# Chinees Hops, Beware



## gregs (2/4/10)

There has been a lot of discussion within these forums about Chinees hops before, some positive but mostly negative.

I myself haven’t purchased any of these hops although was given a couple of vacuumed packs from a brewer friend. These packs came from his freezer and went straight in to my freezer whilst still frozen.

After reading all the negative comments I was unsure if I would use them, so they sat in the freezer frozen for months until I decided to throw them out.

I was horrified to find one of the packs had puffed up like a pillow from its vacuumed state.  

You could only speculate at what’s going on in there.


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## gregs (2/4/10)

The bag holds pressure.


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## chappo1970 (2/4/10)

Eeeewwww!!! :icon_vomit: 

The ones I had (which are now landfill BTW) started to look simular, soft, moist and crumbly, to what you have there Gregs. They were in the freezer but not vac packed. Wonder what would cause something to decompose in a freezer?

Glad mine are gone to the tip now and I didn't give them away to another brewer. Phew!

I guess your just not a very good Brewer Gregs... h34r:  :lol:


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## fraser_john (2/4/10)

Creepy


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## manticle (2/4/10)

Rubbish. The great Federated Illuminati Brewing Society whose names I can't reveal, brew with them all the time and make wonderful beer. They've tested them with their super advanced and very expensive Testometer and absolutely guarantee the quality and freshness. I've even seen the stamped piece of paper with the letterhead but I can't tell you where.


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## yardy (2/4/10)

hypothetically, if someone were to get them tested for whatever nasties are in there, what facilities would be required and what would you test for ?


cheers


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## fraser_john (2/4/10)

manticle said:


> Rubbish. The great Federated Illuminati Brewing Society whose names I can't reveal, brew with them all the time and make wonderful beer. They've tested them with their super advanced and very expensive Testometer and absolutely guarantee the quality and freshness. I've even seen the stamped piece of paper with the letterhead but I can't tell you where.



I've seen the Stonecutters version of said document.


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## dpadden (2/4/10)

Here we go again......


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## skippy (2/4/10)

ahh, 'cough, cough', chinee hops no goode!!


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## beers (2/4/10)

Clearly its because of your lack of brewing skills.


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## bradsbrew (2/4/10)

Perhaps said brewer was little pissed and hit blow instead of suck for that bag. :lol: 
Seriously though would like to know what would cause this to happen without this turning into another chinese hops are crap thread.


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## Steve (2/4/10)

gregs, have you open the bag and had a good long sniff? I dare ya. Write your will first though :lol:


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## MarkBastard (2/4/10)

I'll check mine later on, but pretty sure they're all still vac packed fine.

I note your ones are really lacking colour. From memory there were sometimes two types, like a cascade that looked green and a cascade that looked like that. I'm pretty sure I only got the green stuff and that mine are still nicely vac packed.


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## Bribie G (2/4/10)

Mine aren't vac packed and are just in tupperwares in the freezer. Currently drinking a batch of brown ale bittered solely with the Cluster and finished with Centennial. Nothing wrong with it. However if I'd used the Beersmith Chinese Module to make the beer for me I would probably have got botulism and not be making this post. B)


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## Effect (2/4/10)

Chappo said:


> I guess your just not a very good Brewer Gregs...




:lol: :lol:


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## gregs (2/4/10)

Steve said:


> gregs, have you open the bag and had a good long sniff? I dare ya. Write your will first though :lol:




I wasnt game enough to have a whiff Steve, but I think BribieG would be a willing volunteer.

May calm him down a bit, relax and chill him out so he can concentrate on using Beer Smith.


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## gregs (2/4/10)

Phillip said:


> :lol: :lol:




I thought I would get a head start on the fermentation, thats how good - a brewer you can become using these hops. :lol:


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## Bribie G (2/4/10)

:icon_offtopic: Actually Greggs now that I have beersmith - which I bought because I am getting seriously into late hopping, IBUs and all the interlinked hoppy stuff and BS is a useful brain-saver as I use a fairly wide range of hops of all AAs - I had an unrelated problem. 
I made a Burton Pale Ale again to a recipe from last year, which had turned out drinkable but badly affected with diacetyl. Current batch is good but strangely cloying and 'meaty' and after three tallies I kept finding myself mumbling incoherently, staggering around and falling into a deep sleep around 8pm. So I ran the figures through BS and presumably had hit a good efficiency because my Burton is at least 6.8% alcohol


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## Gerard_M (2/4/10)

yardy said:


> hypothetically, if someone were to get them tested for whatever nasties are in there, what facilities would be required and what would you test for ?
> cheers



Stupidity & tight arsedness! 

