Hop Pellets and Panty Hose

[jbeukelman]

I've read several threads on this forum suggesting that using ladies nylons as a hop sock is OK. But has anyone ever noticed a decreased hope aroma/flavor while using nylons?

My LHBS was out of whole leaf hops, so I used hop pellets for the first time about a month ago to make an American Pale Ale. Using nylons was the suggestion of the lady at the LHBS.

However, the beer has almost no hop character whatsoever. Could the nylons have prevented the hop oils from entering the wort? The holes in the nylons appear very very tiny.

I'm an extract brewer, simple 30L stock pot with no fancy valve. The APA I brewed was a standard APA, OG of 1.050 and hopped to 40 IBUs (according to beersmith) with Cascade and Willamette hops. It was in the primary for about 2 weeks, and cold conditioned another two weeks. I made 3 hop additions during the boil: one bittering, one flavor and one aroma.

It should have had some hop flavor or aroma. But all I taste or smell is Crystal 40. :/

Could it have been the nylons? Something else?

 

[DannyD]

I have seen it mentioned before around here! something about the oils sticking or something? What i have done in the past is to just boil and let it all in the fermenter. BUT on my last two batches i have just added hops to the kettle (as normal) cooled it down after and then rack it with the nylon sock at the end of the hoze. Works greate ad you also catch a bit of the break material aswell

 

[broadbill]

I'm a bit skeptical. It may be that the nylon is absorbing the hop oils, but the pores in the nylon are certainly large enough to "let it through"

The test would be to find a different hop sock material that we know works and see if that fixes the problem. (I use paint strainer bags from the hardware store...no issues whatsoever)

 

[hepcat]

I've heard that about putting pellets into hop bags too. So what I did with my last two batches is throw the pellets straight into the boil and strain as much pellet trub as I can when tranferring the wort to the FV. I pour the wort into the FV through a metal strainer with a nylon strain bag in it. The reason I do that is that the pellet trub will clog the metal strainer completely before I have poured all the wort into the FV. So with the nylon bag I can pick it up when it gets completely clogged and give it a squeeze to get the wort and then dump the trub and put another clean nylon bag in the metal strainer until I get all of the wort into the FV. Kind of a pain but it works if you don't want a crap load of pellet trub in your FV.

I think from now on I'll just adjust/increase the beginning wort volume to compensate for the wort left behind due to trub. So start with 5 1/2 gallons to end up with ~5.

 

[FullDraw]

I just dry hopped in the keg with a nylon stocking an 2 oz of pellet. I cannot comment on the boil, but it did a fine job for me. Contained the hops, and let the flavor out.

 

[ktblunden]

I decided to go with a couple hop bags on the Saison I just brewed because I only had two additions and didn't want to have to worry about all the extra trub. During the boil I was concerned they weren't really letting the hops be utilized too well, but at the end there was still a lot of green junk at the bottom of the pot that had seeped through the nylon mesh.

 

[DannyD]

I've heard that about putting pellets into hop bags too. So what I did with my last two batches is throw the pellets straight into the boil and strain as much pellet trub as I can when tranferring the wort to the FV. I pour the wort into the FV through a metal strainer with a nylon strain bag in it. The reason I do that is that the pellet trub will clog the metal strainer completely before I have poured all the wort into the FV. So with the nylon bag I can pick it up when it gets completely clogged and give it a squeeze to get the wort and then dump the trub and put another clean nylon bag in the metal strainer until I get all of the wort into the FV. Kind of a pain but it works if you don't want a crap load of pellet trub in your FV.

I think from now on I'll just adjust/increase the beginning wort volume to compensate for the wort left behind due to trub. So start with 5 1/2 gallons to end up with ~5.

That is the benefit of useing the panty hoze at the end of your racking tube (*)(out ot the kettle)...the bottem becomes cloged but then the liquid just pushes up and still gets filtered.


(OMG...does not sound good at all ....filthy mind.....)

 

[RainyDay]

I highly recommend just throwing the pellets into the boil. Its not as bad as everyone thinks, and its cheaper than buying nylons/muslin bags/etc every time you make a batch. After your wort is chilled, let it rest for 20-30 minutes so stuff settles out, siphon the wort making sure not to take too much of the trub (or siphon through a paint strainer bag or nylons if you're really concerned). Honestly, most of that will settle out anyway. If its really hoppy, cold crash and/or use gelatin. I also use the paint strainer bags when siphoning to my bottling bucket for hoppy brews, and never have an issue with "hop shrapnel" from the hop bomb

 

[jbeukelman]

I'm a bit skeptical. It may be that the nylon is absorbing the hop oils, but the pores in the nylon are certainly large enough to "let it through"

I did notice that the nylons were very green colored at the end of the boil. Absorbed hop oil perhaps?

Several folks on this thread have mentioned "hop trub". If this hop trub enters the fermenter, than aren't you essentially dry hopping? Or is this trub completely inactive providing no additional bitting capability? It seems to me that getting every last drop of trub out before hitting the fermenter is essential.

 

[thughes]

Certain members of the no-chill crowd dump the whole kettle right into the no-chill container at flameout (trub, break, pellet hop residue, etc).......some of them even go ahead and ferment in said same container (trub, break, pellet hop residue, etc). Guess what? Beer comes out fine.

 

[RainyDay]

I did notice that the nylons were very green colored at the end of the boil. Absorbed hop oil perhaps?

Several folks on this thread have mentioned "hop trub". If this hop trub enters the fermenter, than aren't you essentially dry hopping? Or is this trub completely inactive providing no additional bitting capability? It seems to me that getting every last drop of trub out before hitting the fermenter is essential.

At the point that you put things into the fermenter, the hops have already given up all that they can (since they were added into boiling wort). Dry hopping is different since there isnt any heat involved.

 

[ktblunden]

I did notice that the nylons were very green colored at the end of the boil. Absorbed hop oil perhaps?

Several folks on this thread have mentioned "hop trub". If this hop trub enters the fermenter, than aren't you essentially dry hopping? Or is this trub completely inactive providing no additional bitting capability? It seems to me that getting every last drop of trub out before hitting the fermenter is essential.

It doesn't hurt anything, but less trub in the fermenter is more beer you can siphon out at the end. You're going to end up with a yeast cake anyway, might as well not add to the sludge with hop material too.

 

[conpewter]

I always felt that hop bags did hold back some of the hop flavor and bitterness, but I don't know if it's been proven with any blind taste testing. I switched to whole hops and a false bottom on the kettle and I'm a lot happier with it (less mess). I do like the "Hop spider" builds, I used to have one, if you do plan to use a hop sock.

 

[shelly_belly]

I use hop pellets and the queen size "knee-highs" from walmart that come in the clear plastic eggs for 3 pairs for 1$. I usually make 3 bags from each sock but won't put more than 1oz in one bag. They will swell up to the size of a grapefruit during the boil. I take great pleasure in squishing them constantly with my paddle and scrubbing the sides of the pot with them. I have made the same beers with and without the bags and I can't really taste any difference. I use them for dry hopping too. That's about 6 cents each, after tax.