Alright, everyone. True story, told to me by a brewer I talked to in Cleveland.
I found a bag of Citra in the back of a grain room last week—six months old, room temperature. That's money on fire. Hops degrade; alpha acids drop with time, heat, and oxygen. Here's how to protect and account for them.
Hops degrade. Alpha acids decline with time, heat, and oxygen exposure. A hop that tested at 12% alpha when it arrived may test at 10% six months later if stored at room temperature. Poor storage and inadequate utilization tracking lead to over-hopping to compensate—and higher COGS. For breweries that care about consistency and cost, hop storage and alpha utilization aren't optional. Alpha acids decline with time, heat, and oxygen exposure. A hop that tested at 12% alpha when it arrived may test at 10% six months later if stored at room temperature. Poor storage and inadequate utilization tracking lead to over-hopping to compensate—and higher COGS. For breweries that rely on consistency and cost control, hop storage and alpha utilization are not optional details.
Storage Conditions Matter
The rate of alpha acid decline depends on temperature, oxygen, and light. Cold storage slows degradation. Oxygen exposure accelerates it. Best practices:
Temperature: Store hops at 32–38°F (0–3°C) or below. Freezer storage extends shelf life further. Room-temperature storage in a warehouse or brewhouse is acceptable only for short-term, high-turnover inventory.
Oxygen: Hops should be stored in oxygen-barrier packaging. Once a bag is opened, the remaining hops should be purged and sealed, or moved to a purged container. Left in an open bag, hops lose alpha acids rapidly.
Light: UV accelerates degradation. Hops should be stored in opaque or dark conditions.
Lot and Receipt Documentation
When hops arrive, record the lot number, alpha acid content (from the certificate of analysis), and receipt date. That information is the baseline for utilization. If you do not know the alpha at receipt, you cannot accurately adjust recipes when the hops age.
Many breweries receive COAs (certificates of analysis) with each lot. Those documents should be filed and linked to the lot in your inventory system. When you pull hops for a batch, you should know which lot you are using and what its alpha content was at receipt—and, if you have the capability, what it tests at now.
Utilization in Recipe vs. Actual
Recipe software calculates bittering and aroma contributions based on alpha acid content and utilization factors. If your recipe assumes 12% alpha and the hops have degraded to 10%, you will under-bitter. If you over-compensate by adding more hops, you increase cost without necessarily improving quality.
The solution is to use current alpha values in your recipes. That may mean periodic testing of stored lots, or applying a degradation factor based on storage conditions and age. Some breweries test critical lots before major brew days; others use conservative estimates (e.g., assume 1% alpha loss per month in cold storage) when actual testing is not feasible.
First-In, First-Out (FIFO)
Hops should be used in order of receipt. Older lots should be pulled before newer ones. Without FIFO discipline, you may find yourself with expired or severely degraded hops at the back of the cooler while fresh hops are used first. Inventory management that tracks receipt date and enforces FIFO reduces waste and ensures more predictable beer quality.
Inventory Visibility
You need to know what hops you have, where they are, and how old they are. A simple list of “200 lbs Cascade” is not enough. You need “Lot X, 50 lbs, received 3 months ago, stored cold” and “Lot Y, 150 lbs, received 1 month ago, stored cold.” That granularity supports both FIFO and utilization decisions.
Hop storage and alpha utilization are operational details that compound over time. Small improvements—better storage, better documentation, better FIFO—add up to more consistent beer and lower ingredient cost. The breweries that treat hops as the perishable, variable ingredient they are will have an edge in both quality and margin.
---
How BrewLedger Supports Hop Inventory
BrewLedger tracks items by location and quantity. You can model hop lots as separate items or use locations to distinguish lots. Paired with receipt dates and usage linked to batches, you can enforce FIFO and trace hop usage to specific batches. See how it works when you are ready.