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Hops
,update to aged hops varieties
Aging hops leads to oxidation of acids and oils. Generally, brewers seek to avoid this to preserve the aromatic and bittering properties of their hops by freezing them and storing them in vacuum sealed packaging (oxygen exposure is by far the larger factor for hop degradation, followed by ambient room temperatures, which is significant because hops are often not stored in vacuum sealed packaging). However, some beer styles, including lambic and historical styles, make extensive use of aged hops. Aged hops still retain some antimicrobial properties and can be used for microbial inhibition. In addition to their antimicrobial activity, aged hops contribute important flavor and aroma compounds and precursors to beer. These flavor descriptors often include herbal, tea-like, Earth-like, and a more dull bitterness. Low amounts of [[Isovaleric Acid]] might also contribute to the complexity of a beer that has been brewed with aged hops (although the presence of isovaleric acid in aged hops is considered temporary, and will eventually age out of hops that are aged). Historically, some brewers had issues keeping mildew from growing on aged hops that are aged in higher humidity areas (sulfur was used to combat mildew, which often gave the beer a sulfur, rotten egg aroma) <ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/1228610483833830/ Conversation with Ron Smith and Aaron Barker on historical storage of hops. 02/07/2016.]</ref>.
In [[lambic]] brewing, the term '''aged hops''' refers to Noble hops (usually Tettnang, Saaz, Target, and Hallertau) which have been aged for 2+ 3-5 years in non-refrigerated conditions, and in burlap sacks or some other oxygen permeable bag <ref>[http://www.horscategoriebrewing.com/2016/04/hops-in-spontaneous-fermentation.html Dave Janssen. "Hops in spontaneous fermentation". Hors Catégorie Brewing blog. 04/28/2016. Retrieved 04/09/2018.]</ref><ref>[http://jesterkingbrewery.com/home-for-our-aged-hops "Home for Our Aged Hops". Jester King's blog. Retrieved 11/18/2016.]</ref>. It should be noted that the term "aged hops" can also refer to any sort of hop aging (especially in scientific literature), including short-term hop aging (1-6 months, for example) at refrigerated or non-refrigerated temperatures, and in oxygen-rich or vacuum sealed packaging. Much of the information below references hops that have been aged in warm conditions for shorter time periods than what hops are aged for in lambic brewing. The additional aging of hops that are used in lambic brewing or similar beers might have different effects than what has been studied in hops that are aged for shorter periods of time.
For techniques and usage amounts of aged hops, see [[Hops#Aged_Hops_in_Lambic|Aged Hops in Lambic]].