Freezing Fresh Hops

[gmac]

I have a good bunch of Cascade ready to harvest but I won’t have time to dry them all properly nor time to make enough beer to use them all.  Can I freeze them after picking or will this cause too much vegetal character when I thaw them for use later?
Thanks

[denny]

Vegetal character is only one problem.  You’ll get significant degradation of the hops.  I tried it when my crop overwhelmed me and ended up throwing them all away.  This year, I just left a bunch on the bine when I didn’t have time to deal with them.  Might as well let them die there as harvest, freeze, and throw them away later.

[gmac]

@denny

Vegetal character is only one problem.  You’ll get significant degradation of the hops.  I tried it when my crop overwhelmed me and ended up throwing them all away.  This year, I just left a bunch on the bine when I didn’t have time to deal with them.  Might as well let them die there as harvest, freeze, and throw them away later.

Thanks.  I’m surprised that they would degrade that much.  They are papery dry now but I will leave them on the bine.  I wish I had time to brew with them.  May just make an all Cascade something or other next week and take a guess on whether it’s going to be a PA, IPA or IIPA depending on how many ounces of fresh hops I get.

[fmader]

Do you have an attic? Or a loft to a barn or garage where it may reach 100ish or so degrees? If so, toss your hops in some brown paper bags and put them there for a week or two. If you get a chance, give them a shake every now and again. This method is probably not ideal, but it does dry the hops out. It’s the method I’m currently using. Then I’ll shrink wrap and freeze.

[brewark]

@gmac

I have a good bunch of Cascade ready to harvest but I won’t have time to dry them all properly nor time to make enough beer to use them all.  Can I freeze them after picking or will this cause too much vegetal character when I thaw them for use later?
Thanks

I don’t understand.  When mine were ready to harvest, I put them on cookie sheets & paper plates, throughout the house.  By the end of the week, they were dry & I have to put them into the foodsaver & then freezer.  My house was only transformed into a good smelling barn for a week :(.  If you don’t have time it sounds like a prioritization problem.

[gmac]

@brewark

@gmac

I have a good bunch of Cascade ready to harvest but I won’t have time to dry them all properly nor time to make enough beer to use them all.  Can I freeze them after picking or will this cause too much vegetal character when I thaw them for use later?
Thanks

I don’t understand.  When mine were ready to harvest, I put them on cookie sheets & paper plates, throughout the house.  By the end of the week, they were dry & I have to put them into the foodsaver & then freezer.  My house was only transformed into a good smelling barn for a week :(.  If you don’t have time it sounds like a prioritization problem.

Well, I’m going fly fishing Sunday for a week so that’s my priority.  Work has been busy too so I haven’t picked them yet.  But, if air drying around the house is adequate, then that’s what I will do.  As for an attic that would get to 100 degrees, the temp for tomorrow here is about 38F so I think…no.

[bigchicken]

I’ve frozen Chinook and Nugget right off the vine with little to no loss in quality after 3 months. No food saver, just in freezer bags. Now I let a small bag go in the freezer that I forgot about. They turned black at around 6 months, so got tossed. I never did get a vegetal taste or aroma from mine. I didn’t thaw them until the morning of an afternoon brew day.