Enjoy the quality of that Chinese Pilsener!
Cheers
Gerard


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## gregs (2/4/10)

BribieG said:


> :icon_offtopic: Actually Greggs now that I have beersmith - which I bought because I am getting seriously into late hopping, IBUs and all the interlinked hoppy stuff and BS is a useful brain-saver as I use a fairly wide range of hops of all AAs - I had an unrelated problem.
> I made a Burton Pale Ale again to a recipe from last year, which had turned out drinkable but badly affected with diacetyl. Current batch is good but strangely cloying and 'meaty' and after three tallies I kept finding myself mumbling incoherently, staggering around and falling into a deep sleep around 8pm. So I ran the figures through BS and presumably had hit a good efficiency because my Burton is at least 6.8% alcohol




Now that would be a good drink to share around Bribie, Ill be down your way in July visiting some friends on Bribie Island, would I be welcome? I can bring some of my own and we could swap notes.


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## praxis178 (2/4/10)

yardy said:


> hypothetically, if someone were to get them tested for whatever nasties are in there, what facilities would be required and what would you test for ?
> 
> 
> cheers



Contact customs and quarantine, if they let it into the country then they will pick up the tab on testing and disposal should it be a problem.....


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## yardy (2/4/10)

Gerard_M said:


> Stupidity & tight arsedness!
> 
> Enjoy the quality of that Chinese Pilsener!
> Cheers
> Gerard



how about ASSumption ?

I didn't participate in the chinese hop fiasco gerard, like I said, just curious to know what nasties they would hold.

Dave


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## Screwtop (2/4/10)

Gerard_M said:


> Stupidity & tight arsedness!
> 
> Enjoy the quality of that Chinese Pilsener!
> Cheers
> Gerard



:lol: :lol: 

Ling Ling, "hello" ...... "aaah I got da hair in aaah da bik mak, very upset you know, no happee" :lol:


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## bigfridge (2/4/10)

Has anyone thought that there could be a simple answer to this - is there any air in the pack ?

If so it would expand when it warms up  

To test this theory you could just sling the pack back in the freezer and it should return to the original shape.


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## bum (2/4/10)

Pretty sure he said it puffed up while frozen.


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## bigfridge (2/4/10)

bum said:


> Pretty sure he said it puffed up while frozen.



Not how I read it:

'so they sat in the freezer frozen for months until I decided to through them out.'


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## bum (2/4/10)

So he took them out of the freezer to throw them out and then later rummaged through the bin to check on their welfare?

You're a weird man, Gregs.


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## Nick JD (2/4/10)

Slightly :icon_offtopic: but does Tsing Tao use Chinese hops?


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## newguy (2/4/10)

yardy said:


> hypothetically, if someone were to get them tested for whatever nasties are in there, what facilities would be required and what would you test for ?



I'll do the testing if you ship some to me. I'll slip some into my mother-in-law's tea. If she dies, I'll let you know.


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## Bribie G (2/4/10)

gregs said:


> Now that would be a good drink to share around Bribie, I’ll be down your way in July visiting some friends on Bribie Island, would I be welcome? I can bring some of my own and we could swap notes.


Consider yourself pencilled in  I'll be in comp mode then, and should be some good quaffers on tap by then.

Cheers


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## bradsbrew (2/4/10)

BribieG said:


> I'll be in comp mode then
> Cheers



When arent you in comp mode?


Edit= liking the new avatar BTW


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## gregs (2/4/10)

BribieG said:


> Consider yourself pencilled in  I'll be in comp mode then, and should be some good quaffers on tap by then.
> 
> Cheers




Ill message you the week previous Bribie, its a social golf day with a few good mates. I cant hit a ball for shit but its a great day, youre welcome to come along even if all you do is drive the buggy and have a few beers. If not Ill sit on the porch with you and have a few.

Cheers. Gregs.


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## Bribie G (2/4/10)

bradsbrew said:


> When arent you in comp mode?
> 
> 
> Edit= liking the new avatar BTW



The site hosting my previous avatar has gone belly up. I'll miss that cat


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## yardy (2/4/10)

newguy said:


> I'll do the testing if you ship some to me. I'll slip some into my mother-in-law's tea. If she dies, I'll let you know.




