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I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on how to store one's hops pellets after having opened the sealed package (... in case one is not using the whole lot at once of course). Also, if you have experience with that, what is the longest storage time before the product starts losing quality?

Thank you!

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  • I've adapted my recipes to my LBS, which sells hops in 100g vac packs. e.g. pale ale with 100g simcoe and 100g citra at 0min. I use 2.5mL extract oil for bittering (20L brew size). That way I never have opened hops to worry about.
    – Scotty.NET
    Commented May 21, 2020 at 10:50

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I buy hops by the pound and store in the freezer between uses.

  • Remove as much air as you can. I seal in ziploc bags and squeeze the air out
  • Keep them in the freezer
  • Realize that hops will lose some bittering power over time. Good software can help you estimate the impact. If you them up in two to three months, the change will be minimal.

Buying in bulk means I keep hops for the better part of a year. I have used three year old hops in beer that turned out okay. The best thing to do is trust your senses. If the hops smell fine they should be good to use.

There is at least one style of beer that is made with very old, cheesy smelling hops: straight lambic. You can always try one of those.

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    I'm commenting as this is a continuation of Dean's "Remove as much air as you can." If you have a food saver, this is a great use for it. I just place the original foil hop back, folded over, into a small food saver bag ans suck the air out. I do the same thing with leftover specialty grains and DME.
    – JackSmith
    Commented Mar 7, 2010 at 18:45
  • Yeah, a foodsaver is on the bucket list of items to buy for the household.
    – Dean Brundage
    Commented Mar 8, 2010 at 14:53
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When you buy pellet hops they often come in silver mylar bags that keep out oxygen and light. to You can use a heat sealer to reseal the unused portion and keep in the refrigerator.

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  • Pellet hops don't always come in those resealable bags.
    – Denny Conn
    Commented Nov 1, 2011 at 15:20

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