Pliny the Elder

[Kealia]

Then I can order lots more hops!

I think this line makes Beer-lord love you.

[bpgreen]

Thanks BL. I have some hops labeled "Centennial Type". HBT sources say they are a mix of Cascade and Columbus produced when Centennial are in short supply. After I posted here, I searched HBT and found general approval of them. I actually have several ounces of Centennial, but they have been open for a while. Even though they've been refrigerated in a ziploc, they seem to have lost some aroma. I have some partial packs of several C hops, I think I will use them for dry hopping. This whole recipe has helped use up existing supplies. Then I can order lots more hops!

If you want to keep hops fresh, get a vacuum sealer and site them in the freezer. Oxygen, temperature, and light are the biggest enemies of hops. Vacuum sealed in the freezer fights all three.

[John Sand]

Thanks BP. I use a cheap hand pump and ziploc vented bags to suck air out. It doesn't always stay sealed. I put the yeast and hops in the fridge. My wife likes to pack the freezer to bursting. I want to use up any open hops I have and buy new.
A good vacuum sealer would help with brewing and sailing. But we have a small house full of stuff. Jane recently bought (another) wicker chest. I got her to move some of the cloth napkins and table mats into it. That gave me some shelves and a drawer for brew gear.

[bpgreen]

I had one of those. I learned the same thing you did. It just doesn't do the job reliably enough.

I originally bought the vacuum sealer for brewing, but I use it more for food than for brewing. I think it's easy to justify the cost whether you buy it for food or beer.

[John Sand]

I'll keep an eye out for sales. Which do you use?

[Beer-lord]

Then I can order lots more hops!

I think this line makes Beer-lord love you.

I love everyone, just not the same.

John, I have the FoodSaver G250 and have had it for about 18 months or so. I love it! I use it mostly for hops but of course, we also use it for some food items, specifically for the freezer. You can either use pre-sized bags or rolls and both work well. I got this one because it was rated highly by hunters, many who mentioned how many times they use it and it lasted longer than any other brand they had tried previously.

[John Sand]

Thanks

[bpgreen]

I used to use a seal a meal (forget which model). I thought it was starting to have problems, so I bought the food saver that Costco carries. The Seal a meal stayed working fine again, so I gave it to my daughter.

There are features I like on the new one, and features the old one had that I miss. I think you'll be happy as long as you get a fairly good one.

Edited to fix autocorrect.

[John Sand]

Thanks. I'll be at BJ's this weekend.....

[Kealia]

Since this topic is getting bumped....I'm hoping to get up to Russian River in the next 3-4 weeks to get a growler of their session IPA along with a case of Pliny.

[Beer-lord]

Since this topic is getting bumped....I'm hoping to get up to Russian River in the next 3-4 weeks to get a growler of their session IPA along with a case of Pliny.

I'm surprised they let you buy that many. Seriously, I envy you sometimes though not when you go thru years of drought. You are indeed lucky to have such wonderful beers at a hands length away. You will live long and prosper.

[Kealia]

I should clarify, a case is 12 bottles. That's the per person limit. They also limit Blind Pig to 6 per person.

[Kealia]

All this Pliny talk has made me confirm plans for next weekend. Mini roadtrip!

Russian River Brewing Co..jpeg (197.46 KiB) Viewed 771 times

[Beer-lord]

Braggart!
Have fun and take pics for us to drool over.