Nylon Hop Bags (reuse or trash?)

My nylon hop bags that i used once before are stained yellowish green and smell like hops. I used them once in a 60min boil and washed them after the brew day was over.

I was going to use them again on a later brew day, but I was worried that these dirty bags would add a hop flavor to my beer if i used them again.

To try and "fix" the problem I boiled the bags in some fresh water for 5 min. After the boil the water was greenish and smelled like hops. I then washed the bags with dish soap and rinsed them well. Then i boiled them again for 5 min in more fresh water and after the boil the water was green and hop smelling again. I gave up at that point and threw away the bags assuming i would never get the hop essence out of the bags.

Has anyone expierenced this before?

I cant remember what brand of bag i was using and im not entirely positive they were made of Nylon.

Does anyone know of hop bags that DONT become "stained" and "hoppy" when used?

Any other sugestions or comments are greatly appreciated.

thanks

I used these for a few times when bagging hops. I'd dump the contents in the trash, rinse in the sink and save to the end to clean because they will make your clearning water green. After cleaning I think they are fine to reuse in a boil. Make sure to use the bag in-side-out so the seams are easiest to clean.

I've skipped using these completely and think the hoppiness of the beers have improved, but have no side-by side comparisions. The nylon bags I had were spargingly filled with hops (used a different bag in the kettle for each hop addition), but the way they retained wort inside the bag gives me the feeling that they didn't let the hops boil the same as if they were floating around in the kettle.

I use 1 bag now clothpinned to the side of my kettle that I run my mash tun hose into as a filter for the hose while I'm returning the vorluf to the tun. All my mash runnings go through this bag and I'm surprised to find almost nothing in it...

I've only used hop bags a few times, and threw them away after each use. The cost is not so much that tossing them is painful, but it was enough that I didn't want to keep purchasing them for every brew.

I'd also like to hear if people have reused them. Especially with something like the hop spider build.

I reuse the hell out of them. I rinse them out in the sink, then toss them in the laundry to get them clean. They get stained after a while, but so what? They certainly don't smell hoppy when they come out of the laundry.

Do they smell of detergent after the laundry though?

I have been reusing mine, just bought a second one, since mine is getting funky colored (baby $h!t brown), but as previously posted, I can smell no hops in the bag itself.

parkerdel said:

I was going to use them again on a later brew day, but I was worried that these dirty bags would add a hop flavor to my beer if i used them again.

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Yeah, you wouldn't want hop flavor in your beer.

I've reused them with no ill effects. An extra 4 bucks a batch is really unnecessary

mdavis21 said:

Do they smell of detergent after the laundry though?

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No. If your clothes smell like detergent, you are using too much detergent.

I have reused mine since I got them. About 11 batches so far. I just rinse them and get them as clean as I can. I figure any flavor from what was already there would be extremely minimal and the boil will take care of everything else.

It is a few dollars I do not need to spend every couple of brews.

If they do get too nasty they don't cost too much to just go get new ones.

weirdboy said:

No. If your clothes smell like detergent, you are using too much detergent.

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I would have to disagree with this statement- most laundry detergents have perfumes and other chemicals added to them specifically to leave a scent on clothes. Usually this is meant to smell "clean", with descriptions like sunshine and rainfall.
Even using too little detergent to clean stains and surface dirt can leave these perfumes and clothes, I speak with some experience as several major brands give me skin rashes, and I've toyed with just how little I could use and still get my clothes clean. The answer was always that the perfume stuck too it too easily, and I moved on to the next detergent.

I certainly wouldn't want those perfumes in my beer.

mdavis21 said:

Do they smell of detergent after the laundry though?

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NO. I wash mine all the time.

I only use bags for leaf hops, since they clog up my system while pellet hops don't. But I turn them inside out, rinse them and wash them and use them over and over.

mikeysab said:

Yeah, you wouldn't want hop flavor in your beer.[...]

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LOL! Nice!

I re-use my nylon hop bags until they pop a hole big enough for pellet mush to leak out. I just rinse them thoroughly in hot tap water, let them air dry, then use them again. Some of them are at least a year old, I brewed 187 gallons in 2011, so they get used a lot...

Cheers!

mikeysab said:

Yeah, you wouldn't want hop flavor in your beer.

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Basicaly i ment that if i used cascade in the bag to make an american ale and then on the next brew used the same bag to make an english ale i wouldnt want cascade flavors to be in my english style.

Oxiclean or PBW turns the bags almost white again. Then I rinse, let it dry and shake out the remains of the hops. Use em until they fall apart.

parkerdel said:

Basicaly i ment that if i used cascade in the bag to make an american ale and then on the next brew used the same bag to make an english ale i wouldnt want cascade flavors to be in my english style.

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Just kiddin with ya, I knew what ya meant.

you folks who use a bag for the hops,do you squeaze the bag when you remove it or just let it drip to drain?

Mine end up like that and I reuse them. I soak them in hit water and oxyclean and rinse and wring until the water is pretty much clear. A good bag should last quite a long time IMO.

Empty, rinse, toss in the dishwasher. No worries.

Fat_Bastard said:

you folks who use a bag for the hops,do you squeaze the bag when you remove it or just let it drip to drain?

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I squeeze 'em, using a pair of sanitized, pvc-coated cotton gloves like these


Cheers!

Fat_Bastard said:

you folks who use a bag for the hops,do you squeaze the bag when you remove it or just let it drip to drain?

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I squeeze mine up against the inside of the BK with my spoon... Works damn good!!

Had mine for two-three years now, never washed it and I have a big SS Stainer that I press mine into.

Here is a pic.. about after 300 gallons of beer, give or take a couple carboys

Gear101 said:

Had mine for two-three years now, never washed it and I have a big SS Stainer that I press mine into.

Here is a pic.. about after 300 gallons of beer, give or take a couple carboys

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I have stopped using bags like that. I found that the bags plugged up. If no wort was getting out then no wort was getting in. Thus no hop oils also.
I started using a coarse bag and using two of them doubled up in my hop spider. This keeps what I would say 90-95% of my hops out of the chiller but I can pump the boiling wort thru the bag and it does not plug up.

FSR402 said:

I have stopped using bags like that. I found that the bags plugged up. If no wort was getting out then no wort was getting in. Thus no hop oils also.
I started using a coarse bag and using two of them doubled up in my hop spider. This keeps what I would say 90-90% of my hops out of the chiller but I can pump the boiling wort thru the bag and it does not plug up.

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Maybe I should look into a different bag, it does slow drain at the end of the boil, really never thought about it.

Gear101 said:

Had mine for two-three years now, never washed it and I have a big SS Stainer that I press mine into.

Here is a pic.. about after 300 gallons of beer, give or take a couple carboys

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That was the exact bag i used too, looks like its not a favorite among brewers here, good thing i tossed em all

kh54s10 said:

I have reused mine since I got them. About 11 batches so far. I just rinse them and get them as clean as I can. I figure any flavor from what was already there would be extremely minimal and the boil will take care of everything else.

It is a few dollars I do not need to spend every couple of brews.

If they do get too nasty they don't cost too much to just go get new ones.

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Me too. As soon as I can I empty the bag(s) and rinse well in HOT water a couple of times, and run them through the washer with no detergent. They remain stained but carry no aroma, and as far as I'm concerned aren't negatively affecting the outcome of subsequent brews. To each their own...

I just got done with my first brew, and I used 1gal paint strainer bags ($1.98/2) from Home Depot for my hops bag. They worked great for a 60 minute boil and cleaned up nicely. Just washed them out and hung them up to dry for a few hours, and they were as good as new. Seemed to clean up easier than my $5 grain bag from the LHBS.