren't too bad, but i dried them the next year


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## PostModern (3/6/08)

Steve said:


> I grow herbs every year the main one being coriander. The leaves are stripped, straight into a zip lock back and into the freezer. I use them for cooking throughout the year. They taste as fresh as when they were first picked. They are soggy yes but definately still have the flavour and aroma. I was given a bag full of fresh wet POR a month or two ago and I stuck them straight into the freezer. Im quite reluctant to use them because of the same questions being asked here. A $10 tai green chilli dinner is easier to sacrifice than a double batch of beer.
> Cheers
> Steve



Fair enough. Hops are boiled not tossed into salad. I don't think I'd be throwing thawed basil in a salad, but in a soup our curry or whatever, yeah, so I supose sloppy thawed hops would still bitter and flavour a beer.


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## Steve (3/6/08)

PostModern said:


> Fair enough. Hops are boiled not tossed into salad. I don't think I'd be throwing thawed basil in a salad, but in a soup our curry or whatever, yeah, so I supose sloppy thawed hops would still bitter and flavour a beer.




yeah of course - they'd be no good in a salad but in a curry I cant tell the difference. Still apprehensive about using frozen WET hops in a brew though. I have used frozen DRIED home grown POR (that I grew) and they did the job very well for bittering.


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## Brewer_010 (3/6/08)

Steve said:


> yeah of course - they'd be no good in a salad but in a curry I cant tell the difference. Still apprehensive about using frozen WET hops in a brew though. I have used frozen DRIED home grown POR (that I grew) and they did the job very well for bittering.



Would be alright in a boil, surely? It does sound odd using wet sloppy hops, but I couldn't imagine there would be anything to go amiss by boiling them. 

I wouldn't be so keen on dry hopping though  

In any case, POR is going to make your beer taste like shite anyway!


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## 0M39A (3/6/08)

PostModern said:


> Pellets don't mind being frozen as their cell walls are already corrupted by the pelletising process. I keep my non-compressed flowers in the fridge on the advice of knowledgeable people. Hop plugs and pellets, I freeze. I've never stored wet hops and don't think I would. It'd be like trying to keep fresh basil indefinitely, wouldn't it?



So flowers are a bad thing to keep in the freezer? I have some in there right now in a zip lock bag... would they be better in the fridge? doubt they'll last long though


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## ozpowell (4/6/08)

Just to add fuel to the fire  here's an article from the BYO archive that seems to advocate storing flowers in an airtight baggie in the freezer: link


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## mfdes (4/6/08)

Dried hops of any kind are fine in the freezer. Make sure you let them warm up to room temp. before you open them to stop them getting wet from condensing water out of the air.
MFS.


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## 0M39A (4/6/08)

mfdes said:


> Dried hops of any kind are fine in the freezer. Make sure you let them warm up to room temp. before you open them to stop them getting wet from condensing water out of the air.
> MFS.



Cheers for the tip 

should send some fresh hops up my way in burnie for me to experiment with


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## Lecterfan (29/1/11)

Pumpy said:


> Encapsulate your hops in ice they dont dry out this way
> 
> just use a plastic mould add 14 gram lots and add water and freeze .
> 
> ...




There is a pic with this comment - post #13.

Is it just me or is this a brilliant idea? Does anyone else do this or is everyone else an avid dryer of hops?

It seems an elegant and parsimonious solution.


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## Bizier (29/1/11)

I really can't see how you can go past a cheap vacuum-sealer. I got a Maxkon/similar/rebranded one online for like $60 after the other half drowned the Sunbeam... pump longevity aside, it is actually way better, larger, locks down, has 'seal only' and 'cancel' functions and a fraction of the cost.

If you vac-pack and freeze immediately, I think that is the best storage you can give your hops. I wouldn't want to re-hydrate them with extra water and then freeze, as to my mind it *could* cause extra cell damage and release more chlorophyll type flavours into your beer. I could also be full of BS.


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## Lecterfan (29/1/11)

Bizier said:


> I wouldn't want to re-hydrate them with extra water and then freeze, as to my mind it *could* cause extra cell damage and release more chlorophyll type flavours into your beer.




My understanding of post #13 is that you pick them fresh from the vine, put them in some water and freeze immediately. 
I agree that a vac sealer is probably the best option, but even $60 is a stretch for me for something I don't consider essential to my AG process.

I am just investigating convenient ways of dealing with them once picked that doesn't include drying them first.

Cheers for the feedback though


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## WitWonder (29/1/11)

Bizier said:


> If you vac-pack and freeze immediately, I think that is the best storage you can give your hops. I wouldn't want to re-hydrate them with extra water and then freeze, as to my mind it *could* cause extra cell damage and release more chlorophyll type flavours into your beer. I could also be full of BS.



Hmm, well I dried and froze the flowers in zip lock bags from my first year Chinook last year and used them in a pale ale as aroma additions. I just pulled them out of the freezer and dumped them in the boil, from memory. It was a 40L batch and virtually ruined by (I assume) my hops by giving the brew a real vegetal flavour/aroma 

I'm looking for alternate solutions so I don't have the same issue, in the unlikely event of getting flowers this year due to a really late start to my bine growing for some reason.


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