Muslin Bags & Hops

[mgortel]

Any reson not to put hop pellets in muslin bags for the boil.....the benefit being to reduce the gunk in the bottom of the fermenter when you transfer wort?

I assume the hop flavors and bitterness will still happen if hop pellets are in miuslin bag.....??

 

[onipar]

I know a more experienced brewer will come along and answer you question much better than I can, but I figured I'd mention the one thing I just read in a kit I bought.

The directions said to put my hops (I have pellets) in the little bags for the boil, but not to put more than an ounce per bag. The bags I have are the small ones my LHBS gives me.

I know, not incredibly helpful, but it's something.

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

The argument is that muslin bags, or at least addding too large of an amount of hops in a bag can reduce the utilization, since the wort will not be in contact with all of the pellet matter.

Personally, I use paint stainer bags for my leaf hops, and 6"x8" fine straining nylon muslin bags for pellets, and I make sure I don't have more than an ounce or two in them to leave plenty of room for the pellet material to roll around in the bag after it breaks apart and swells.

You just want to make sure that you aren't packing the pellets into the bags, you want anough room in the bag to alow the wort to reach all of the pellet material in order to get full utilization form the hops.

 

[Chefencore]

I use a fine mesh bag, about 10X20. When I clip it to my kettle, it reaches almost the entire length. I put 3.5 oz of pellets in it last week with no problem.

 

[ghank15]

I was actually just searching about this topic. I am pretty much using pellets exclusively, as it is really all my LHBS carries(they do have whole leaf cascade, but that is the only variety)

Also, my LHBS, which is more geared towards wine, does not carry muslin bags. They do, however, carry cheesecloth. Is making a makeshift bag out of cheesecloth ok for this sort of thing?

What about for dryhopping? I read in some other posts that the pellets can still get through cheesecloth.

Honestly, I dont care because you can't taste the flakes if you are drinking out of a bottle, but when you pour it into a glass and little green things are floating around, it just does not look like what we are used to.

 

[drathbone]

I throw the pellets in the boil and use a nylon bag to strain the wort into the primary. Same effect I'd assume and no hops get stuck on the bag (reducing utilization)

 

[mgortel]

The most I have been using is 1 oz of pellets per bag...... just did a brew trhat had 93) differnet hop additions,......I used 3 bags.....plenty of room in each...so I am guessing it is ok.,

 

[smyrnaquince]

The most I have been using is 1 oz of pellets per bag...... just did a brew trhat had 93) differnet hop additions,......I used 3 bags.....plenty of room in each...so I am guessing it is ok.,

93 different hop additions? Please tell me that this was a typo!

 

[bottlebomber]

I throw the pellets in the boil and use a nylon bag to strain the wort into the primary. Same effect I'd assume and no hops get stuck on the bag (reducing utilization)

How do you go about doing this?

 

[drathbone]

How do you go about doing this?

When my wort started to boil, I threw my first hop addition in. From there, I added more hops according to the recipe. After 60 minutes and after cooling my wort, I poured everything into my primary fermentation bucket which had a mesh nylon net to cash everything from the boil which included hops and irish moss.

 

[bottlebomber]

When my wort started to boil, I threw my first hop addition in. From there, I added more hops according to the recipe. After 60 minutes and after cooling my wort, I poured everything into my primary fermentation bucket which had a mesh nylon net to cash everything from the boil which included hops and irish moss.

So I guess for a carboy maybe I could rubberband a muslin bag in the mouth of the carboy and strain that way... id like to give this a try, I hate cleaning out up to 6 or those bags after a boil, and it makes sense that the hop utilization would be improved.

 

[specsman]

So I guess for a carboy maybe I could rubberband a muslin bag in the mouth of the carboy and strain that way... id like to give this a try, I hate cleaning out up to 6 or those bags after a boil, and it makes sense that the hop utilization would be improved.

that's how i do it. or just tie the bag onto the end of the tube. both work fine. mind you i give the bags a good soak in starsan solution just prior.

