Weighing down dry hop bag

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azingsheim

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Planning on using a steel marble, but it's a little rusty..... I cleaned it really good and will sanitize before using. I can scrape it with my fingernail and nothing comes off...

1) shuld I use it??
2) what are my other options??

Thanks
 
I debated this topic for a long while when I started dry hopping. While I have no proof, I feel that "free roam dryhops" are happy hops that can give their Aromatics better

I found the absolute best method to be throwing the darn things in the secondary. Sanitize a lowes/home depot paint straining bag in star sans. Put your auto siphon Inside the bag. The hop matter will be filtered from the sweet aroma hopped goodness by the paint strainer bag.

Go pack go!
 
I would go with either chrome, or stainless steel for metal... Another option would be glass.

You could use it, but I would clean it until all the rust was removed. Even then, you're not 100% sure there's none lurking in areas too small for you to see. An acid bath could remove the rust, but it's probably not a viable option for you.

If you do use the rusty marble/bearing, you could just call the brew "Rusty Balls"... :D

What is your fermenter made from? If glass, then I would attach a string/line to the hop sack so that it doesn't drop too fast.
 
I don't weigh my dry hop bags with anything due to infection risk, I do however weigh my hop catcher down while boiling, I use a small smooth river rock, I just boiled it on the stove for 10 minutes before putting it to use in the boil kettle. I used to use a large stainless bearing, but it was thrown away when a friend was helping clean up, now if my rock is tossed, I can just get another rock.
 
I don't weigh my dry hop bags with anything due to infection risk, I do however weigh my hop catcher down while boiling, I use a small smooth river rock, I just boiled it on the stove for 10 minutes before putting it to use in the boil kettle. I used to use a large stainless bearing, but it was thrown away when a friend was helping clean up, now if my rock is tossed, I can just get another rock.

Why do you pre-boil it if you are going to boil it anyway?

Just sanitize things prior to putting them in your hop bag... just like you would do the bag itself.
 
Why do you pre-boil it if you are going to boil it anyway?

Just sanitize things prior to putting them in your hop bag... just like you would do the bag itself.

I honestly dont have a logical reason why I did it, just seemed the thing to do at the time, I did the pre-boil only once, before its first use, not before every batch. looking back I suppose I could have just rinsed it good, maybe hit it with a scrubbie brush.

As for sanitizing before dropping into the dry hop bag, a scratch in a plastic bucket can harbor nasties that sanitizer cant get to, think how many nooks and crannies are in a rock! for weighing down a dry hop bag I would use a couple glass marbles.
 
They make ss tea balls that are all mesh.. I have used them with great success but they can only handle a half ounce at a time to be efficient.. I've used 4 at one time before.. Found almost anywhere but I got mine at wally world....
 
Put a spoon or another piece of flatware in the bag.

Ever had a spoon of fork rust in the silverware drawer?

Nope. Case closed.
 
I use some extra stainless fittings. You can always pick up some stainless nuts or bolts at the hardware store.
 
I use the glass aquarium "rocks" boil them 15 min and add to bag
if its good enough for a fish, its good enough for my beer
 
I use those glass marbles that people use in vases. My wife has a bunch lying around, so I scoop up a handful, sanitize 'em, and throw them in with the hops.
 
Let the hops be free man!!!!!!! Free the hops, no bag!!!!!!!!

Sorry for that. I use no bag and just put a strainer on my auto-siphon to filter the hops out when racking.

I also use pellets for what it is worth.
 
edmanster said:
They make ss tea balls that are all mesh.. I have used them with great success but they can only handle a half ounce at a time to be efficient.. I've used 4 at one time before.. Found almost anywhere but I got mine at wally world....

I'm adding to my comment because I thought you were dry hoping a keg. If your dry hoping secondary just let them be free and use the paint strainer bag to help filter them out as previous stated because that's what I do too unless you are using a conical fermenter..
 
I use a one foot section of stainless steel chain that I bought at Home Depot. It's easy to clean and sanitize. If I make an IPA or something with alot of hops, I throw in a second section of chain.
 
Ok, so one last opinion, am I better off using a bag and getting the flavor and aroma to the bottom...or just dump them all ont top?? Will the flavor and aroma get "spread around" just dumping them on top? or will all the flavor and aroma be on top??
 
They make ss tea balls that are all mesh.. I have used them with great success but they can only handle a half ounce at a time to be efficient.. I've used 4 at one time before.. Found almost anywhere but I got mine at wally world....

I found one at target, but it looked like it could barely hold 0.25oz. My LHBS had one that can hold 2 oz of hops, but 2oz is tough to get in there. And it's so compacted, it's probably a waste. So if i ever need to dryhop with 2oz, I'll probably buy another and do 1oz in each. I think it was $6.99.
 
