Flavor Hops....In or Out?

Do you put your flavor hops into a hop bag so they can be removed at flameout? Or do you just toss them in at the given time and leave them in there to be strained out when racking to the primary?

just throw them in.

I put mine in a hop bag.

- magno

I toss mine in and strain later...

I toss mine in. Recipatator (google it) lowers their AA yeild when you specify that you're using a hop bag. I like to see the hops flow smoothly throughout the boiling wort.

Just toss them in. You'll get less utilization from them by putting them in a bag.

So, basically, you need to decide which is more important......better utilization (i.e. using more hops to get the IBUS you want) or ease of straining.

I toss them in, and then pour my cooled wort into the primary with a fine mesh strain bag already in the bucket (like painters use). Then I just pull the bag out with the hotbreak and hops....works well so far.

-Todd

Yea Ive been doing the same. I just toss em in and strain them out when I transfer from the kettle to primary.

The reason Im asking was this. Do you need boiling water to extract the flavor/bitterness? Or will keeping them in hot water do basically the same?

Say the recipe calls for adding them 5 minutes before the end of the boil. But 10 minutes later your wort is still really hot. Some of us can't cool as fast as others. So is it still extracting bitterness or flavor from the hops while you are bringing it down to a cooler temp?

I just toss them in, gives me something to cuss at when they clog the bazooka.

The time and temperature determines what resins & oils are extracted and what boils off. Alpha & beta acids don't dissolve very well in anything less than a boil, so once you start cooling the wort you are at your maximum for bittering.

Flavor and aroma oils will dissolve at lower temperatures (otherwise dry hopping wouldn't work). They also boil off at lower temperatures. I've never done the experiment, but I suspect there would be a difference aroma between a wort that has been chlled in a tub of water vs. a counter-flow chiller. I just don't think it would be much of one, as most people cover the kettle during the cooling.

Is that a bad-hair day or was your avitar attacked by a jumping cholla?

david_42 said:

but I suspect there would be a difference aroma between a wort that has been chlled in a tub of water vs. a counter-flow chiller. I just don't think it would be much of one

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Thats kind of what I was thinking. Maybe not much of one, maybe noticeable maybe not.

david_42 said:

Is that a bad-hair day or was your avitar attacked by a jumping cholla?

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Bill Murray can do whatever he wants

I also just toss them in. . .utilization is important. .. I used to use a bazooka, but my new kettle has a false bottom similar to a mashtun that allows the hops to strain out without clogging anything up.