Dump hop pellets directly in boil or use bag

I've brewed a few batches now and have done both ways. What are the Pros/Cons of each method, if any?

As far as I've experianced there is no cons to just adding the pellets. I just rip the bag open if I have one but they are usually poor value cost wise compared to a vacum sealed bag of hop pellets from HBS.

The hops will break up in the boil and form part of the trub. If you pour it in the fermenter no big deal and the hops debri will settle to the bottom. My APA's full of hops are crystal clear and thats even with dry hopping by chucking in a handful of hops in the primary.

I say the con is the value of tea bag hops.

If they are "loose" in the bag, then there are no differences, just personal preference. If the bags cause the hops to be compacted, or the wort doesn't flow through freely, then the hops utilization will suffer as a result.

I use the same bag for grains and hops. Partial mash, rinse out grains, add plugs to bag, continue with boil.

I dump my pellets directly into the boil as well. When transfering from boil kettle to primary I will run it through a screen to catch the majority of the hop debris. Eitherway, it will turn out as beer.

P.S. only con I could think of is that your beer sets on all that hop trub for an extended time (if leaving in primary for a month), it could get a grassy floral taste/smell to it.

Tthey only difference between bag and loose is the type of chilling apparatus you use(unless you are doing a hop heavy IPA). it is the chiller that can cause problems with unbagged hops. If you use an IC stop reading right now and continue your brew. If you use a CFC or a plate you need to bag your hops or filter them somehow before reaching your chiller. Unfiltered wort will clog a plate and either clog or severely slow a CFC. I agree with both Yoop about hop utilization, and runyank about passing them to the fermentor if using an IC.

YooperBrew said:

If they are "loose" in the bag, then there are no differences, just personal preference. If the bags cause the hops to be compacted, or the wort doesn't flow through freely, then the hops utilization will suffer as a result.

Click to expand...

A word of warning here. When dry, the hops can be loose in the bag, but they expand a lot during the boil. The one time I tried a hop bag, I found this out.

-a.

I always use bags, less mess. I tie them so theres plenty of room for expansion, no problem there.

Con, their .50 a pop at the lhbs, I suppose I could try to recycle, but I'm lazy, I just toss them out.