The steel ball will not rust. In order for something to rust, it needs oxygen. Being fully immersed in the beer will prevent contact with oxygen.

Just my .02
 
BrewThruYou said:
I found one at target, but it looked like it could barely hold 0.25oz. My LHBS had one that can hold 2 oz of hops, but 2oz is tough to get in there. And it's so compacted, it's probably a waste. So if i ever need to dryhop with 2oz, I'll probably buy another and do 1oz in each. I think it was $6.99.

The ones I got are about 3''.... I don't see using them in secondary cause I allow mine to be free and then use my paint strainer with my auto racker into my kegs... They are however awesome for dry hopping in the kegs thoe... I usually put them in first and rack onto so they can soak up and get as much air out by the time the kegs full...
 
Ok, so one last opinion, am I better off using a bag and getting the flavor and aroma to the bottom...or just dump them all ont top?? Will the flavor and aroma get "spread around" just dumping them on top? or will all the flavor and aroma be on top??

there is absolutely no reason to sink them to the bottom. I dont contain them either. Just drop them in and let them do their thing. With practice you will get better at racking w/o sucking any up. I mostly use pellet hops and dont get a single fleck of hops in the keg.
 
I use a stainless steel mounting bracket that came with my therminator. But on my last batch a ton of hop particles escaped through the tiny hole where the hop bag ties closed.
 
i've got a few large marbles (1" od) that weigh a hop bag down nicely. I dry hop in a better bottle with the larger mouth on it, so there is no chance of it getting stuck. I have a work colleague that brews as well, and he used a marble in his glass carboy, and after the hops settled, it made a mass around the marble, and he couldn't get it through the neck of his carboy. i think he broke the carboy open because the marble was hand blown and more important to him than the carboy was. just be sure that whatever you put in, you can get out when it has a lump of hops attached to it.
 
I use a stainless steel mounting bracket that came with my therminator. But on my last batch a ton of hop particles escaped through the tiny hole where the hop bag ties closed.

I would tie it off with some sanitized butchers twine before placing into the fermenter... That's just my take on it... Reduces the chance of something like that happening, or happening again. :tank:
 
I would tie it off with some sanitized butchers twine before placing into the fermenter... That's just my take on it... Reduces the chance of something like that happening, or happening again. :tank:

It WAS tied off. But there was still a little tiny hole there where the material bunched up.
 
It WAS tied off. But there was still a little tiny hole there where the material bunched up.

Not talking about just the draw string that the bag has already. Talking about tying with butchers twine, below where it's closed via the draw string... IF you tied that way, I can't see there being any gap for anything to get through... Use surgeon's knots to make sure they don't come lose on their own...
 
if you ferment in a bucket a shot glass works. thats what i use in the boil. it is plenty heavy and it is easy to clean, just pop it in the dishwasher
 
I dry hopped for the first time last night. I just tossed the pellets in freely. From what Ive read here (and teh dozens of other threads about this topic), seems like the thing to do. Ill use a filter on the nozzle once i syphon.
 
H.D. sells stainless steel chain link by the foot...works great for the 18 in. nylon dry-hop bags. I like whole hops.
Just run it the legnth of the bag , tie the bag towards the top of the chain then use fish line/string to tie to the outside of the carboy neck.

After sanitizing it all, of course.
 
After hearing a few horror stories of various metal items rusting, I usually just toss a (sanitized) shot glass in and seems to do the job.
 
Last couple of times I dry hopped I had 10 of the very strong magnets, I put 5 in a baggie in with my hops, the other 5 I used on the outside of my plastic fermentation bucket. The attraction was strong enough I could use the outside magnets to slowly pull the hop bag to the bottom of the fermenter and keep it there. After a couple of days I was able to move the hop bag around in the bucket; not sure that made any difference just wanted to see if the magnetic attraction was strong enough to do it. Not sure this would work for anything other than a plastic bucket but it keep my hops submerged in my fermenter.
 
Last couple of times I dry hopped I had 10 of the very strong magnets, I put 5 in a baggie in with my hops, the other 5 I used on the outside of my plastic fermentation bucket. The attraction was strong enough I could use the outside magnets to slowly pull the hop bag to the bottom of the fermenter and keep it there. After a couple of days I was able to move the hop bag around in the bucket; not sure that made any difference just wanted to see if the magnetic attraction was strong enough to do it. Not sure this would work for anything other than a plastic bucket but it keep my hops submerged in my fermenter.

Was your finished brew very attractive ?

Ha!!!!
 
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