Opinions on hop bags vs no hop bags?

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GroosBrewz

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Hey guys-

I have never used a hop bag because years ago I read that they can "stifle" the activities of your hops.. Better utilization if free floating... But man are they a pain to strain sometimes.. So do you guys use them? Does their use lead to less utilization?
 
I started out using them....for the first 4-5 batches....but like you said (sort of) they didn't seem to break up, so I figured all the precious goodies were not coming through...so since then I just dump themin...and I've had no problem with straining them off..Using a chiller, and racking with an auto siphon, I can easily leave them behind.

But even before I got the chiller...for buckets I used a 5 gallon paintstrainer bag to strain into the bucket...and a big wire strainer inside my large funnel if I was fermenting in a carboy...

So if you are careful after the boil, hop gunk shouldn't be an issue after the fact, even if you do just do the "dump" method into your primary, it will settle.
 
I used them on the first batch with Hop flowers (whole). But with the second I got pelets.. The 60min Boil hops I put in a bag, it circulated the boil nicely. Then to finnish it had me put them in just after shut off and I dumped them in. They went to the bottom then exploded and there was this rise of hop..."Stuff" in the kettle. Durring the Chill they settled to the bottom... with stirring and I didn't get much with the siphon. No need realy to bag the pellets.. as for the full flower.. I'm thinking safer to bag than to stop up my siphon.
Cheers
 
Depends if you have a CFC or plate chiller, have to strain them somehow to keep them out of the chiller. I have a plate, this I made the hop strainer / bag / gadget.
 
I use whole hops and I use a strainer when I syphon into the fermenter. I have not tried a hop bag. I get a lot of cold break because I use a 50' SS immersion wort chiller. I also use a keggle so dumping is out of the question. So I figure no matter what I need a strainer. One day I will get a Blichman boil kettle.
 
Hey guys-

I have never used a hop bag because years ago I read that they can "stifle" the activities of your hops.. Better utilization if free floating... But man are they a pain to strain sometimes.. So do you guys use them? Does their use lead to less utilization?

i started straining the wort through a stainless industrial colander... the combination of that and whirfloc seems to work well.
 
I have done both and noticed little difference. The simplicity of a hop strainer is very nice though.

I took a SS mesh strainer for cooking, cut a small hole in the bottom of it, turned it upside down and put the dip tube through it in my keggle. Easiest conversion I've ever done.

colander.jpg


Because the sides of the strainer are mesh as well it compacts to fit under the horizontal portion of my dip tube thereby holding it place. If you are brewing in a spigotless pot, you could put a SS racking cane through the bottom of the strainer and place it in the pot and it should filter out the majority of the hops.
 
Hey guys-

I have never used a hop bag because years ago I read that they can "stifle" the activities of your hops.. Better utilization if free floating... But man are they a pain to strain sometimes.. So do you guys use them? Does their use lead to less utilization?

I don't use hop bags anymore, and I don't strain either. All the junk goes into my fermenter, where it eventually settles out under a nice thick layer of dormant yeast.
 
I use pellets and I've done both bags and no bags.
The last couple batches I've been using a large grain bag for my hops. That way they aren't all compacted into a little hop blob.
 
GROO!!! :D

I always use a bag. Works fine. Not sure how it affects utilization, but my beers are balanced.

Hey DeathBrewer-

I was wondering how long it would take (if ever) that someone recognized my Avatar.. Are you a fan of Groo/Aragones? I LOVED Groo growing up and still read it occassionally today.. Aragones rocks!! (and so do hop bags, I've decided, after reading this post)
 
I use bagsssss. Since the reported problem is poor utilization caused by bunching, I add a new bag with each addition and never more than 2 oz per bag. Paint strainer bags are cheap and reusable. They also make a great hot break strainer in the BK. Bags hold no more wort than the hops do, don't be shy.
 
I never use them for pellets or whole leaf, my kettle is set up with a dip tube on the side of the kettle, I just open the valve and drain. I get very very little hop matter, cold break into the carboy.
 
Hop bags are a must for me. I like to use turkey stuffing bags that you find in the grocery store. They are plenty big so you can put the hops in loosely. I use a separate bag for each addition of whole hops. I tried it without once, and it just doesn't work with my system, too much wort loss.
 
I almost always use pellets, and almost always use nylon bags. To try and maximize utilization I use big bags with a small amount of hops, and stir several times during the boil. I've only used pellets without bags once or twice, so I don't have a great feel for utilization comparison, but with plenty of room in the bags for the pellets to swim I'm guessing it's nearly as good. Just sqeeze the goodness out well before removing the bags.
 
Hey DeathBrewer-

I was wondering how long it would take (if ever) that someone recognized my Avatar.. Are you a fan of Groo/Aragones? I LOVED Groo growing up and still read it occassionally today.. Aragones rocks!! (and so do hop bags, I've decided, after reading this post)

I have the entire GROO (image) series and most of the GROO, THE WANDERER series. I actually bought a new groo comic book not too long ago when i took my little cousin to the comic and cards store.

Whenever I visit my parents, I like to go through my comic books. I always wind up reading groo more than spiderman or spawn or something cuz it's just so damn funny!

Aragones in general is awesome...I used to love his stuff in mad.
:mug:
 
I don't use bags. There are far to many ways not to use them than to risk the loss of hop utilization. Do you really want to pay $3 to $4 an ounce and risk not getting the full benefit out of them?
 
I never use them for pellets or whole leaf, my kettle is set up with a dip tube on the side of the kettle, I just open the valve and drain. I get very very little hop matter, cold break into the carboy.

hey can we see a picture of your pick up tube?

I use a hop sock pvc with paint strainer thing, but would prefer to use some form of a pick up tube so I can stop tipping to the side to drain out my ball valve
 
Ahoy hoy,
Dump them in. You ever seen a chef use a bag for his herbs and spices? :D
Seriously though, my biggest concern with hops, whole hops in particular, is there uncanny ability, like Vinces Shamwows, to suck up multiple times their weight in liquid. I yell at the pot, Hey that MY beer, spit it back out! and drain them till they will give no more.
In the end, I figure, hey they are sharing their hoppiness with me, guess ill share a little wort with them. Im that kind of of guy though :eek:
However, in the end, whatever works for you and still produces drinkable brew, is your solution.
I bid you all a great day!
 
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