Hops

[brew4allMI]

I just brewed my 6th batch by partial partial mash. I have been just throwing in my hop pellets in the boil wish seems to be a normal thing to do and seems to work better than having a bunch of muslin bags in the boil for different hop additions. My question is do any of you filter out (strain out) the hops from the boil to the fermenter? or do you just have it go in the fermenter. I would think leaving them in the fermenter would give the beer crazy hop and off flavors in the final product.

 

[johnsnownw]

You can strain or not strain. Unless you're talking about leaving the hops sludge in the primary fermenter for a long time it won't affect the the end product. The hops won't undergo isomerization at fermenting temps.

 

[Feldmann]

It really all depends on the flavour youre going for. You won't ruin your beer but generally unless a recipes specifically states otherwise, you strain the hops out before transferring your wort into your primary.

Some people do whats called "dry hopping" for some recipes (IPA for example) to really infuse the hoppy flavour and aroma. This entails adding a new set of "dry" hops to the brew after it has been in the primary for a bit or when/if you rack into a secondary.

Sort of a long winded answer but basically theres 1000 ways to skin a cat and everyone always has a different opinion.

 

[dmashl]

always strain my boiling hops.

 

[mike_in_ak]

Hop debris in fermenter can clog airlock and/or blow off tube leading to interesting explosion.

 

[DannyD]

or just "whirl pool" it and rack off it then you leave the break behind too...

 

[RM-MN]

I never strain my hops. By the end of the boil they have given up everything they are going to and can just rest in the bottom of the fermenter. I never have to worry about blowoff either because I control the temperature of the fermenter so the yeast works slowly. That slow action also limits the off flavors you see discussed here. I don't have discernible fusel alcohols or fruity esters do deal with.

 

[unionrdr]

The one time I didn't use muslin bags I was using raw (whole leaf) hops. What a mes trying to strain all that out. Now I use both hop sacks & my dual layer fine mesh strainer.

 

[petey_c]

I add a whirlfloc tab about ten minutes before flameout, cool the wort then strain through a paint strainer bag. This helps reduce the amount of sludge/sediment I have in my beer. Most of the time the sludge is about the size of a baseball. Other times, when I added about 9 oz. of hops it was about 5-6" in diameter. I don't think leaving them in the fermenter would really add too much crazy flavor to the beer.
Like Feldmann said, there are 1000 different opinions. You just have to keep whittling away until you find out what works best for you.

 

[Yooper]

I don't strain my wort. It all goes into the fermenter.

If I use whole hops now, they clog up my pump if I don't do something so I use a "bazooka screen" or a bag for them just so they don't clog up my system. But for the most part, hops debris, break material, etc, all go into the fermenter since I don't have a good way to filter them out.

I also don't have the inclination, or maybe I'd come up with a way to filter them out.