Long Term Hop Storage

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A few people involved in the current Hop Bulk Buy might want to evaluate this solution for storing their hops when they arrive. It does require a small investment but with the price saved on the cost of the hops could be worth considering. No doubt a lot af people are already doing this but it doesn't hurt to put it out there in case others find it useful.

I ordered one of these Eurolab Food Vacuum Sealers at Deals Direct (on Monday when they had an extra deal with free shipping):
http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/eurolab-food-vacuum-sealer-keeps-food-fresh-longer/
The majority of feedback for the item is positive and as it has a 3 month warranty anyone using one to package 5kg of hops into small packs would soon know if they had a dud or not. There are obviously other models out there in the market but this one suited my price range.

*** Please note that if you buy from Deals Direct using a credit card the order goes straight through with no way of canceling it even if you change your mind straight away, apparently if you use PayPal and the funds aren't transfered to them within 5 days the order cancels out automatically. ***
Also I do acknowledge that some people will see $90 as a major investment not a small one so I'm just relating this to my own situation.

You can pack into the plastic bags supplied with the machine, just cut them to the size you want and reseal. If however you want to pack into Mylar bags the two YouTube clips below are great to watch. And remember if you carefully open the hops you buy from your local HBS you can reseal them again and again until they become too small to use.




I plan to tip hops into a bucket purged with Carbon Dioxide and pack from there.
In future if the Vacuum Sealer works okay I also plan to store some of my grains in Mylar bags, apparently some food products can last 20 to 30 years, and mice don't like it, so that's a bonus.

:icon_offtopic: Can you be off topic in your own post? :unsure: .
The latest Basic Brewing Video Show is great, hops, hops and more hops!!!!
http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=video
:party:
 
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I've been tempted for a while to get a vacuum sealer- the deterioration of my NS hops being one motivating factor right now- but haven't gotten around to it. Aan they seal up the packaging hops from places such as Craftbrewer and Beerbelly use? I don't want to have to keep buying their special, expensive bags.
 
I've been tempted for a while to get a vacuum sealer- the deterioration of my NS hops being one motivating factor right now- but haven't gotten around to it. Aan they seal up the packaging hops from places such as Craftbrewer and Beerbelly use? I don't want to have to keep buying their special, expensive bags.

You can buy rolls of Mylar and make your own bags up if you like. One company I saw on the net the other day tells people to reuse their bags (like the ones Maggi Coconut Milk powder comes in). I've just started looking into the Mylar side of things myself but I think craft shops & some restaurant suppliers might also sell it. The plastic bags that you get with these vacuum sealers are still good for the job though.
 
Personally I did not mind spending a few extra bucks and buying my sunbeam sealer. It has had quite a thrashing in the 12 months that I have had it. Not just with hops but cheese meat etc.
The point with hops is never more valid. I feel a lot more at peace knowing that I have taken extra steps to seal in their freshness.

BYB
 
I reckon $90 is a major investment for a lot of folk here.
Why or how do you think a cryovac pack of hops is better than the sealed open pack I bought from :rolleyes: and freezed it. How long do really want to keep these things? Or is it insurance against shit.
 
I reckon $90 is a major investment for a lot of folk here.
Why or how do you think a cryovac pack of hops is better than the sealed open pack I bought from :rolleyes: and freezed it. How long do really want to keep these things? Or is it insurance against shit.

Is it really sealed if it's open?

But being serious, even when I try to wrap up my hops as much as possible, I get a noticeable drop is aroma characters after being in the freezer for a while.
 
Is it really sealed if it's open?

But being serious, even when I try to wrap up my hops as much as possible, I get a noticeable drop is aroma characters after being in the freezer for a while.

Never bought cryovac hops from above sponsors with a pin hole, leak? If so, done well. Australia post issue more than the supplier.


Come in spinner.
 
Never bought cryovac hops from above sponsors with a pin hole, leak? If so, done well. Australia post issue more than the supplier.


Come in spinner.

wtf does all that mean?
 
Never bought cryovac hops from above sponsors with a pin hole, leak? If so, done well. Australia post issue more than the supplier.


Come in spinner.


I think I understand the question/point, and no, I've never had a pin hole leak (from Craftbrewer).
 
vacum packed some hop pellets and some hop cones this arvo and if you havn't got a sealer find some one who has. The difference is amazing. Any links to these mylar bags
 
vacum packed some hop pellets and some hop cones this arvo and if you havn't got a sealer find some one who has. The difference is amazing. Any links to these mylar bags

I been thinking of buying a sunbeam vac for a while but the bags are so fuggin expensive.
Anyone got a source for cheaper bags?
 
A few people involved in the current Hop Bulk Buy might want to evaluate this solution for storing their hops when they arrive. It does require a small investment but with the price saved on the cost of the hops could be worth considering. No doubt a lot af people are already doing this but it doesn't hurt to put it out there in case others find it useful.

I ordered one of these Eurolab Food Vacuum Sealers at Deals Direct (on Monday when they had an extra deal with free shipping):
http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/eurolab-food-vacuum-sealer-keeps-food-fresh-longer/
The majority of feedback for the item is positive and as it has a 3 month warranty anyone using one to package 5kg of hops into small packs would soon know if they had a dud or not. There are obviously other models out there in the market but this one suited my price range.

*** Please note that if you buy from Deals Direct using a credit card the order goes straight through with no way of canceling it even if you change your mind straight away, apparently if you use PayPal and the funds aren't transfered to them within 5 days the order cancels out automatically. ***
Also I do acknowledge that some people will see $90 as a major investment not a small one so I'm just relating this to my own situation.

You can pack into the plastic bags supplied with the machine, just cut them to the size you want and reseal. If however you want to pack into Mylar bags the two YouTube clips below are great to watch. And remember if you carefully open the hops you buy from your local HBS you can reseal them again and again until they become too small to use.




I plan to tip hops into a bucket purged with Carbon Dioxide and pack from there.
In future if the Vacuum Sealer works okay I also plan to store some of my grains in Mylar bags, apparently some food products can last 20 to 30 years, and mice don't like it, so that's a bonus.

:icon_offtopic: Can you be off topic in your own post? :unsure: .
The latest Basic Brewing Video Show is great, hops, hops and more hops!!!!
http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=video
:party:


I know I was out of touch for a couple of months but what "hop bulk buy"?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I've been looking at vacuum sealers for a while now too and have held off because I haven't been completely sure which ones work out cheaper with bags and allow resealing. From my own research I was gathering that those which use the 'nozzle' system where the ones which could reuse 'any' bag as they didn't rely on some channeling pattern in the plastic bags to remove the air (and therefore didn't require special channeled bags).
Can those with vac sealers that use 'any' bags & reseal used bags confirm or correct my thinking?
 
Have you thought about using the smallest size of travel bags (I think "space saver" bag is a more correct term) to seal up your hops? I think they're roughly $10 from Big-W. Whilst in they larger sizes they're probably best suited to shrinking Ski Jackets to fit in backpacks but I'd imagine they'd do a the same job as a vacuum sealer and at a 1/10th of the price
 

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