How do you add your pellet hops?

When you add your pellet hops do you put them right in the boil, or do you put them in a hop bag? I have been using a bag since I started brewing and have wondered if I get full utilization this way. What is everyones thoughts and opinions on this?

I just did a brew with hops straight into the boil and damn, there sure is a lot of hop sediment in my beer. I'm going to use bags from now on.

I started with a bag. Now I just toss them. No reason, but after a good rolling boil one day the bag was just about empty anyway so I decided I didn't need it.

the hop bags we use are pretty fine and keeps the pellet gunk in so that we don't have as much sediment to deal with. we've done it both ways and like using the bags for this reason.

I just add them to the boil directly. Nowadays, I've been whirlpooling and leaving the sediment behind going to the fermenter. I used to just pour the whole mess in there, and that worked fine too.

Recently, been using a hop bag for dry hops to keep the floaties away from the racking cane for kegging. A couple of marbles in the bag keep the hop bag submerged, and I get plenty of dry-hop flavor & aroma.

--LexusChris

Usually depends on what I'm brewing. If it's a regular pale ale, I'll just toss them in. If I'm doing an IPA....I use a bag everytime. Waaaay to much sludge and gunk if I don't.

I do like Hammy. I started tossing them long ago. But the first IIPA I did like that was a bit too much to go no bag.

No bag, everything in the fermenter, time, gravity, and a hard cold crash always puts everthing on the bottom for a clean racking.

I don't use a bag. Eveything settles for me during my chill after the boil. I'll even dry hop with no bag and just give the secondary a good shake to get the hops moving around. I have never had a problem with doing things this way.

straight in, hard cold crash and filter / whirlpool and leave the majority of the sediment behind.

I used a hop bag once with pellet hops, and the utilization went way down. However, the bag I used was much too small. Next time I tried pellets, I used a 5g hop bag, and got much better utilization.

-a.

Do the hops ball work ? I bought one but haven't used it yet . Just wondering.

I bought a hops ball...the pellets dont have the room to expand and get the exposure to the wort that they need...I was disapointed with the results

Maybe it will make good tea!!!!

hsbcapt said:

Do the hops ball work ? I bought one but haven't used it yet . Just wondering.

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Not in the boil! They work great for dryhopping in a keg though.

I usually just toss them in but there is always a large sludge pile that goes into the fermenter. Could I just pour the cooled wort thru a large grain bag and trap most of the sludge? Will the break material also get trapped in the grain bag?

Bartman said:

I usually just toss them in but there is always a large sludge pile that goes into the fermenter. Could I just pour the cooled wort thru a large grain bag and trap most of the sludge? Will the break material also get trapped in the grain bag?

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Probably what I'm going to do from now on. Bump to 5 gallon paint strainer bags.

Bartman said:

I usually just toss them in but there is always a large sludge pile that goes into the fermenter. Could I just pour the cooled wort thru a large grain bag and trap most of the sludge? Will the break material also get trapped in the grain bag?

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i set up my amounts so that i can leave about a half gallon of trub behind. I also use a stainless steel fine mesh strainer when i'm transferring to my primary and anything that does come out, gets caught in that. It doesnt capture 100% of everything, but i dont have much trub in my fermenter... the fine strainer does a bang up job of aerating also.

I've always used a muslin bag to try to keep as much sediment out of the brew as I can up front. I even used the same bag for multiple additions during the brew. Just add them in on top of what's already in there and tie it off to the brew pot handle. Seems to work for me.

I use a 5 gallon paint strainer as a hop sock attached to a u-clamp and threaded rod setup. Works very well, haven't noticed a drop in bitter, but who knows.

I've done it both ways. Without the bag I have had a large amount of sediment and this has clogged the screen on my funnel and made cleaning my immersion wort chiller much more difficult.. In using the bags, I didn't have the screen clogging issue and I can simply rinse my wort chiller.. I like to pour my cooled wort into the fermenter to help aerate the wort before pitching the yeast. I prefer using the hop bags for this reason.

Straight in...

I strain the wort on the way to the primary...:rockin:

I stand on a stool, point a fan at my torso, and right at the crescendo of an opera song I dramatically throw the hops into the boil as if I were casting Satan down into hell.

i have to agree that it depends what im brewing. if their tons of hops you would not want to throw them all in because you will end up with double the amount of usual sediment. if you whirlpool then you can get away with it and leave it all in the kettle. i have alot of bags ive collected so i just pre way everything and put each hop addition in its own bag. at the end of the boil i fish the out with the spoon and drain them then i cool the wort with the immersion chiller.

noreaster40s said:

I've always used a muslin bag to try to keep as much sediment out of the brew as I can up front. I even used the same bag for multiple additions during the brew. Just add them in on top of what's already in there and tie it off to the brew pot handle. Seems to work for me.

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Precisely what I do. Its worked out really well, I typically leave behind only a cup or two of wort in the kettle.

Wrathbone said:

I stand on a stool, point a fan at my torso, and right at the crescendo of an opera song I dramatically throw the hops into the boil as if I were casting Satan down into hell.

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That's the best laugh I've had in a long time... Awesome.

Does it hurt anything if a lot of the trub and hop sludge from the boil make it into the primary fermenter? I just finished my first full boil and I had a hell of a time getting the wort into the fermenter without a bunch of crap going with it.

I tried the whirlpool thing... stirred the crap out of it and waited 30 minutes for it to settle. Most of it did settle to the bottom, but not really in a cone... and if it was, the racking cane just sucked it up no matter how hard I tried to keep it away from the center of the pot. I racked into my primary bucket with a nylon mesh straining screen on it... worked ok at first, but as more sludge got onto it just kind of stopped up and I had to scrape the gunk out with a spoon to get the wort through. I had to top up with 1/2 to 3/4 gallon of water since I lost some wort in the sludge. I'm guess most of the crap will settle out in the fermenter, but will this have a negative impact on my brew?

Next time I am definitely putting my hops in separate bags... or maybe I just need a metal strainer.

bomb away! give it a stir every so often to get off the walls.

MaxPower49 said:

Does it hurt anything if a lot of the trub and hop sludge from the boil make it into the primary fermenter?

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I used to think so. But from reading on here how some people dump the whole boil pot in the fermenter and deliberately getting hop debris in a couple of brews, I can't see where it hurts anything.

I still carefully rack off into secondary and into my kegs. But if I have to get some trub involved to get my primary volume to 5 gallons or a bit over, I don't worry about what sneaks by.

I add them one by one via my Pez Dispenser. =0)

Wrathbone said:

I stand on a stool, point a fan at my torso, and right at the crescendo of an opera song I dramatically throw the hops into the boil as if I were casting Satan down into hell.

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Dude, I just spit coffee. Absolutely hilarious.

homebrewer_99 said:

Straight in...

I strain the wort on the way to the primary...:rockin:

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Ditto. Works well for me.