Brewing Master

Question:

Keeping your ingredients refrigerated will make them last longer.  Hops should be stored in the freezer either sealed in the original pouch, or if opened, in a mason jar.  If you have access to CO2 or nitrogen, filling the jar with gas will make the hops last longer, but the difference would be about a 1/4 point over six months between the two.  For instance, a hop of 5% AA will lose about a 1/4 point over six months to 4.7% at 0F in a sealed jar with gas.  The same hops in a jar with no gas will lose about a 1/2 point over six months to 4.55% at 0F. Yeast should be used within a few months of purchase.  Just remember, if using liquid yeasts, it may take a few more days to get it going after smacking the pack if the yeast is several months old.  Keep the packages under refrigeration until ready to use. Malt extracts can be refrigerated, but if sealed in a can or bag as purchased, you can store it at a reasonably cool temperature (in the basement, for example) for many months without any problems. On the other hand, you could just drink more and never have anything to store at all! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Since I don’t have any local brew stores around, I thought I would purchase two or three batches worth of ingredients via the mail.  How long can I expect the ingredients to be good for if stored in a refrigerator? I figure I would brew a new batch of beer every month. Can I keep liquid yeast, hops, and extract malt around for 2 or 3 months?  Or should I order it every month?  It is a little less expensive if purchased in higher quantities and saves me the trouble of ordering ingredients again every month. Dave

Response:

Since I don’t have any local brew stores around, I thought I would purchase two or three batches worth of ingredients via the mail.  How long can I expect the ingredients to be good for if stored in a refrigerator? I figure I would brew a new batch of beer every month. Can I keep liquid yeast, hops, and extract malt around for 2 or 3 months?  Or should I order it every month?  It is a little less expensive if purchased in higher quantities and saves me the trouble of ordering ingredients again every month.

We used to have a homebrew shop here in Los Alamos and another 35 miles away in Santa Fe.  It was really nice to have those stores and the nice folks in them around, so I made a habit of buying most of my supplies from them, even though I could do ten or twenty percent better by mail order.  Evidently, not enough other local brewers had the same policy, though, since both stores have now closed, and I’m in the same fix as you. Anyway, hops will keep for many months in the freezer in an oxygen-free environment.  I have found the purchase of a vacuum sealer and oxgygen-barrier bags to be a worthwhile investment.  I’m told you can also use glass containers flooded with N2 (preferably) or CO2 and sealed.  (Most  leaf and compressed hops you buy will come in oxygen-barrier bags, but I presume you’ll want to buy in bulk and will need to repackage.) Liquid yeast will also keep for many months in the fridge, but you may want to consider yeast ranching, as I now do.  I started propagating my own yeast even before my last local supplier went away, because he had too small an operation to reliably keep a good variety of yeasts in stock.  Yeast ranching is not difficult, and less trouble than you may think. A few months for malt extract at room temperature is no problem.  Unmilled grains in airtight containers will last longer. Cheers, –Joe Joseph H. Fasel Los Alamos, NM

Response:

+  Hops + should be stored in the freezer either sealed in the original pouch, or if + opened, in a mason jar.  If you have access to CO2 or nitrogen, filling the + jar with gas will make the hops last longer, but the difference would be + about a 1/4 point over six months between the two.  For instance, a hop of + 5% AA will lose about a 1/4 point over six months to 4.7% at 0F in a sealed + jar with gas.  The same hops in a jar with no gas will lose about a 1/2 + point over six months to 4.55% at 0F. Darrell Riel, secretary of the Washington Hop Grows, says not to store hops in the freezer. He suggests the fridge and, as you mentioned, purged. Cheers, Phillip A. Stein Abstainer: a weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure. – Ambrose Bierce

Response:

Can I keep liquid yeast, hops, and extract malt around for 2 or 3 months?  

Yup, no problem at all. cheers, -Alan —    "Brewers make wort, yeast makes beer"     – Dave Miller’s Homebrewing Guide http://www.magma.ca/~bodnsatz/brew/tips/

Response:

Since I don’t have any local brew stores around, I thought I would purchase two or three batches worth of ingredients via the mail.  How long can I expect the ingredients to be good for if stored in a refrigerator? I figure I would brew a new batch of beer every month. Can I keep liquid yeast, hops, and extract malt around for 2 or 3 months?  Or should I order it every month?  It is a little less expensive if purchased in higher quantities and saves me the trouble of ordering ingredients again every month. Dave

Response: