Hops Defrosted during Heat Wave..

[GrumpyPaul]

Mrs Grumpy insisted that I didn't need to keep the beer cold while we were away camping and to save power I should switch off the beer fridge.

Begrudgingly I agreed....

I just got home and realised the hops were still in the freezer.

The fridge sits outside on the decking so it sat through the heat wave last week.

Are the hops going to be Ok or are they a lost cause?

 

[BeerNess]

Should be ok as long as they were sealed? Maybe not as potent but not rubbish. If I was in your boat I'd keep calm re freeze them and carry on!

 

[BeerNess]

And never let Mrs make decisions relating to Beer again!

 

[Camo6]

They've been exposed to high temps and are now highly toxic. I can be there with a containment unit in less than 15 mins to make your home safe again. No reward necessary.

 

[Yob]

what Camo left out is that during the containment procedure, which I am happy to help with, we may need liquid poured continuously down our necks..

 

[QldKev]

When our hops come from the US etc they are in unrefrigerated transit for a week.

 

[GrumpyPaul]

Phew....

Thanks guys.

Panic averted.

 

[sgtpinky]

I did the same. Went to Japan and flicked off the beer fridge. Forgot about the four packs of yeast I had in there. Whoops.

 

[manticle]

Thawing can rupture the cell walls (apparently the pelletisation process does not - something I find odd). This has the potential to release unpleasant flavours.

Generally best avoided. I unplugged my hops fridge when setting up my new fermentation fridge and forgot to turn it back on (hops and yeast all in separate bar fridge as I no longer freeze my hops) and it also sat like that through part of the heatwave. I'll still be using them - it just isn't ideal.

You are better off keeping beer cold, whether camping or not, so the lady is incorrect and her influence in these matters should proportionately decrease.

 

[1974Alby]

I always argue its more efficent to keep the fridge on and maintain the beer cold, than to have to cool kegs down again after they've warmed to ambient. I offer no evidnece to back this up, but she accepted it last time and my fridge stayed on and beer stayed cold!...which meant I had cold beer the moment I returned home.