I was googling looking for a specific hop ( didn't find it ) but came across this site www.northwesthops.com and started looking around. WITH shipping I got a LB of 2012 centennial flower hops for 15.80. I will take whole hops for 0.98 /LB all day. Of course I am assuming they have been properly stored and sealed and for that price ill give it a shot. Just passing it along if someone wanted to check it out .. they have about 10 hops in stock.
2012 hops should have lost much of their umpf by now...Yakima Valley has a pound of this year's for $18. I'd much rather have fresh hops over 2-3 year old hops for only $7-8 more. Old hops make stale tasting beer IMO.
Once you open up the vacuum seal on a bag of hops, how long will they still be good for provided you keep them closely wrapped up and stored in the freezer?
Once opened, I like to vacuum seal them up in a food saver bag , store in freezer and use them within 6 months or so. Less oxygen and cooler temps are better for storage, but each hops variety has its own time frame of how fresh it will last in storage.
This depends on hop variety and storage conditions. Here's the guidelines I try and use: http://brewerslog.appspot.com/HopAlphaCalc I vacuum seal like @DrMindbender, but find repeated opening/re-sealing seems to diminish the project. I've started re-sealing in 1-2 ounce bags after the first incision. To Northwest Hops credit, they do post these are 2012 crop . . . they even tell you how the pellets are stored: The t90 2oz pellets are stored in a cold storage and packaged to order in Ziploc Style bags. Not vacuum Sealed. Enough sweat & tears go into a brew I wouldn't risk 2+ year old hops stored like this. My technique is to buy in bulk when a new year comes available (usually Dec for domestic). Fairly certain these will be fresh, then I can control the storage conditions and blame no one but me if the hops mis-fire (yes, it still happens).
For hops I go through Hop Heaven on eBay. He has great varieties, fresh, and really affordable. I just snagged 1# each of Mosaic, CTZ, and Citra pellets, 2014 crops, for $51 shipped. Also grabbed 1# each of Nugget, Chinook, Crystal, and Meridian pellets for $59 shipped. He likes to throw out deals on his eBay site for a mix bag of like 3# in 1# increments of different hops (usually like 10-12 varieties to choose from) for around $11/#. For storage, whenever I get a package hops, I divide it up into 2oz packages and vacuum seal them, then toss those little packs into a larger sack to keep them together. This means I am not constantly opening the sack of hops, exposing to air, weighing out hops, then resealing only to do it again over and over until they are gone. I write recipes to use as close to 2oz as possible. All packages are stored in the freezer.
This guy is so good his shelves have gone bare . . . Related: Has anyone found 2014 European hops (without going to Europe!)?
I have direct contact with him and order via email. I was surprised he still had the Mosaic, Citra, and Meridian. His prices on CTZ cannot be touched. Honestly, that hop seems to get no love these days, but it rocks, and I go through pounds each year.
I generally buy a year's worth of hops from HopsDirect.com around Nov/Dec as soon as they become available. They're priced between $8 and $21/lb this year, depending on the variety and they seem to have a pretty good selection still available. They reduced the price on the 2013 crop right before the new ones were offered this year - not sure if they've done that in the past, but something to keep an eye out for if you're looking to save a few bucks. If you haven't found the hop you were looking for, you might wnt to check them out. FYI, they list 2014 Centennial leaf for $17, pellets for $17.45. They also have a decent selection of European varieties, all priced in the low teens, with a few under $10.
Well Ill test it out for everyone and tell you how they are .. I will do a 2 gallon smash and see how it turns out. On another note I did find the hops I was looking for. Experimental HBC 342 ... im getting super close to cloning Lagunitas Sucks... Im thinking its the only hop left that I need. Cant wait to see....
Paying that much for 2012 hops in 2015 seems misguided. You could have purchased 2014 hops for approximately the same price. With the added benefit of freshness. 2012 hope are almost 2.5 years old... LeaF hops degrade quickly. Who knows how they were stored. I hope it works out for you, but it seems less than ideal.
