Vacuum seal failed. Still good for bittering?

Were they in the freezer the whole time?

I'd say they would be okay for the most part. Perhaps maybe not as potent. Use it in a recipe and bitter to an IBU that you can relate to. You'll be able to tell if there's some significant loss you can detect.

I'd suspect in that short time, if in the freezer, and in the bags somewhat sealed, despite being vacuumed, you should be okay still.

 

“I have a few packs of Bravo where the seal apparently failed.” How badly did the seal fail? I have had food items in my freezer where I used freezer bags and the ziplock seal ‘failed’; those food items suffered from freezer burn:

“Freezer burn is a condition that occurs when frozen food has been damaged by dehydration and oxidation, due to air reaching the food. It is generally induced by substandard (non-airtight) packaging.”

Did your hops suffer freezer burn? The principle ‘killer’ of stored hops is oxidation.

For the interested reader: http://morebeer.com/brewingtechniques/library/backissues/issue2.1/garetz.html

Cheers!

 

I have had some seals fail and have not noticed any signs of freezer burn after a couple of months. If they look/smell ok, I would not hesitate to use early in the boil. I used some of mine as late additions, maybe not the best beer, not not horrible either.