:lol: 

nah mate i wasn't involved, maybe one of the victims blokes that did buy some will send it on to you

cheers


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## gregs (2/4/10)

bigfridge said:


> Has anyone thought that there could be a simple answer to this - is there any air in the pack ?
> 
> If so it would expand when it warms up
> 
> To test this theory you could just sling the pack back in the freezer and it should return to the original shape.



Pay attention! This happened whilst they were frozen in the freezer with all of our other frozen goods i.e.: fish, beef, ice cream, ECT. Everything is still frozen and intact, except the hops.


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## Kleiny (2/4/10)

'antifreeze' as a preservative

Mine are all gone and doing whatever bad chinese hops do at the tip


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## QldKev (2/4/10)

anyone wanna buy some hops :icon_vomit: 

QldKev


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## newguy (2/4/10)

gregs said:


> Pay attention! This happened whilst they were frozen in the freezer with all of our other frozen goods i.e.: fish, beef, ice cream, ECT. Everything is still frozen and intact, except the hops.



Sounds like your freezer needs....



American Defense!








[With apologies to Terry Gilliam, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman (RIP), Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam]


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## Wolfy (2/4/10)

bigfridge said:


> Has anyone thought that there could be a simple answer to this - is there any air in the pack ?
> 
> If so it would expand when it warms up ohmy.gif


Given that the items are packed at room temperature and then frozen, there is no reason (if it's still sealed) why they would expand when warmed up.
Nothing I have ever defrosted after vacuum sealing and freezing has ever expanded upon defrosting it.


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## gregs (2/4/10)

QldKev said:


> anyone wanna buy some hops :icon_vomit:
> 
> QldKev



Kev, I bet youll still have these hops 12 months from now if you havent already used them.

By the way, the Chinees hoped contraption of a beer you fed Scott has fixed up his infected throat. I think you may be on to something and your about to make billions selling it to pharmaceutical companies worldwide.

What was that recipe again?


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## gregs (2/4/10)

newguy said:


> Sounds like your freezer needs....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## bigfridge (2/4/10)

gregs said:


> Pay attention! This happened whilst they were frozen in the freezer with all of our other frozen goods i.e.: fish, beef, ice cream, ECT. Everything is still frozen and intact, except the hops.



Sorry for offending you by trying to help. Perhaps your exact situation may have been easier to understand if you had paid more attention to your spelling. You post read to me that you had 'though' them out.

Obviously you meant 'thought' about 'thawing' them out. I should have known better than to expect too much from somebody that bought into the Chinese Hop madness.

Enjoy your hops mate.


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## gregs (2/4/10)

bigfridge said:


> Sorry for offending you by trying to help. Perhaps your exact situation may have been easier to understand if you had paid more attention to your spelling. You post read to me that you had 'though' them out.
> 
> Obviously you meant 'thought' about 'thawing' them out. I should have known better than to expect too much from somebody that bought into the Chinese Hop madness.
> 
> Enjoy your hops mate.



Um I didnt take offence to your post, sorry. 

Im well aware that my spelling and diction are very poor, but that doesnt faze me. 

The post was just a matter of interest. This happened inside a sealed bag whilst frozen and the bag is still sealed and frozen. The interesting thing is there is something going on in there.


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## Bribie G (2/4/10)

gregs said:


> Um I didn’t take offence to your post, sorry.
> 
> I’m well aware that my spelling and diction are very poor, but that doesn’t faze me.
> 
> The post was just a matter of interest. This happened inside a sealed bag whilst frozen and the bag is still sealed and frozen. The interesting thing is there is something going on in there.



Tidal Pete was missing a hearing aid battery after the hop pack, maybe get it tested for nickel / cadmium


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## Pollux (2/4/10)

The real question is, what sort of organism is able to produce that result at average freezer temps (-6deg)????


I'd seriously send them off to quarantine, this may well be a major issue.


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## porky (2/4/10)

bigfridge said:


> I should have known better than to expect too much from somebody that bought into the Chinese Hop madness.
> 
> Enjoy your hops mate.



You apparently can't read even when things are spelled correctly. 

