Is it worth boiling the dry hopping bag pre immersion ?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

BOBTHEukBREWER

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2008
Messages
546
Reaction score
7
I have a large muslin bag for dry hopping, weighed down with a large glass marble, with a string dangler. I propose to boil a pan of water , jiggle the bag of hops in it for 30 seconds, and then suspend it in the primary once the bubbling slows down. I will then bottle straight from the primary in 7 to 10 days. Any suggestions welcome.
 
You don't need to boil the hops before dry hopping. The hops will not cause an infection on their own.

How to Brew: Chapter 5 - Hops - Dry Hopping
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter5-1.html

"When you are dry hopping there is no reason to worry about adding unboiled hops to the fermenter. Infection from the hops just doesn't happen."

You will want to sanitize the bag itself though before you add the hops. Boiling it for 10 to 15 minutes will do that. You can then add the hops and put the bag in the primary.
 
Do you need a bag anytime you dry hop, or can you avoid one if you use a 0.5 oz plug instead of pellets or whole?
 
I use pellet hops to dry hop in most cases. I boil the bag first, empty, then put the hops in it. You don't have to use a hop bag, but if you don't you'll need to filter your beer. Be careful to avoid oxidizing it. I think it is much easier to use a hop bag.
 
I've done it both ways. Using a bag can make the process and cleanup a bit easier.

If you use pellets without a bag, they will eventually sink to the bottom of the carboy/bucket. When you transfer to a keg or bottles, you just need to be more careful not to suck up the hop chunks. Siphon from above the hops, yeast and trub on the bottom. If you are careful, you shouldn't need to filter. You can do so if you wish, but it's not a necessary if you avoid picking up any of the hops at the bottom.
 
Sanitize the bag definitely. The hops are self sanitizing though. (If you boil them that completely defeats the purpose of dry-hopping.) Except that most of their essential essence will be left behind in the boil water.
 
Back
Top