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sbertke
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Hop Shelf Life - 2008/01/21 02:19 With the hop shortage, I convinced a brewer who is taking a break from the craft to give up his stash of hops in his freezer. I have no idea of how old these are. Most are still in vacuum packed bags. Some open, but sealed and all have been stored in freezer in a tupperware container. Just wondering about use:

1. Can these be used?
2. If using these older hops, how will this effect the outcome of my recipe versus something fresh?
3. Do I need to adjust my recipe in any way when using? Example - alpha acids decreased due to age or something, so need to add a bit more than recipe calls for?
3. List of hops I now have below. Any ones on the list that would be more susceptible to a problem with age than others?

I have acquired: Cascade, Liberty, Saaz, Olympic, Pride of Ringwood, Northdown, Hallertau, Brewers Gold, Target, Progress Pellets, Mt. Hood, Traditional Pellets, Cluster, Perle, Columbus, Cascade, First Gold.

Thanks -- Sue Sue Bertke

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dharsh

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Re:Hop Shelf Life - 2008/01/22 16:14 All hops can be used regardless of age, but you may not want to. *IF* they have been stored airtight, they shouldn't lose too much aroma/flavor character, but I've read that the bittering potential will decrease by around 10% every 6 months. The problem with that number is that it means at 5 years, you'd only have 35% of the original alpha acid - seems overly pessimistic.

If they have been exposed to oxygen, they will pick up a cheesy aroma that isn't very pleasant - trust your nose here.

As far as specific types, I'd worry a lot more about something like Saaz maintaining its spicy character than I would the higher alph versions like Pride of Ringworm/Columbus/Galena/Perle.

Disclaimer: I've never brewed with hops this old (on purpose), but I've read the 10% number in a couple of different sources. Arthur: What's so bad about being drunk?
Ford: Ask a glass of water.

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