Beer Forum

Question about hop degradation over time.

I have a bunch of Saaz hops that I puchased last year with plans on brewing and perfecting my Bohemian Pils recipe. Thne I left town for a few weeks, came back, and got on a tear doing Bitters and APAs. Now here I am a year later looking at those hops and wondering if they are worth a shit.

A couple of details: They have been kept vacuum sealed in a freezer (I vacuum sealed them the moment I got them home from the homebrew shop).

I'm sure they've degraded some incalculable amount in regards to their alpha acid level, but I'm wondering what happens to their beta acids over time... Having stored them in that way, will they still be effective for dry hopping?

Anyone have experience here? Please let me know if you are speculating, have experience, or something else is driving your answer. I just want to weigh the different input I get to see what happens. I only get to brew once a month any more and want to ensure I don't fuck a batch up based on speculation...

Thanks!

~widget

Buttwidget wrote: I only get to brew once a month any more and want to ensure I don't fuck a batch up based on speculation...

How much is it you're sitting on? If you NEED your batch to turn out in order for it to be worth it on your limited brewing schedule, would it be easier to just purchase fresh hops and sell or hand these ones off to a friend who is able to brew more often and doesn't have the high risk/reward that you do?

Of course I could, or I could ask the BN baddies to see what their experience is. If it comes right down to it, I'll see what happens and go with it. I'm only sitting on 8 ounces. Why toss it when some smarty might be able to tell me that based upon their experience I can use it with good effect.

Also, I get to learn something more about brewing ingredients.

~widget

Vac bagged and stored in the freezer they should be perfectly fine, but the best way to tell is to smell them, rub some between your fingers and see if they still smell good. Or if they smell cheesy then dump 'em. I haven't dry hopped with saaz myself, but a lot of comments I've read say they turn out like grass clippings.

Buttwidget wrote:Of course I could, or I could ask the BN baddies to see what their experience is. If it comes right down to it, I'll see what happens and go with it. I'm only sitting on 8 ounces. Why toss it when some smarty might be able to tell me that based upon their experience I can use it with good effect.

Also, I get to learn something more about brewing ingredients.

~widget

Oh certainly. I'm all for that too. I guess your course of action may depend on how speculative people's responses are...

I think based on how you stored them they should be good. With a dry hop though, I think it's pretty simple, if they smell good, they are good. That aroma is what you want.

mtyquinn wrote:I think based on how you stored them they should be good. With a dry hop though, I think it's pretty simple, if they smell good, they are good. That aroma is what you want.

+1. If the aroma smells good and somewhat fresh, then use them up! Maybe add a touch more than you normally would to account for any losses during the course of the year.

Thanks all for the input...

Lichtersnatch brought up something interesting. I automatically assumed that dry hopping with Saaz would help up the flavor/aroma, but he says they taste like grass clippings. Anyone every dry hopped with Saaz before? To what result? Thanks!

~widget