Anyone use a hop ball?

I was wondering if anyone had any experience using one of these.

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_59_85&products_id=894

I was concerned about how much hops you could get into one of these balls and still get good utilization.

So, if you have used one of these before, what has been your experience? Still have good hop bitterness, taste and aroma?

I used one on an IPA that got me 2nd Place last year at the Alamo Cerveza Fest. They work great. Sanitize with starsan, drop in an ounce of pellets and drop it in the keg.

Sorry for the confusion. I was thinking of using this during the boil, not for dry hopping.

I use it for dryhopping, too. I think anything more than 1/2 ounce of hops in it during the boil would impact utilization. One ounce fits in there for dryhopping, but it's tighter than I like.

mjking77 said:

Sorry for the confusion. I was thinking of using this during the boil, not for dry hopping.

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Just use a nylon paint strainer bag from Lowe's. It will work fine.

Isn't that just a tea strainer renamed?

YooperBrew said:

but it's tighter than I like.

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hmmmmmmmmmmm

Klainmeister said:

Isn't that just a tea strainer renamed?

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Not really. Tea strainers are much smaller. Many kitchen supply stores sell them as Herb Balls. Wal-Mart near me carries them for $2.

I also made some from Stainless steel mesh sink strainers and thought about making a large one from stainless steel mesh colanders. But I don't really need one that big. I use 2 for bittering, 2 more for flavoring and another 2 for aroma in a 10 gal. boil.

That being said I am not a hop head so it might not work out for you if you are.

I came across a large one of these in france, it was roughly the size of a softball. I think this should be more than large enough for a few ounces of hops. Might just have to order one from the mother in law. I am sure it should be availble in north america.

Wing Nut

I used one for dry hopping I got from Austin Homebrew. I fit an entire ounce in and when i removed it after a few days the pellets had expanded and filled the entire ball up. Worked great.

I use these largish ones my wife found for me. They can hold an ounce of whole hops, but I've found using two and putting a half ounce in each yields better results. I typicaly only use whole hops for aroma at flameout.

Hagen said:

I use these largish ones my wife found for me. They can hold an ounce of whole hops, but I've found using two and putting a half ounce in each yields better results. I typicaly only use whole hops for aroma at flameout.

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So where did she find that beauty of a strainer?

I got a small one and after using it I came to the conclusion that it's just easier to dump pellets in for dry hopping than to bother with the hop ball. That's just my opinion.

Thanks for the input.

It sounds like if I want to make sure I get good utilization, I would be better off using a nylon bag.

I usually just dump the hops right into the wort, but I was thinking of ways to keep the mess down when straining to the fermentor.