Dry Hopping.. Bag or Floating?

I just bought one of those skinny nylon bags for dry hopping. I've got an ounce of Simcoe plugs I'm going to throw in when the time comes. With plugs, should I use this bag for dry hopping in the carboy, or should I just throw them in and try and siphon around them when I rack into a keg?

From what I have read and from limited expierence it is always good to use a bag. Read this thread and you'll see why. "Dry Hopping disaster.....grrrrr"

I have a Similar question. I added 2 oz of cascade to my IPA and didn't put any marbles or weight into the bad. I did put the hop bag in first and then rack my wort onto it to make sure it got wet. the bak has wedged itself in the neck of the carboy and it half in and half out of the wort.

My question:
Should I just let it be? or should I take it out and add marbles.

Thanks,
ELi

when i dry hop with pellets i put them right into the secondary without a bag. When i rack into my bottling bucket, i have a 4"x4" piece of sparge bag that I rubber-band onto the end of the auto-siphon. This keeps the pieces of hops out of the bottles. This has been working very well for me so far.

I've been wondering if you need to do any sterilization/pasteurization of hops being added to the secondary? I have a sealed pellet bag which claims to be "N2 flushed and light resistant." Can I just add these right to the fermenter or is there anything I should do to prepare them?

i have heard that you dont need to sterilize hops... i dont... im also using whole not pellet hops... anyone have an idea about my situation?

In the carboy I use pellets, let them swim free for a week, then cold-crash them to the bottom before racking to a keg.

In the keg, I use whole hops in a hop bag weighted with one of the larger pieces of the SO's stainless silverware.

She did wonder where the gravy ladle went this Thanksgiving...

Cheers!

I just toss them in the Primary when I'm ready. Although when ready to rack; I crash cool to 35 degrees for two days and then strain the beer through a new ladies nylon sock (sterilized) tied to the end of my racking hose. I don't reuse the nylon

Nylons pack of like six socks are like a $1.00 at the cheapy store

There is a lot of discussion of this issue. I always bag my hops, it ends up being easier for me. I use to worry about not getting full utlization but then I became familiar with the hop spider use on keggles. In the past I tried it both ways with both hops and pellets and could not tell a flavor difference. You need to sanitize the bag and marbles but not the hops.

I put the hops on a nylon sock and add a stainless steel fitting to sink it to the bottom. Let it sit for a week adn then rack off.

If you are kegging a great trick is to just wedge the bag between the beverage dispensing dip tube and the wall of the inside of the keg. I usually wedge it halfway down.

day_trippr said:

In the carboy I use pellets, let them swim free for a week, then cold-crash them to the bottom before racking to a keg.

In the keg, I use whole hops in a hop bag weighted with one of the larger pieces of the SO's stainless silverware.

She did wonder where the gravy ladle went this Thanksgiving...

Cheers!

Click to expand...

Same here except for the gravy ladle. I use some big SS nuts I bought at Lowes.

I dry hop quite a bit and always use whole hops. I just throw them in the secondary loose and pretend they aren't there when I rack into the keg. They have always settled to the bottom while I am racking as a big semi-solid piece and I haven't had any issues with sucking them up into the racking cane.

If I dryhop in the keg I use a bag. I put a microgear clamp around the poppet boss on the bottom of the lid. I fashion a stainless hook from wire and put it behind the clamp. I hang the bag from it. I can easily remove the bag or it can hang above the beer after drinking a few pints.
In the primary I just dump them in.

graduate said:

If I dryhop in the keg I use a bag. I put a microgear clamp around the poppet boss on the bottom of the lid. I fashion a stainless hook from wire and put it behind the clamp. I hang the bag from it. I can easily remove the bag or it can hang above the beer after drinking a few pints.
In the primary I just dump them in.

Click to expand...

You can also just tie the weighted bag to the outside by running a piece of dental floss out the lid.

DrBergeron said:

when i dry hop with pellets i put them right into the secondary without a bag. When i rack into my bottling bucket, i have a 4"x4" piece of sparge bag that I rubber-band onto the end of the auto-siphon. This keeps the pieces of hops out of the bottles. This has been working very well for me so far.

Click to expand...

Exactly what I do. This works when adding fruit too. No need for racking to a secondary or tertiary. Only time I would do a secondary is to bulk age. Love the sparge bag!

I've never put dry hops in a bag. Both pellet and whole leaf go right in the carboy. Pellets tend to settle and you can siphon from above. Whole leaf tend to float and you can siphon from below. I sometimes do what others with whole leaf and put some sort of straining cloth on the racking cane but that usually turns out to be a hassle and clogs.

Brew-ta-sauraus said:

I put the hops on a nylon sock and add a stainless steel fitting to sink it to the bottom. Let it sit for a week adn then rack off.

Click to expand...

This is what I do too.

I bought a box of jumbo tea bags for when I'm dry hopping in the keg, otherwise carboy dry hops will settle and don't really become a problem in a siphon unlike dip tubes and poppit valves.