His OP clearly said he didn't buy the hops but were given some by a fellow brewer.

bud


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## QldKev (2/4/10)

gregs said:


> Kev, I bet youll still have these hops 12 months from now if you havent already used them.
> 
> By the way, the Chinees hoped contraption of a beer you fed Scott has fixed up his infected throat. I think you may be on to something and your about to make billions selling it to pharmaceutical companies worldwide.
> 
> What was that recipe again?




Sold off a couple of bags, a few to go :lol: 

QldKev


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## QldKev (2/4/10)

budwiser said:


> You apparently can't read even when things are spelled correctly.
> 
> His OP clearly said he didn't buy the hops but were given some by a fellow brewer.
> 
> bud




Be nice, you shouldn't expect some of the fools on here to comprehend a full sentence.



QldKev


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## QldKev (2/4/10)

bum said:


> So he took them out of the freezer to throw them out and then later rummaged through the bin to check on their welfare?
> 
> You're a weird man, Gregs.



lol, bum doesn't even need to duck for things to go over his head...


QldKev


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## tcraig20 (2/4/10)

Pollux said:


> The real question is, what sort of organism is able to produce that result at average freezer temps (-6deg)????
> 
> 
> I'd seriously send them off to quarantine, this may well be a major issue.



Some (non-brewing) yeasts will grow down at those temps. I imagine there are a lot of other things that will too.

Whether they are dangerous or not is anyones guess.


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## bigfridge (2/4/10)

budwiser said:


> You apparently can't read even when things are spelled correctly.
> 
> His OP clearly said he didn't buy the hops but were given some by a fellow brewer.
> 
> bud



Hi Bud,

Buy .... Given .... - it is all the same thing. The end result is that despite all the warnings given by knowledgeable people before the buy, and the bad experiences reported by many others after the buy - he has ended up wonderng why there were problems with a pack of his Chinese hops. I don't think that the problem is spelling or reading.

But I do hope that you enjoy your Chinese hops - whatever use you put them to. It is probably just some of the melamine, antifreeze or other poison used to make poor quality hops look like higher quality ones - just for a small time at least.

My advice would be to return them to where you bought them from and seek a full refund - but I guess that is a little difficult under the circumstances.

But I certainly wouldn't use them as it is not a normal thing for 'normal' hops to do.


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## wabster (2/4/10)

Oddly I was thinking of getting some of my Chinese hops out of the freezer next week and setting up a brew or two. I haven't looked at them in my beer fridge freezer since they arrived here last year.

Are there any success stories out there using these hops or have they mostly ended up tossed out? I'm not too fussed about going to the time and expense of a brew or two to find the hops are useless, or worse, dangerous.

So who has had a good run with them? Cheerz Wabster.


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## Carboy (2/4/10)

I stupidly purchased the following Chinese Hops last year... 1kg Marco Polo, 1kg Saaz and 1kg Cascade.

After using a little of each in January (this year) I swore I'd never use them again because they just never matched or surpassed
my good hops... Simply they a CRAP!
:icon_vomit: 

That said, here's the sales pitch.

In my freezer I still have...

965g Marco Polo,
920g Saaz and
900g Cascade... *ALL FREE TO A GOOD HOME* and I'll even pay for the 3kg express postage.

PM me if you are ready to run the gauntlet ~ *Caveats:* No Warranty, No Return, No Responsibility Taken.

Cheers
Carboy :icon_cheers:


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## porky (3/4/10)

bigfridge said:


> But I do hope that you enjoy your Chinese hops - whatever use you put them to.



Now is seems like you think I gave the hops to him.....you do have funny reading interpretation skills  

I didn't buy any, nor had anything to do with them. I just know the bloke.

I do however, think the $3000 bucks or so that was spent was well worth it for the total entertainment value of the threads it created B) 

Cheers,
bud


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## bigfridge (3/4/10)

budwiser said:


> I do however, think the $3000 bucks or so that was spent was well worth it for the total entertainment value of the threads it created B)
> 
> Cheers,
> bud



Yes, it is something that just keeps on giving ....


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## Ross (3/4/10)

Chappo said:


> Eeeewwww!!! :icon_vomit:
> 
> The ones I had (which are now landfill BTW) started to look simular, soft, moist and crumbly, to what you have there Gregs. They were in the freezer but not vac packed. Wonder what would cause something to decompose in a freezer?
> 
> ...




