Why is everyone telling me to tie the hop bags to the side of the pot somehow?

I have these small 6-inch hop bags that I am planning to use for my whole leaf hops, but there is one thing that I dont fully understand: why do people tell me to tie it to something..like the side of the kettle/handle of the kettle?

I am planning to throw them in, and the boiling should keep them in motion (that way it wont end up burnt at the bottom or maybe even at the side of the kettle....right?).
Once the boil is almost at an end....I'll fish them out. Is this viable?

They can plug the drain and they soak up a lot of wart so it's nice to tea bag them with a spoon. I don't tie them to the pot, I use a basket like this.

It makes it easier to pull them out when you're done brewing. They will be hot, soggy, and bloated with wort. If you pull them out before the pot is drained you can hold them up and let that hoppy goodness drain into your pot. If they're free-floating you have to fish around with your mash paddle and try to slide them along the side of the pot to get them out. They flop around like a dead fish and fall back into the pot. From my experience it's best to use a BYO Hop Spider. In my experience the PVC will start to sag into the pot as the temp increases so instead of using PVC, use a galvanized duct reducer that looks like this:

I never secure them in any way. When I'm ready to fish them out, I use my brewing spoon and bring them to the surface, then grab the end and lift out. Of course, it can burn like the dickens so you may want to take precautions like maybe securing them to something. ;-)

If you're using one of those cotton mesh hop socks, I'm not sure a 6" bag is big enough for whole leaf hops. I'd go with a paint strainer bag.

I use the small hop socks for pellets. An ounce of whole leaf hops takes up too much more volume than pellets for those small sacks. I use the muslin grain sacks they give with extract with steeping grain kits & PM kits for whole leaf hops.

paint strainer bag, clipped to the side with a large binder clip. I throw a couple of spoons in it to weigh it down. At the end of the boil I pull it up, and re-clip so it drains. When it is done draining right to the compost it goes.

To clean I turn it inside out, hose off what hop bits I can then let dry. After it it dry I can brush off the remaining material; then reuse.

I put my dual layer fine mesh strainer over the kettle & let the hop socks drain. I bag the remains & toss'em in the garbage so the dogs don't get into them. Hops are poisonous to dogs,so I don't leave them loose. The muslin socks get rinsed well after draining to remove more loose bits. Then I boil them in clean water till the water turns green to clean'em a bit.
Then soak for a few days in a small airtight container of PBW to get'em white again. The nylon bags I use for grains rinse off in a sink of water quick-n-easy.

Elysium said:

I have these small 6-inch hop bags that I am planning to use for my whole leaf hops, but there is one thing that I dont fully understand: why do people tell me to tie it to something..like the side of the kettle/handle of the kettle?

I am planning to throw them in, and the boiling should keep them in motion (that way it wont end up burnt at the bottom or maybe even at the side of the kettle....right?).
Once the boil is almost at an end....I'll fish them out. Is this viable?

Click to expand...

Yes, this is viable IMHO.

CastleHollow said:

If you're using one of those cotton mesh hop socks, I'm not sure a 6" bag is big enough for whole leaf hops. I'd go with a paint strainer bag.

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hi there.

Thanks for the reply. I use several small bags. So, I think I will be on the safe side.

Just throw the hops in, and after chilling (with IC) dump it all through a paint strainer bag into my fermenter. Easy peasy. Now, were I using a pump and CFC/Plate Chiller, I would need to rethink my approach.

DrunkleJon said:

Just throw the hops in, and after chilling (with IC) dump it all through a paint strainer bag into my fermenter. Easy peasy. Now, were I using a pump and CFC/Plate Chiller, I would need to rethink my approach.

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I wouldn't be too excited about picking up 45+lbs of wort and having to pour it accurately for every brew, personally.

I kinda... tip it to start. But you got a point there as well.

Nobody else uses hop spiders?? I'm telling you guys if you make one out of a galvanized duct reducer and some long bolts then get a small O-ring that you can put a wing-nut on to tighten it down...it's one of the best things invented. You just throw your hop additions into the hole then when you're done you lift it out.

Also be careful with paint strainer bags. Some of them are super fine and they absorb the wort quickly and inflate like a balloon but it takes forever for the wort to drain out.

Teromous said:

Nobody else uses hop spiders?? I'm telling you guys if you make one out of a galvanized duct reducer and some long bolts then get a small O-ring that you can put a wing-nut on to tighten it down...it's one of the best things invented. You just throw your hop additions into the hole then when you're done you lift it out.

Also be careful with paint strainer bags. Some of them are super fine and they absorb the wort quickly and inflate like a balloon but it takes forever for the wort to drain out.

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I use a SS mesh cylinder that hangs off the side of the pot (from arborfab)... but all of these solutions work fine. I got sick of cleaning mesh bags.

Teromous said:

Nobody else uses hop spiders?? I'm telling you guys if you make one out of a galvanized duct reducer and some long bolts then get a small O-ring that you can put a wing-nut on to tighten it down...it's one of the best things invented. You just throw your hop additions into the hole then when you're done you lift it out.

Also be careful with paint strainer bags. Some of them are super fine and they absorb the wort quickly and inflate like a balloon but it takes forever for the wort to drain out.

Click to expand...

I'd be very paranoid about putting anything galvanized directly over boiling liquid where condensation can collect and drip back in.

Elysium said:

I have these small 6-inch hop bags that I am planning to use for my whole leaf hops, but there is one thing that I dont fully understand: why do people tell me to tie it to something..like the side of the kettle/handle of the kettle?

I am planning to throw them in, and the boiling should keep them in motion (that way it wont end up burnt at the bottom or maybe even at the side of the kettle....right?).
Once the boil is almost at an end....I'll fish them out. Is this viable?

Click to expand...

Beacuse tying them to the bottom leaves your hand covered in worts.

ktblunden said:

I'd be very paranoid about putting anything galvanized directly over boiling liquid where condensation can collect and drip back in.

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Why would you be worried about that?

Teromous said:

Why would you be worried about that?

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Zinc Oxide. Aren't you heating with an Oxy Acetalene torche?

Yes. Oxides of the metal in question are not healthy things. Use stainless for a very good reason. This is one of them.

broadbill said:

paint strainer bag, clipped to the side with a large binder clip. I throw a couple of spoons in it to weigh it down. At the end of the boil I pull it up, and re-clip so it drains. When it is done draining right to the compost it goes.

To clean I turn it inside out, hose off what hop bits I can then let dry. After it it dry I can brush off the remaining material; then reuse.

Click to expand...

This is my procedure also. I use a 5 gallon bag and a spring clamp to the lip of the pot. When it comes time for the next addition, remove the clip, open the bag, add the hops and re-clip. I only use pellet hops and have found no need to add anything to weigh it down. When done and mostly chilled I put a colander over the pot and let the hops drain, I squeeze most of the liquid out.

Then clean up the same as broadbill,

I'm not doing any welding for assembly. I just think it's odd that it's such a big deal when galvanized steel used to be used even in hot water pipes and was only really replaced because of corrosion, and the collar isn't even making direct contact with water. It seems a hell of a lot safer than the alternative of using PVC which melts from the heat of the support bolts. I agree that stainless steel is nice but I haven't found a stainless steel ring that works the same.