How Do You Store Your Hops?

[FourSonsBrewing]

I was going through my process of sealing up hops, and realized the only reason I do what I do is because that's how they did it at a brewery I helped at when we were preparing to open. So figured I would check with how others are doing it. My process is to use one of the Food Saver Vacuum bags and seal up the good, then store them in the cooler. This is a big pain when I open up a 44# box and have to then go a it revealing the extra in the vacuum bags. Is this overkill?

[wailingguitar]

Every brewery I have worked for over the last 25 years just rolled the foil bags as tight as possible, duct taped them shut and kept them in a cooler or fridge. Typically they are gone through fast enough that they don't get bad. I suppose if I had something I wasn't expecting to use for a while, I might vacuum pack them, but not the stuff I am using frequently.

[Bainbridge]

We switched from duct tape to vacuum. Big bags made off the roll, reused as much as possible.

[Junkyard]

We are 3bbl so a 44 lb bag lasts a long time. Especially since we are brewing so many different beers.

We get 1 gallon Mylar foil bags from Amazon and we have a 16 inch long impulse heat sealer. When we get a 44 lb bag we split it up
Amongst the smaller bags and flush them with co2 and toss in a couple oxygen absorbers. Then when we seal them up and toss them in the fridge the bags suck tight like they were vacuum sealed. The 1 gallon Mylar bags usually hold about 4-5 lbs. so it's just about perfect.

For 11 lb bags of hops after I break them open I usually just flush with co2 and reseal them with my impulse sealer. Much more airtight than duct tape, and doesn't take any more time.

[AnthonyB]

We store open bags in home-brew style cornelius kegs. Pretty easy to pour into, out of, and really easy to pressurize and purge of oxygen.

[dick murton]

Thanks guys - some useful ideas in these responses. Up 'til now we have simply rolled up the bags and taped, but I so like these ideas

[barleyfreak]

Caveat first, I'm only 9 months into pro brewing (on a 7bbl). I finally tired of the roll up and tape. My frequency in brewing and having 8 beers on tap at all times lead to quite a variety of open/re-taped bags. The dread I felt if I had to unroll/reroll any bag more than a couple times lead me to recently go the vacuum sealer route. Ideally, I'd like to, after opening a bag, seal the rest in increments that are recipe exact. Might mean making some subtle changes to recipes to accommodate (or it might be a pipe dream), but I just don't like the idea of resealing more than once. I just want to bust it open and drop it in.

Dave

[jcrjustin]

Gamma seal lids

We have been using gamma seal lids for the last 6 years and they work flawlessly. They fit directly on a 5 gallon bucket and have an airtight seal. 2 5 gallon buckets can easily accommodate a 44# bag of pelletized hops. They are inexpensive and the opening is much easier to access hops than Cornelius kegs. Just drop a CO2 line in prior to sealing and you are good to go.

[Salamence]

I use half gallon mason jars with the lid vacuum sealer attachments. They work great, about 3 half gallon mason jars hold a pound of hops. I keep them in the freezer and they hold up great for a year or so. Nice because you can just take a couple ounces and reseal the jar.

For the vacuum sealer itself I got a cheap one on crazysales and just modified it to work with the jar lid sealers. ...cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap... is how my friends describe me. To seal hops I use a the mason jar attachment from vacuum sealer (10 bucks) and a manual pump (4 bucks), all from crazysales. Quick to seal, open, and reseal. Actually easier and quicker than my friend's "motorized" sealer and practically no recurring cost.