Any problems with not straining hops?

[GroosBrewz]

Hey all,

I have been brewing for seventeen years.. With each and every batch (hundreds now), I have done the same exact thing- Before chilling, I sanitize a wire hand strainer (yeah, I know- the claim is you cant fully sanitize this type of thing, but I do it anyway), hand dip as much of the hop sludge I can out before cooling, cool, then dump into carboy through a plastic funnel with a mesh filter.. Which, as we all know, is a royal pain because you have stop a million times to clean the filter.. I have tried whirpooling, with mixed results..

This sunday, I finally said, screw it and dumped the whole damn thing in the fermenter and didn't strain at all. I know some people do this all the time and I am wondering if I can expect any off flavors at all from not straining hops out of the wort? At kegging I use finings and crash cool and usually dont have any cloudiness- but can I expect more cloudiness from not straining? Should I secondary now that I didnt strain?

 

[Brewrifle]

I've never strained my hops, outside of German Pilsners and have yet to have ill affects on the beer. You shouldn't get anymore cloudiness if you are cold crashing, using gelatin and or whirl floc/irish moss.

I'm sure others will chime in as well, but I've always dumped everything in primary.

There may be other threads related to this exact issue as well.

 

[Xpertskir]

I've never strained my hops, outside of German Pilsners and have yet to have ill affects on the beer. You shouldn't get anymore cloudiness if you are cold crashing, using gelatin and or whirl floc/irish moss.

I'm sure others will chime in as well, but I've always dumped everything in primary.

There may be other threads related to this exact issue as well.

The only reason I strain on my way into the fermenter is so there is more room for wort because the hop matter isnt taking up space.

IMO there is no ill effect from the beer sitting on the hops.

 

[tdexterc]

I've never had a problem with it affecting flavor. I've just always kept the hops in there post boil. Once I moved to AG though I added a mesh screen tube to the valve on the inside of my keggle which screens out about 95% of all the hop sludge when I draw it off into my carboy. It proved to be a simple and cheap addition which made for a very effective filter. I'm not sure if you brew in a pot with a ball valve, but if you do, I highly recommend this simple addition!

 

[GroosBrewz]

I've never had a problem with it affecting flavor. I've just always kept the hops in there post boil. Once I moved to AG though I added a mesh screen tube to the valve on the inside of my keggle which screens out about 95% of all the hop sludge when I draw it off into my carboy. It proved to be a simple and cheap addition which made for a very effective filter. I'm not sure if you brew in a pot with a ball valve, but if you do, I highly recommend this simple addition!

something like a bazooka screen? I thought about that but figured it would get clogged too.. My current brew pot doesn't have a spigot, but I I can probably add a weldless ball valve to it.. hmmm.... got me thinking.......

 

[tdexterc]

something like a bazooka screen? I thought about that but figured it would get clogged too.. My current brew pot doesn't have a spigot, but I I can probably add a weldless ball valve to it.. hmmm.... got me thinking.......

It's the same idea but done on the cheap! I took the stainless steel mesh used on washing machine hoses (commonly used for DIY mash-tuns), pinched and folded one end over itself and then clamped that end shut with a SS screw clamp. I then attached the other end to the ball valve using another SS screw clamp and it works like a charm! It's never clogged on me yet, and it keeps all but the very finest hop bits out.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I do whirlpool, so I get a decent amount of the sludge to stay in the kettle, but I also don't have a pickup tube and have to tip the kettle to ensure all the good stuff exits the kettle into the fermenter. As a result, I get a decent amount of hop & break material into the fermenter.

Never had an issue yet. My fellow homebrew club members and various competition judges over the years have all complimented my beers, so I think it's just fine.

 

[Nightshade]

If you have a spigot out then why not make a hop gate by forming a piece of SS into a half moon that sits on the side by the outlet valve?
If you don't have an outlet drain then you could do the same and siphon from behind the gate to minimize or eliminate the amount of hops you get into your fermenter.

