carboy hop blues

I've read that bagging pellet hops cuts down on aroma and ibus. I'm wondering if I can boil my hops at the specified times and then strain them before racking to primary?

As far as I've read the resins and anything to do with flavor are aquired during the boil and afterward they are not needed. Is there a proper way to discard them prior to fermentation. I've also been told that pouring the wort into the carboy is bad but have never been told exactly why, just that exposing it to the air will contaminant. I use wolflock (Irish moss) for clarity. And leave a few bottles worth in the pot and then again in the fermenter. I'm trying to save those few beers and make them even clearer without substituting flavor. Any help is appreciated.

I bag my hops in the boil using a "hop spider" which you can search for in the DIY thread. No problems with hop utilization whatsoever. However, the key is to use a big bag so the hops are loose enough to get maximum surface area exposure to your wort. Makes a HUGE difference in the amount of detritus left at the bottom, and I squeeze the hop bag to get all the good liquid out.

As for not pouring your wort, I did that for a long time. Used to be a lot of concern about hot side aeration, but it seems the prevailing wisdom on HBT these days is that it's not a real concern. Moreover, you DO want to aerate your wort before pitching yeast.

I ferment in buckets and when I pour from the kettle I have a 5 gallon paint strainer on my bucket, pour in wort and remove strainer. Presto, no hops in the fermentor.

For dry hopping to a secondary (sans hop bags which are a pain in the @$& to get out later), then transferring to a bottling bucket, I tie a muslin bag to the end if the auto siphon. Isn't perfect and you want to go slow to ensure your not aerating, but it cleans up about 25% more funk out of your beer right before bottling.

mushin said:

For dry hopping to a secondary (sans hop bags which are a pain in the @$& to get out later), then transferring to a bottling bucket, I tie a muslin bag to the end if the auto siphon. Isn't perfect and you want to go slow to ensure your not aerating, but it cleans up about 25% more funk out of your beer right before bottling.

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Better yet use a nylon bag and put it over your racking cane. I only do this when dry hopping and also use one during the boil. Muslin bags suck and a nylon bag will pay for itself. Or buy paint strainers from home depot and use those.

Awesome. I thouht aerating the wort was a bad thing, and the paint strainer is a great ideal. Thanks for the knowledge guys.

It. Is good to areate the wort while cool prior to fermentation.