How do you strain your hops?

[storytyme]

So I just brewed my 94th batch today. I feel pretty dialed in on most everything, but one thing that I have never completely mastered is the the vessel used to put the hops into the wort. When I first began brewing I used mainly whole leaf hops. I used individual bags for each addition but then got tired of cleaning all the bags so I went with a bazooka screen and it worked ok but left a lot of wort behind. I then built a hop spider out of PVC and melted it. I've gone commando and just thrown them in and that caused clogging. I've used the copper scrubber trick and that didn't really work. So now I have found that I like using pellets more. I have a homemade hop spider out of a modified stainless steel strainer. I use a paint straining bag as the vessel. Well today the bag itself got clogged and it looked like a giant balloon. No epic fails, but just not feeling like I have a perfect method for this. Curious as to what everyone out there does. Thanks in advance.

 

[Dgallo]

So I just brewed my 94th batch today. I feel pretty dialed in on most everything, but one thing that I have never completely mastered is the the vessel used to put the hops into the wort. When I first began brewing I used mainly whole leaf hops. I used individual bags for each addition but then got tired of cleaning all the bags so I went with a bazooka screen and it worked ok but left a lot of wort behind. I then built a hop spider out of PVC and melted it. I've gone commando and just thrown them in and that caused clogging. I've used the copper scrubber trick and that didn't really work. So now I have found that I like using pellets more. I have a homemade hop spider out of a modified stainless steel strainer. I use a paint straining bag as the vessel. Well today the bag itself got clogged and it looked like a giant balloon. No epic fails, but just not feeling like I have a perfect method for this. Curious as to what everyone out there does. Thanks in advance.

I’m sure you will get a ton of different views on this but IMO you’re better off not trying to contain them at all. Hop utilization and extraction has a direct relationship with surface area, meaning the looser the hop material is flowing through your wort, the more oils and terps with be extracted. You’d be better off cooling your wort and gently whirlpooling it so the hot break and hop material fall to center bottom of your kettle. Then you can transfer clean wort to your FV. You’ll get some loss doing this, just factor that into your grainbill and water volumes to make up for it.

 

[-DELETED-MEMBER-]

I will be of very little help to you. I do not strain my hops. They go in the kettle, then drain into the fermenter. I guess if I was harvesting yeast I might try to keep the hops out of the fermenter, but after a few years of trying to contain my hop debris I gave up and have noticed no negative effects on the finished product.

 

[Stand]

I am straining with a double honey strainer on the way to fermenter, and I like that for pellet hops.

I am sure I will eventually clog it, but I can deal with that because it isn't at the bottom of the kettle if that ever happens.

I also use a chiller that is a coil, and whirlpool. The copper coil catches a lot as well, and I am sure that helps also.

My strainer isn't very fine mesh, so that makes a big difference as well. It just makes me feel better to take some of it out.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I ferment in kegs and use a plastic funnel with a mesh bag wrapped over it. It's a bit tedious, as the wort will fill up in the funnel as trub/hop material collect and I have to let it drain or mess with the mesh bag to get it to drain. I catch a lot of crap though so since I sometimes harvest yeast I think it's helpful but I'm sure there's a better way.

 

[storytyme]

I forgot to mention also that I use a plate chiller to cook the wort

 

[EaseTN]

I use one of these for the hops:

And filter through one of these and the funnel's built in filter to the fermenter, gets most of it:

 

[Jag75]

I'm thinking of going to muslin bags . I have a hop spider I use if I have a lot of hops. If the hops are minimal I just toss in. I've had my pump on the Grainfather clogged when i did a really hoppy beer. Wont do that again. The spider is cool but takes forever to drain and clean. I'm about to get a handful of bags and have each hop in it's own bag .

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

I stopped using a hop bag in the BK. It always ballooned like you said and I felt like I was losing flavor. Now I just suck up all the hop materiel into the fermenter. I've done this the last 2 IPA's and they turned out awesome

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I used primarily pellet hops and don't do anything to contain them. From my readings, I get the impression that doesn't work so well with whole leaf hops. In that case, I guess I'd drag out one of the assortment of mesh bags I have and use that.

 

[OnePlate]

I use a 5-gallon paint strainer bag in the same way you'd BIAB mash and throw all my hop pellets in that way. When the boil is over I carefully lift it out and there is almost no hop debris left in the wort. I feel like I get the same hops utilization as if i'd just tossed the pellets in loose.

I also put a strainer bag in my wide mouth carboys and carefully lift it out when I'm done transferring. Seems to get whatever fine hops particluates the whirlfloc clumps together.

 

[Jag75]

Paint strainers are great for dry hopping as well

 

[TasunkaWitko]

How do you strain your hops?

Through a fine-mesh filter in a funnel, as I am transferring from the kettle to the fermenter.