 

[drathbone]

I hate cleaning out up to 6 or those bags after a boil, and it makes sense that the hop utilization would be improved.

Cleaning out six bags? That sounds a bit excessive. Just throw the hops straight in the boil. Beyond that, I strain using a nylon bag with a band on my primary bucket. Even so, straining is not 100% required, it's just a personal preference of mine to reduce trub in the primary, you could just dump it all in the primary with essentially no ill effects.

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

Cleaning out six bags? That sounds a bit excessive. Just throw the hops straight in the boil. Beyond that, I strain using a nylon bag with a band on my primary bucket. Even so, straining is not 100% required, it's just a personal preference of mine to reduce trub in the primary, you could just dump it all in the primary with essentially no ill effects.

There is absolutely no problem with throwing your pellets directly into the wort, you will get the best utilization that way, but as discussed the hop particulate will be spread throughout the wort, an nice long 3-4 week primary will drop all of the pellet matter out of the beer without issue.

The one problem this presents is when/if you want to wash your yeast, there will be hop matter in the yeast cake, and it can affect the flavor in your successive beers if you used a large amount of hops.

A good cold break, and whirlpooling for 15+ minutes after the boil will also reduce the amount of hop debris, and of course break material that ends up in the fermenter.

I'm brewing a Belgian Dubbel tomorrow, there isa single hop addition at 90 minutes, and I will be using a muslin bag for the 35g of hops my recipe requires.

Also as discussed, cleaning out the nylon straining bags is a pain in the arse, the convenience of disposable muslin bags can outweigh the hassle of the nylon bags, however they are relatively expensive.

Regardless of your method, if you are using bags, just don't pack them too full, and bear in mind that when the pellet hops break apart, they swell and take up a much larger volume than when you placed them in the bag.

RDWHAHB

Cheers!

 

[lou2row]

I like keeping my hops separate for disposal purposes. I don't want to worry my labs are getting into where I dump out yeast cake or do cleaning.

 

[unionrdr]

IDK why the call those cheap hop/grain bags muslin. Muslin is like the material in mattresses & old feather pillow bags. We use it to patch the lead balls in our muzzle loaders. These hop/grain bags look like the cheese cloth we used to sock hams & sides of bacon in for the smokehouse.
Anyway,I like to use them,but no more than an ounce of pellets,since they turn to grainy bits again,& swell up to about the size of a baseball. And the grain in a bag thing is self-explanatory. But I do kinda like the large paint strainer bag over the FV opening idea a lot. Last time,when my wife brewed her 1st,I had 6 bags to empty & boil clean. I'm going to soak'em in some PBW to try & get the staining out from the Carapils-based wort she made.

 

[specsman]

IDK why the call those cheap hop/grain bags muslin. Muslin is like the material in mattresses & old feather pillow bags. We use it to patch the lead balls in our muzzle loaders. These hop/grain bags look like the cheese cloth we used to sock hams & sides of bacon in for the smokehouse.

Because they are muslin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslin

Muslin is a loosely-woven cotton fabric introduced to Europe from the Middle East in the 17th century. It became very popular at the end of the 18th century in France. Muslin is most typically an unbleached or white cloth, produced from carded cotton yarn. It is often used to make sewing patterns, such as for clothing, curtains, or upholstery. Because air moves easily through muslin, muslin clothing is suitable for hot, dry climates.

 

[unionrdr]

So they call it muslin because it's a loose cotton weave,not because it's the name of the mattress/pillow bag material we use for black powder rifles. oook...

 

[mgortel]

just did a brew trhat had 93) differnet hop additions,......

haha...yes...this was a typo....supposed to be "(3)"

 

[smyrnaquince]

haha...yes...this was a typo....supposed to be "(3)"

I knew that, I was just in a silly mood when I posted asking about it. I should have used a smiley face.