Pellet hop storage after opening

Yeah, honestly I would say that this is your problem, in the sense that you should be able to get a good seal with your food saver. I have one too, and most times I get a good seal, but every once in a while I end up with a little air inside. I just re-try until it works.

When it's failed for me, personally, it's been when there was moisture inside the bag (along the edge where it's supposed to seal) or when there is a little bit of hop dust/debris (again, same area), causing inability for the heating element to provide a proper seal.

My advice would be to work on your technique. It should be easy once you get it. Good luck.

 

Nothings perfect, hops can emit sticky shit that make vacuum sealers less than 100% effective on a bad day.

 

That is a Gold Medal statement right there!

Cheers to you sir!!

 

You must be drunk, too

 

that makes three of us

 

I just finished bottling, and saw this question. Since folks are weighing in with the specifics about a food saver, I would like to ask of those who know, how does this technique compare to simply mechanically re-sealing the container and keeping the bag in the freezer (I double bag with an additional freezer bag)?

Do you notice that you avoid significant aroma loss? How much additional time did it seem to give you? I had some leftovers from a year-old pound of Cascade that I used as a bittering hop recently, as I was reluctant to try to use it for aroma additions. However, when the weighed amount warmed up, it filled the room with a nice fresh aroma that I remembered from the first time I opened the bag.

Don't get me wrong, if you are routinely buying bulk hops and brewing recipes that require fresh aroma additions, I could see taking significant measures to preserve them as much as possible. But is the strategy to keep them fresh for longer than a year? or mostly to just minimize degradation of the aroma characteristics, regardless of how long you are keeping them?

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

what do you mean by mechanically resealing? I only tape my bag back up and I dont experience any dropoff. I go through a lot of hops and if they are in there for an extended time I try to use them up within 6 months or so

 

Mechanically in that I fold the bag and either clip or sometimes staple the bag shut, then place it in a larger freezer bag. I squeeze out extra air, but nothing as thorough as a food sealer.

 

I have similar results w/out the use of a food saver.

 

That is exactly what I do as well and I have had very good experience with this method.

Cheers!

 

Make sure you get enough of the bag into the vacuum area to get a good seal. I notice a lot of people try to insert the smallest amount of bag into the machine and these people usually get poor seals.

Insert the end of the bag all the way into the channel with the removable tray and seal away.

This may not be the case for you, but I've seen enough people do this that I thought I'd pass on the info.

If you're having issues with residue on the inside of the bag where the heat seal is made- simply wipe/clean it off before sealing.

 

So long as your pulling a decent vacuum the air pockets are nothing to worry about. A thicker bag will resist punctures and wear better than the thinner bags. Also, I believe the thicker plastic bags have better oxygen barrier properties as well. The main reason for pulling a vacuum in the first place is to rid the storage container of O2. I have been using mason jars for several years to store my hops after opening. FoodSaver makes a vacuum canning attachment that works perfectly for drawing out the oxygen from mason jars and I, by far, prefer this method to bags for the storage of hops.

 

Some times i have to push down on mine to get a better vacuum seal or else it seals with air still inside. I also double seal on both sides.