Hop boil bag issues and utilization (Wilserbrewer bag)

[TechFanMD]

I brew BIAB and cannot say enough good things about my Wilserbrewer biab mash bag.

It also came with a hop boil bag. When I use this bag, the hops clog all of the little holes in the mesh to the point that when I left the bag to drain while I run the chiller, the bag loos almost like a plastic bag at the bottom where the hops are - it is extraordinarily slow to drain even when poked. It's plenty big for lots of hops, just worried that wort is actually moving in and out of the bag during boil enough to get good utilization.

This got me thinking - is it actually allowing for good hop utilization if water isn't free flowing back and forth (in and out) of the bag as I boil? I am making a beer with a lot of hops next (Pliny clone) and want to be sure I'm getting my money's worth out of all of those hops.

Any ideas or experience with this?

 

[magno]

I stopped using hop bags several years ago over the same concerns. I found that using mostly whole leaf hops, with minimal pellet hops worked well with my system. Recently I have been finding the whole leaf hops much harder to find, especially with any kind of variety.

My advice would be to try to find whole leaf hops that work for your recipe. I have not found them to clog the counter-flow chiller that I used to use, or the plate chiller that I use now.

 

[TechFanMD]

I stopped using hop bags several years ago over the same concerns. I found that using mostly whole leaf hops, with minimal pellet hops worked well with my system. Recently I have been finding the whole leaf hops much harder to find, especially with any kind of variety.

My advice would be to try to find whole leaf hops that work for your recipe. I have not found them to clog the counter-flow chiller that I used to use, or the plate chiller that I use now.

Whole leaf is a non-starter for me. I really like brew days to be as similar as possible. The selection of whole leaf hops both locally and online (as purchased in a single order) means I would still end up using pellets a lot of the time anyway.

I'm wondering if I should just find bags that aren't quite as fine.

@wilserbrewer any ideas or experience with this?

 

[Dland]

You might want to try a stainless steel hop spider. The one I use is big enough to get good circulation/hop usage, and it is also lots easier to clean.