yep I buy about 15-20 lbs of hops a year in one or 2 hauls and foodsaver seal them up and throw em in the freezer. One lb. of hops is usually split in 3 or 4 bags.
Hops have 2 enemies: Oxygen and Heat. If you eliminate those as much as you can they will keep for a VERY long time. I have whole leaf hops that are about 2 years old in the freezer vac sealed and I wouldn’t hesitate to use them if needed.
This is what I do. I order by the pound from HopsDirect, then once opened, portion it out in 2ounce packs and vacum seal. Makes it easy to use, as I already know each pack is 2 ounces. For partials, I put a big X on the pack, so I know I have to weight them.
I also have a bunch of hops in the freezer (several pounds), with “other” ingredients to only make two batches, lol. I’ve even changed a recipe I was going to make to make it an IPA instead just because I got some new hops in LOL
I couldn’t even tell you the amount of random hops I have in my freezer right now. But I know it’s not more than 20 lbs!!
But then again, the fall harvest is upon us. And I’m thinking of doing a Brett B Trois APA with Calypso & Citra… it would be cheaper in the long run to just by a pound of each… and I’m running out of Czech Saaz again… and I should get some Simcoe before it runs out like this past year… and… dang I gotta stop!
I do exactly the same thing. My eldest are probably 2 years old but they’re still in great shape. Yay for the foodsaver. I didn’t disguise that purchase though. The wife knew damn well what it was for.