Aging Questions...

[SFerrojr]

I hope you all don't mind a couple more Newb questions, and apologize in advance if there is a glaringly obvious thread I missed that covers these already

Aging Baccy...
I just ordered a few tins of McLelland Christmas Cheer because I've read a few places that it ages wonderfully and thought it would make a nice Xmas tradition goign forward. So this brought up a few questions in my head about aging...

First, how would cold temperatures effect aging Baccy? We have a cold storage room down in the basement where there's already a stash of mason jars with caned veggies, it's not cooled per se, but not insulated either, so it'll get down there when the real NE winter sets in. Is that a suitable place for the aging portion of my Cellar, or should I keep it inside the heating perimeter of the house?

Second question is around aging a tin for different times. If I open an aging tin/jar of Baccy and reseal it, will it continue to age, or have I stopped it right there? in other words, if I got a large tin and wanted to let half sit for say 2 years and half sit for 5 years, should I leave it sealed, open it in two years, split it to two jars and forget about one for 3 more years, OR should I open it straight away and split it into two jars for aging right from the get go? Hope that makes sense, sorry if I'm over-thinking

Thanks!

 

[javelin377]

The way I understand it, once you open it you stop the aging process right there.

 

[javajunkie]

cold is better than hot in ANY scenario with tobacco storage. that said, my understanding is that there is a microbial progression that happens during aging, partly aerobic, and when the oxygen is eaten up in the container partly anaerobic. any biological process like that should probably move slower in a cooler setting? supposition, but makes sense. then again, slow and stable is MUCH better in the long run than quick and unsure, so i would think you could rock it as is.

tins or jars, aging STOPS when they are opened. if you reseal it, it will start the process again, from where it stopped, but it will need to build up momentum, as it were; work through the aerobic phase and back into the anaerobic phase. or, two jars that are five years old, with one having been popped every six months to check, will both be aged, but NOT aged equally, the checked one being functionally behind on time. which is why most people who buy bulk (or larger tins) store in smaller jars, so they are only opening so much tobacco at one time.

but really, don't over think aging. if you keep your mitts off it, great, but as long as it is stored safe and secure until you can enjoy it fully, that still counts as optimal in my book.

 

[SFerrojr]

Great info, thanks!

 

[smokinghole]

Why does everyone say aging stops when pipe tobacco is in an aerobic environment? It seems contradictory to aging tobacco in general. Cigars and cigar leaves are aerobic, aging leaf before pipe blending is aerobic. So why would aging "stop" if something is opened. That logic doesn't make sense at all from a common sense and scientific point if view.

I just don't buy it personally. Its the same as 70/70 with cigars to me, often repeated as gospel but not necessarily accurate.

 

[MoJo]

tins or jars, aging STOPS when they are opened. if you reseal it, it will start the process again, from where it stopped, but it will need to build up momentum, as it were; work through the aerobic phase and back into the anaerobic phase. or, two jars that are five years old, with one having been popped every six months to check, will both be aged, but NOT aged equally, the checked one being functionally behind on time. which is why most people who buy bulk (or larger tins) store in smaller jars, so they are only opening so much tobacco at one time.

So does that mean that vacuum sealing a mason jar with pipe tobacco in it is a good idea?