Ahem!!! h34r: 

Cheers Ross


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## chappo1970 (3/4/10)

Ross said:


> Ahem!!! h34r:
> 
> Cheers Ross




Tip or Ross same same h34r: :lol:


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## yardy (3/4/10)

Chappo said:


> Tip or Ross same same h34r: :lol:






:lol:


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## brettprevans (3/4/10)

It's like fkn children in a sandbox. Get over it. We tried an untested product in case it was good and cheap. It turned out it was just cheap. Ok move on FFS! We we all aware of the risks before we bought them. 

Ok fine for those to warn others off buying them but don't keep going on about it. 

Oh and yes I bought 3kg of them. So I'm in this situation also. However keep in mind some proletariat are using them and recon they are ok. Bittering mostly. Or age them and use them in a funk brew.


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## yardy (3/4/10)

citymorgue2 said:


> I bought 3kg of them.




boo hoo, stop going on about it FFS :lol:


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## gregs (3/4/10)

Please guys be civil, Im not whinging about the hops I just thought the photos would be a point of interest. My intention was to show the activity thats going on the vacuumed bag RE food safety. I know that the whole Chinees hop debacle has been more than over state in these forums but what happened here was well worth showing.

I certainly wasnt after a bashing.

Greg.


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## Tony (3/4/10)

Ross said:


> Ahem!!! h34r:
> 
> Cheers Ross



You should have sold them to him Chap..... although this may seem imposible i think im the only one to have ever sold Ross something 

God im glad i never bought in on this :lol:


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## RetsamHsam (3/4/10)

Use them in a Lambic


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## Barley Belly (3/4/10)

gregs said:


> My intention was to show the activity thats going on the vacuumed bag RE food safety..
> 
> Greg.



Did they come already vac packed from China? h34r:

Maybe the food safety breach happened when they were vac packed??? Anyone thought of this? h34r:


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## bigfridge (3/4/10)

Barley Belly said:


> Did they come already vac packed from China? h34r:
> 
> Maybe the food safety breach happened when they were vac packed??? Anyone thought of this? h34r:




Sabotage ?


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## Murcluf (3/4/10)

I reckon AQIS or you local Dept of Primary Industries would be interested in have a look along with Townvilles contact details.


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## Tony (3/4/10)

was probably the DDT and Agent Orange they use in China, reacting with the acids in the hop cones... creating a nasty clorine gas type thing!

Mmmmmmmmm YUM!


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## Nick JD (3/4/10)

I watched an ant try to climb a wall in my house in India quite a few years ago. Climb, climb climb - slip. Climb, climb climb - slip. Climb, climb climb - slip ... DEAD. 

Asked around: "oh yes, it's the DDT to contain the Malaria. We spray it on the walls of houses." 

WTF - I've been leaning on those walls with no shirt on.

When living in Taiwan some years later I was told by co-workers that, "We are spraying DDT because of the Dengue Fever Mosquitos." Not again, I thought. Turns out the word for normal "Fly Spray" in Mandarin _is _DDT when translated.

Do you guys know how much of the Chinese seafood is tested in Australia? Go find out - it'll be the last time you buy cheap Chinese scallops (a filter feeder - where in China is "clean" water?); the prawns are seedy enough with the crunchy poop chute full of Chinese detritus.

I drank heaps of Melamine laced iced coffee ... yup, checked the brands and all. Add that to my UK beef consumption and the only consolation is I don't have to give blood.  Because they won't let me.

Chinese hops in China? I'll bet they are pretty nice. The ones they sell to Whitey? Not so nice.


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## haysie (3/4/10)

Nick JD said:


> Go find out - it'll be the last time you buy cheap Chinese scallops (a filter feeder - where in China is "clean" water?); the prawns are seedy enough with the crunchy poop chute full of Chinese detritus.




You been away too long Nick. Chinese scallops come from banjo sharks caught in Port Phillip Bay with the handy addition of a leather punch! h34r: :lol:


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## Steve (3/4/10)

Nick JD said:


> I watched an ant try to climb a wall in my house in India quite a few years ago. Climb, climb climb - slip. Climb, climb climb - slip. Climb, climb climb - slip ... DEAD.
> 
> Asked around: "oh yes, it's the DDT to contain the Malaria. We spray it on the walls of houses."
> 
> ...



wheres the icon thing for passing a tissue over a bridge?


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