Can storing hops too cold damage flavor/aroma?

[joetothemo]

My last few brews have had a very drab, not-so-fresh hop flavor and aroma. Judges even pointed it out in a recent competition.

All that has changed in my process lately was that I vacuum-sealed and froze a bulk order of hops pellets from hops-direct.

I've always read that freezing hops for long-term storage is the way to go. But my freezer dips well below the recommended 20-degree storage temp.

I've come to learn that the avg temp in my freezer is actually in the 0-10 degrees Fahrenheit zone.

Could this low, low temp be damaging some of that bright, fresh taste I would expect?

 

[McGarnigle]

My guess would be that this isn't the problem. A lot of people store hops in the freezer at those temps.

 

[NHBeerDude]

How long were these hops in the freezer for?

 

[samc]

My hops are all stored between 0-10F. No issues as you describe. Did you use any of the hops prior to freezing? And if so how were they?

 

[joetothemo]

No, I didn't use these hops first, before freezing. They were a shipment from HopsDirect.com.

I just re-brewed a recipe that suffered this issue, with hops sourced from Morebeer. Still trying to pinpoint the issue.

Pretty much just trouble-shooting the issue one possibility at a time.

 

[Calder]

They recommend storing hops vacuum sealed at 0 F. If this caused problems, I suspect it would be pretty well known.

Your hop storage conditions is not the cause of your problems.

 

[Hang Glider]

Age can certainly be a problem, though, even frozen (though much less-so than fresh). How old were the hops submitted for the competition? I try to toss out anything older than a year...

 

[joetothemo]

They recommend storing hops vacuum sealed at 0 F. If this caused problems, I suspect it would be pretty well known.

Your hop storage conditions is not the cause of your problems.

Did not realize that, I had always seen 40-20f as the acceptable range. Had I known that, I would not have posted this.

Age can certainly be a problem, though, even frozen (though much less-so than fresh). How old were the hops submitted for the competition? I try to toss out anything older than a year...

These were purchased from HopsDirect on 2/28/11. So, they are not that old from the ship date. Can't speak for the harvest.

 

[onipar]

If it's not storage, and the only hops you've found this problem with have been the single order from Hopsdirect, you can probably narrow it down to either this particular shipment, or the distributor.

If you've had good experiences with this seller before, then it can probably be narrowed down to just this particular shipment/harvest.

One other possible variable is the type of hop itself, but if you've used this variety to good results in the past, you can rule it out.

Just some ideas.