Freezing question

[Padron42]

Hey, I recently got an order and had a beetle in one of my sticks so I popped em in the fridge and then the freezer. This is the first time I've done this but I was just thinking and I have them tied up in a plastic bag, but not an airtight ziploc. Is this going to get them overhumidified/moldy? Have I screwed anything up yet or can I still fix them or is this not even a big deal? Thanks for the help guys. They've been in the fridge for about 24 hours and the freezer maybe 5 now

[zemekone]

Originally Posted by Padron42

Hey, I recently got an order and had a beetle in one of my sticks so I popped em in the fridge and then the freezer. This is the first time I've done this but I was just thinking and I have them tied up in a plastic bag, but not an airtight ziploc. Is this going to get them overhumidified/moldy? Have I screwed anything up yet or can I still fix them or is this not even a big deal? Thanks for the help guys. They've been in the fridge for about 24 hours and the freezer maybe 5 now

didi u contact your vendor about it?

[chippewastud79]

From everything I have read you are doing everything right.
General rule I have gathered from more experienced BOTL is 24-48-24 (fridge-freezer-fridge) just to be safe.
As far as this effecting humidity I am not sure there is any correlation.

Did you contact the vendor? They definitely need to know about that.

[Padron42]

Originally Posted by chippewastud79

From everything I have read you are doing everything right.
General rule I have gathered from more experienced BOTL is 24-48-24 (fridge-freezer-fridge) just to be safe.
As far as this effecting humidity I am not sure there is any correlation.

That's nice to hear. I just remembered some people saying you need an airtight bag and I realized I didn't use one. I didn't know if it was due to it being moist in the refrigerator or what the reason was for.

[Padron42]

Originally Posted by zemekone

didi u contact your vendor about it?

No, only one cigar had any noticeable signs out of the box of 26, and that was just a single hole that might have just been a flake of the wrapper that fell off. I'm basically doing it just to help me feel better haha.

[fizguy]

freezers DRY things out. I would definitely put them in some type of freezer ziploc bag. Ever notice how an ice cube that is sitting in the freezer for a long time keeps shrinking? Even ice cubes dry out in the freezer!

[Commander Quan]

The refrigerator / freezer actually has very low humidity so mold won't be a problem. I've always thrown the cigars in wrapped in whatever they came in so you don't have to worry.

[zemekone]

Originally Posted by Padron42

No, only one cigar had any noticeable signs out of the box of 26, and that was just a single hole that might have just been a flake of the wrapper that fell off. I'm basically doing it just to help me feel better haha.

most vendors are willing to work with you in the case of beetles or even suspecision of beetles...

[Padron42]

Thanks for the help guys. I'm glad there's nothing too bad to worry about. I will contact the vendor though too just in case the beetle damage was worse than it looked.

[BamaDoc77]

I do 24-72-24, then room temp.........i have even just done loads of saran wrap around a box when i didnt have ziplocs and it worked fine.. youll be ok..

[Virginia Gent]

Originally Posted by BamaDoc77

I do 24-72-24, then room temp.........i have even just done loads of saran wrap around a box when i didnt have ziplocs and it worked fine.. youll be ok..

I'm glad you posted that as I was just wondering about that today for some of the larger boxes.

[Padron42]

random question I thought I'd throw in here too. How long do most of you wait after the freezing process to smoke em? I should have taken a few out of the box to smoke this week cause I'm craving one and don't have any but these haha.

[Commander Quan]

After taking them out give them a week or 2 in your regular humidor for the humidity or even out.

[montecristo#2]

As a rule of thumb, after freezing I normally wait about a month before smoking.

With that said, I have smoked a cigar the day after freezing just to see. I have to say the first third was a little flat, but after that it picked up nicely and tasted close to the others in the box (pre-freeze). I was a little surprised.

Of course, I typically use a vacuum sealer and remove 95% of the air, so the cigars are sealed and lose very little humidity this way. So they might not need as long to recover. If you vacuum seal, a box that was a 65% before freezing is pretty much at 65% when the whole process is complete.

Also, I go straight into the freezer for 3 days, frig for 1 day, room temp for 1 day still sealed, then back into the humidor. Never had a problem.

[smokeyscotch]

Originally Posted by zemekone

most vendors are willing to work with you in the case of beetles or even suspecision of beetles...

Plus, it helps the next guy out, if they catch a problem.