Stainless Steel Hop Ball Issue

I brewed my first batch using a stainless hop ball (3 actually). For those of you that aren't familiar, they are stainless steel mesh spheres that you use for boiling or steeping your hops. Just a word of caution when using these. I was using 4 ounces of hops but only had 3 hop balls. So I doubled up in one of them. When I went to empty it out after the brew, I realized that the pellets in the center were barely wet. Although 2 ounces of pellets easily fit in there dry, the outer ones swelled up in the wort and formed a protective little hop cacoon around the center pellets. Needless to say, I didn't get the utilization I wanted and ended up with a pretty lightly hopped IPA. Not the end of the world, but aggravating. If you are going to uses these be forewarned, 1 oz of pellets per ball!

What size balls do you have?

Average I guess... Is it weird that I have 3 though?

In case this was a serious question, I think they are 3" diameter.

Is it neccesary to use these if you are using pellets? I can see the point for whole leaf, if you dont have a false botttom and dont want your chiller getting clogged, but pellets usually liquify to the point where they wouldnt clog anything

ArcticBear said:

Is it neccesary to use these if you are using pellets? I can see the point for whole leaf, if you dont have a false botttom and dont want your chiller getting clogged, but pellets usually liquify to the point where they wouldnt clog anything

Click to expand...

No, I don't use them for pellet hops. Some people like less trub/debris in the fermenter, but I don't really care and they don't clog up my pump.

I do use a tea ball or hops bag for dryhopping in the keg, though, because pellet hops will clog up the diptube!

WoolyBooger said:

Average I guess... Is it weird that I have 3 though?

In case this was a serious question, I think they are 3" diameter.

Click to expand...

What do you mean about a serious question
Sounds like the same size I have so it is good to know how much I can pack into them before having issues.

ArcticBear said:

Is it neccesary to use these if you are using pellets? I can see the point for whole leaf, if you dont have a false botttom and dont want your chiller getting clogged, but pellets usually liquify to the point where they wouldnt clog anything

Click to expand...

I just wanted to use them to reduce the amount of trub in the bottom of the fermenter since I wash my yeast.

fair enough, i wasn't condemning the use it of, more so just questioning for my own understanding.

ArcticBear said:

fair enough, i wasn't condemning the use it of, more so just questioning for my own understanding.

Click to expand...

No offense taken. I have used nylon bags in the past and they worked fine. I will probably use them in the future for hoppy brews instead of overcrowding the hop balls.

WoolyBooger said:

No offense taken. I have used nylon bags in the past and they worked fine. I will probably use them in the future for hoppy brews instead of overcrowding the hop balls.

Click to expand...

I've taken to using nylon bags recently and I've been picking them up during the boil (attached with a nylon string) and squeezing them with tongs. I always had my chill plate clogged by pellet hops until I started using the bags.

i would recommend using a muslin bag instead of a nylon bag. i read somewhere the other day that all necessary hop oils dont escape from a nylon bag properly.

could just be a pitch from someone to sell more muslin bags, who knows