Hops question

[Opus_X]

Are you supposed to bag the hops you drop in the 60 min boil, or just drop them in? What about the flavoring and/or finishing hops?

It seems that I remember bagging the hops when I dry-hopped, but I don't remember about the others.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jdlev]

I've done it both ways. If they come with a mushin bag, I say use it, although I don't think it matters all that much since I run my beer through 2 strainers when I transfer to the fermenter...

 

[breez7]

I dont bag any of my hops unless I am dry hopping in a keg. Its really up to you what you wanna do and a lot of it depends on what type of hops you are using... leaf, pellet, ect.

 

[Opus_X]

I am probably going to use pellets. Also, I will filter the wort before adding to the fermentor. I was just wondering if there is any advantage to bagging it. (cleaner/clearer final product, less chance of off flavors, etc)

Thanks for the help, guys.

 

[chapa]

I made a hop bag recently that sits on top of my kettle, and has a paint strainer/grain-hop bag clamped open around a wide pvc coupling. I've only used it once, but I really liked it. The main benefit was the minimal trub when racking to the fermenter. Also it holds the bag open the whole time, where as if you just tie a bag and throw it in, I can guarantee you won't want to pull it out mid-boil and un-tie it to put more hops in! If you strain/filter when you transfer, it may not be necessary, but it may also prevent clogging of the filter/strainer.

 

[goodgodilovebeer]

If you use pellet hops without a bag, use a spoon and get a whirlpool going after it's cooled. The swirling will pull a lot of break and hop material to the centre of the pot, then you can simply rack the work into the primary by keeping the cane close to the side of the pot.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

If you dont bag your hops, you need some way to keep them from clogging your kettle valve or siphon hose. If you just dump the kettle into the fermentor, it'll be fine I guess but I personally prefer to leave all the solid material behind and just take clear wort into the fermentor. If you do bag them, make sure the bag is large enough to allow for expansion so you get full utilization.

I personally do not bag any hops, and whirlpool at the end of the boil to collect all the hop/trub material in the center of the kettle before i open the valve.

 

[theguy]

I made a hop bag recently that sits on top of my kettle, and has a paint strainer/grain-hop bag clamped open around a wide pvc coupling. I've only used it once, but I really liked it. The main benefit was the minimal trub when racking to the fermenter. Also it holds the bag open the whole time, where as if you just tie a bag and throw it in, I can guarantee you won't want to pull it out mid-boil and un-tie it to put more hops in! If you strain/filter when you transfer, it may not be necessary, but it may also prevent clogging of the filter/strainer.

My clarity increased substantially when I started using the hop sock on my boil kettle.

 

[92greenyj]

I bag my hops. and i take it a step farther and tie some butchers twine to the bag when i toss em in so I can quickly and easily pull the hop bags out when i start to cool my wort. this way the bags dont get mushed by the IC when I move the wort around and I get next to no trub left at the bottom of my BK this way