Noob question about hop addition

I did my first batch yesterday and all went relatively well I think. I had a couple of questions though.

1. I used whole hops (not pellets). I tried to add them in a hop bag (a piece of plastic mesh). The original idea was to help clarity/reduce trub by not leaving the hops in there loose. Then I thought that maybe I would want them in there during the ferment to continue to add bitterness (this recipe if for an American Pale Ale). I will be dry hopping later so does it really matter?

2. Noob mistake: first time with liquid yeast vial. Warmed up nicely and then proceeded to blow all over when I opened it. I think I got most of it in the wort, but I lost some. If things go slow, I was going to add some dry later on.

Comments?

1. Didn't you add hops during the boil? You basically are dryhopping now, you will mostly aroma and some flavor but little bitterness.

2.The fermentation may take off slowly but be patient. if your OG wasn't too high the yeast should be ok

jamorgan3777 said:

I did my first batch yesterday and all went relatively well I think. I had a couple of questions though.

1. I used whole hops (not pellets). I tried to add them in a hop bag (a piece of plastic mesh). The original idea was to help clarity/reduce trub by not leaving the hops in there loose. Then I thought that maybe I would want them in there during the ferment to continue to add bitterness (this recipe if for an American Pale Ale). I will be dry hopping later so does it really matter?

2. Noob mistake: first time with liquid yeast vial. Warmed up nicely and then proceeded to blow all over when I opened it. I think I got most of it in the wort, but I lost some. If things go slow, I was going to add some dry later on.

Comments?

Click to expand...

1. I personally just throw my hops in the BK regardless of pellets or whole hops. Nothing a whirlpool can't solve. But I do try to remove as much hops before transferring to my fermenter.

2. I assume it was white labs since its a vial. Same thing happened to me. Next time crack it open and then close. Repeat. Let all the pressure out then it can open with out flowing over. Kinda like opening a shaken 2-liter of soda.

Thanks all!

That is exactly what it seemed like (a shaken-up 2-liter of soda). I should have known better I guess. Will crack it even slower next time.


I also think I will just add the hops to the wort directly next time. Was a lot of futzing around with different additions and time and making up little baggies of hops.

Thanks again.

I'm not an expert, but from what I have read, using a hop bag reduces the efficiency at which the bittering acids in the hops are drawn from the hops to your wort.

Then again, I never used whole hops, I have only used pellets. However, I don't strain the hop trub out of my wort, it all goes right into the carboy. Most of it usually settles during fermentation, the rest settles during bottling.

Also, you wouldn't gain any bitterness if you left the hops in during fermentation. Since the bittering acids have already been extracted, I believe it would be pointless to leave them in if you didn't want them going through the bottling/kegging process.

Dry hopping will add aroma and maybe a little bit of flavor. You won't get too much bittering from dry hopping.

Cheers

Not sure I get the comment about a too high OG affecting yeast growth. I've made wines with OGs well above 1.1 and they take off plenty fine, even with a less than ideal amount of yeast being pitched.

Have patience. It takes a while before the yeasties get around to reproducing. If you're not seeing good fermentation by day 3 or 4, consider pitching a new vial, but until then -- patience.