I can't find an example in Google that shows how a hop gate is set up but I will get a photo of the inside of my boil kettle so you can get an idea, it is one of those "stupid simple" items that are simple to make and use.

 

[Nightshade]

I do whirlpool, so I get a decent amount of the sludge to stay in the kettle, but I also don't have a pickup tube and have to tip the kettle to ensure all the good stuff exits the kettle into the fermenter. As a result, I get a decent amount of hop & break material into the fermenter.

Never had an issue yet. My fellow homebrew club members and various competition judges over the years have all complimented my beers, so I think it's just fine.

This also...a good whirlpool is priceless for eliminating trub and hop residue.

 

[kh54s10]

I don't like messing with all the hop sludge so I take a 5 gallon paint strainer bag and hang it on the side of my boil kettle. There is plenty of wort circulation so i am not concerned with loosing any hop flavor. I usually have only between 1/8" and maybe 1/2 inch of sediment on the bottom after fermentation.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

kh54s10 - so you use the paint strainer like a hop spider and toss the hops in there? I've considered the spider but always figured it wasn't worth the hassle, this seems like an even easier version of a spider to prevent the hops from going everywhere but allow enough wort movement through to not affect utilization.

My ball valve has a tube on the inside with a bend to it so by adjusting the position I can leave more or less for trub (depending on if it's an IIPA or something with minimal hops). I've never had any off or unexpected flavors from hops making it through.

 

[Ridire]

I don't like messing with all the hop sludge so I take a 5 gallon paint strainer bag and hang it on the side of my boil kettle. There is plenty of wort circulation so i am not concerned with loosing any hop flavor. I usually have only between 1/8" and maybe 1/2 inch of sediment on the bottom after fermentation.

I have considered putting the strainer bag into my fermenter (bucket) and pouring the wort into the bucket then removing the bag with all the trub. My biggest concern is losing hop flavor if it is an IPA. You think that is not a legit concern?

 

[Nightshade]

Here is an example of the hop gate on my 3bbbl kettle, just got drained and shows you how it catches the hops behind it after a good whirlpool.

 

[macshomebrew]

Never strain either and always dump it all in the fermentor and I make some fine beers.

 

[cjb]

I have considered putting the strainer bag into my fermenter (bucket) and pouring the wort into the bucket then removing the bag with all the trub. My biggest concern is losing hop flavor if it is an IPA. You think that is not a legit concern?

This is how I do it. Squeeze the bag to get out all the liquid you can from the hops. Helps with aeration as well...

 

[Jcmccoy]

It is actually not good in the long run to dump everything from your kettle in to the fermentor. Polyphenols from the malt and hops react with the proteins in hot and cold break to make haze in the beer. The polyphenols can be oxidized and become pro oxidants which help other compounds oxidize and generate stale beer flavors. tub is also detrimental to your yeast health and viability for re pitching.

I would try to get the least amount of trub into your kettle as possible.

 

[wobdee]

Here's another vote for strainer bags, they work great for me.

 

[GroosBrewz]

Here is an example of the hop gate on my 3bbbl kettle, just got drained and shows you how it catches the hops behind it after a good whirlpool.

Thanks for the pic.. Helps a lot. By the way, we are neighbors. Lol

 

[Rockindaddy]

I pour my wort into a bucket with the EZ Strainer here:

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=24071&clickid=redirect

They work great. Then you could transfer into a carboy. It looks like this when I'm done:

 

[Nightshade]

Thanks for the pic.. Helps a lot. By the way, we are neighbors. Lol

Swing on by some time, I am over at Atomic Ale mostly weekdays.

 

[Accidic]

I always felt you got a little better aroma from not straining but that's just my opinion. At best I throw them in a bag and remove them but typically I don't even bother. They all settle to the bottom anyway so I fail to see an issue (plus you sterilized most of it and sanitized the rest when they contacted the boiling water).

 

[GroosBrewz]

Swing on by some time, I am over at Atomic Ale mostly weekdays.

You work there? That place has fantastic beers! Parking is a little weird, but a great pub....