Advice Using Old Hops

[DeNomad]

After a hiatus from brewing after my first born I have a substantial amount of old hops, maybe half a freezer. The hops are from 2017, vacuum sealed and frozen whole hops.

I would like to use at least some of the hops, but I know old hops have a tendency to taste like cheese though. Are there any recipes that would be better to use old hops with? Perhaps a porter or stout, malty and lightly hopped? My suspicion is a hoppy IPA might not come out so well.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

I've got older hops from yakima valley black friday deals.
i'd buy 8oz to 1lb bags at a time and have hops from 2015 and 2016 crops that will take me a while to get through.

i've never had off flavors from them.
but I keep my hops in the freezer.
usually double bagged with as much air squeezed out as I can.

now that I have a vacuum sealer I plan to seal my hops when done using them.

 

[smata67]

The cheesy smell should be apparent when you open them up. If not there, then they should be good to go. It is not like it will come out in your beer if not there to begin with. The smell is coming from a specific compound, isovaleric acid. I read some discussions about this compound and the claim that it may actually be converted during fermentation and the smell and taste eliminated. Apparently, this is addressed in Scott Janish's New IPA and there might be some referenced research associated with it. But I do not have the book, so I could not confirm. Would be nice to hear from someone who has the book and can elaborate.

 

[phyllobeddo]

I've got some 2013s that I wouldn't be afraid to use. I think you'll be fine with some 2017s. Open them up and smell them first before using them.

 

[Bassman2003]

Lean them towards the bittering side and get new ones for the late additions or dry hopping.

 

[DeNomad]

Thanks for the advice everyone! Think I will start off with some ESBs and move into some Belgian beers and see how those go for our frozen spring in Canada.

 

[coonmanx]

Should be fine if vacuum sealed and frozen. I even once used some old hops once that were not even stored in a cool environment. So their AA's were probably way off and low but I used them along side some fresher hops that I bought. The batch came out just fine. Hops stored in the freezer will last a long time and you can always give them a quick sniff if worried about it.

 

[ajbosley2015]

The only downfall I see, is that there is significant available research in the diminishing AA levels in older hops. You wont be able to accurately predict your IBU rating with older hops as they undergo a logarithmic decrease in volatility. Otherwise, youre good to go. Its one of the best kept secrets of the homebrewer...you can get two year old hops for pennies on the dollar and thats because commercial breweries wont buy them.