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Author Topic: hop sale at nikobrew  (Read 3373 times)

Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: hop sale at nikobrew
« Reply #15 on: December 05, 2014, 04:32:04 pm »
I have to ask just what do hops smell like when they are past their prime? Im just wondering- i like to think my nose works pretty well and I would just like to know what to look for when it comes to this. I guess im lucky cause all the hops I have bought so far are really pungent when i open the foil bags ive never sniffed and said that smells musty or old.

IF they're packaged properly (by vacuum and stored in a freezer) what you'll notice for a year or two is a gradual decrease in aroma and flavor intensity, not a negative aroma/flavor IMO. When I use hops of this age for finishing (flavor and aroma) I use a little more as they get older. Past a couple years you may start to notice 'off' flavors and aromas (stale,musty) as well as a reduction in AA. And years old hops can actually lose most AA and get funky and cheesy smelling. Unless you're making a lambic, not good to say the least !
« Last Edit: December 06, 2014, 08:49:59 am by HoosierBrew »
Jon H.

Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: hop sale at nikobrew
« Reply #16 on: December 06, 2014, 09:48:20 am »
They won't smells musty, especially if they have been kept in the freezer. Hop cones are flowers so think about them as flowers rather than fruit which goes bad and stinks. Have you ever smelled old flowers? They smell like dried grass or hay and not much else. Same thing will eventually happen with hops. Before they reach that neutral aroma they can go through a cheesy stage where the hop oils are oxidized. It takes a while, especially in the freezer, to develop those cheesy aromas but even when they start to get cheesy you will still smell some of the hop character. Eventually all the aroma fades and you just get a hay aroma.
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Re: hop sale at nikobrew
« Reply #17 on: December 12, 2014, 06:15:02 pm »
I have to ask just what do hops smell like when they are past their prime?

Cheese or feet