Every time I buy steeping grains at my LHBS, they put them in a Muslin bag, and charge me for it. Can I reuse them? Just brewed today and I've got one staring at me. Should I empty it, clean it, and save it for my next brew?
Can Muslin bags be reused?
- Thread starter TxBigHops
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NorthRiverS
Well-Known Member
I re-use mine all the time. They get well sanitized in the boil.
NRS
NRS
I also reuse my bags; I dump the grain out, turn it inside out, give it a good rinse in the sink, hang it up to dry, and once it is dry give it a couple of really shakes to get the last of the old grain off.
OP
OP
Cool... Thanks! I saw another thread on here where guys were complaining about the muslin bags and were recommending only using nylon. Said the muslin ones were falling apart. Mine seem pretty sturdy so that was why I questioned it.
I reuse muslin grain bags for whole leaf hops. Keeps the mess down whether in the boil or drt hopping. Dito with muslin hop sacks. Empty,turn inside out & rinse well. Then soak'em in PBW for a couple days till they turn white again. Rinse well,ring out & hang up to air dry before storage.
NorthRiverS
Well-Known Member
A problem I have had with using whole hops in muslin bags is that everything floats on the top of the boil. Is there something someone uses to effectively "sink" the hop bag to the bottom of the kettle? I'm thinking the hop flavor will be more effectively extracted.....
NRS
NRS
OP
OP
I would think you could put anything heavy in there that can be sterilized. I've got a stainless steel nut that I bought to plug one of the 1/2 inch fittings in my kettle before I bought a thermometer, if you have something like that. Maybe even a nice smooth stone, like river rock?
IvanTheTerribrew
Well-Known Member
NYJayhawk
Member
Over the years, I've gotten maybe 20 "whisky stones" (rock cubes that can be used as a substitute for ice in whisky). Just used a couple to "sink" a bag of hops in the secondary fermenter. Worked great. They "just" fit into the carboy's hole, and getting them out meant untying the muslin bag to dump them out of the bag for removal from the carboy. But other than that, easy peasy. Not sure what kind of rock they are, but they're not pourous and are designed not to affect the taste of your whisky, so as long as you sanitaze them, they seem like they'd be just fine for beer.
i purchase the paint strainer nylon bags for five gallon buckets from hardware store. generally for hops during boil so i dont plug the therminator. rinse them good and dry.
I re-use my bags often, though very rarely for dry hop. If I am all out of new ones, I may cook and sanetize old ones for DH but generally I re-use only for boil additions. But that is just me, and my fear of infection 
