I usually buy hops in 1lb bags as it’s more affordable. I then vacuum seal into 1oz packs. These little packs are handy as heck but they do tend to end up all over the freezer. My solution was to use those thin plastic grocery bags to contain them but I would find myself digging out 5 different shopping bags trying to find the hops I needed whenever I would brew, dry hop, or inventory when putting a recipe together.
Found these babies on amazon. They’re about the size of those shopping bags, but multicolored with a drawstring. Somewhat limited in color, but they have been working so much better (simcoe=green,citra=orange,mosaic=red,etc) I wanted to pass it along.
Curious how others have dealt with this as well. Seems like every homebrew video I’ve seen has a section where the person is digging through a pile of hops in their fridge/freezer trying to find the right one.
Once I’ve opened and used hops from their original 1 lb. packaging, the remainder goes into a quart Mason jar and gets vacuum sealed. I cut the label off of the original package and tape it to the jar for easy identification. The jars are stored on a dedicated shelf in the freezer. The shelf I’ve reserved for the jars will hold 15, but I seldom have more than 8 or 10 at one time, so there’s room to store several unopened packages as well. At ~ $1/jar, there is a small initial cost but, in the long run, it’s cheaper than the cost of bags or rolls for the vacuum sealer. It’s also a lot less time consuming than all the cutting and sealing to make up small packets.
Currently I’m only using dried leaf hops.
Our new fridge has a small freezer section, and leaf hops take up room.
Hop harvest 2021 one pound of Liberty, and one pound of Willamette was purchased.
Hops are vacuum sealed in two oz packages, and placed in fridge.
When 2022 hops are harvested, 2 oz of something will be ordered, 2021 hops tossed.
I do something somewhat similar with my many pounds of homegrown hops, except that I vac-seal them tightly in bags then on brew days cut open a bag, weigh out what I need, reseal and put back into the freezer. A bag of Chinook might start at 14 oz or a pound and decrease in size over 3-4 brews. I only cut off what I need to get the bag open and so when the bag is empty, it’s usually big enough to wash and re-use.
i average probably 3 to 4 oz of hops per 5 gallon (19 litres) brew. some more, some less.
i can only drink so much beer, so ive never found it economical to buy more hops than what i need for the upcoming 3 or 4 brews maximum. ive bought one pound bags this and last year, and tbh i feel forced to use them so i can get through them. i probably will go back to just buying ozs unless i really lock in on a hop i want as a mainstay… maybe magnum for bittering?? but if im using magnum just for bittering id be using max 1.5 oz, more likely 0.75oz per brew as a bittering charge.
i guess you guys sort of brew for neighbours/frequent parties?
Same. If you make the bag a little larger than what you need to start and cut close to the seal it’s easy to reseal the same bag several times.
I’m probably going to get some of the vacuum seal mason jar lids. As easy as the bags are to cut and reseal I hate creating plastic waste where unnecessary.
Yeah, I do something very similar. About 2 years ago my LHBS went out of business and I was there at the right time to grab a ton of hops for next to nothing. As soon as I brought them home I realized what a mistake I made.
From now on, for the most part, I buy only what I need for my upcoming brews. I’ll make sure I have some all-purpose bittering hops available and maybe a little extra of some of my most used hops (Willamette, Cascade) but if I buy a particular hops for a one-off beer, I make sure my recipe is designed so that there are none left to store. No more drawers full of open bags, too much of a PITA. Of course, I brew small batches (2.5gal) so it’s really not that difficult to keep the inventory trim.
ha yeah, i have to admit, when i make a say stout i do go with a 1lb (the purchasing unit from my online store) as the amount of roasted grain, unless i really want to increase it alot, rather than say 1.12lbs
admittedly, i cant remember a time when ive used old hops stored in a bag in my freezer where i’ve really thought “yeah these hops do not taste fresh”, so i think the pellets have good storage capability if someone does buy them in bulk.
also, my most commonly used hop is basically a noble hop (hallertau, tettnang) because it has the most applications, from a belgian ale, to lagers to even just throwing in some with any beer and they are cheap to buy a lb of.
