BIAB method for hop additions

[beervoid]

Is there any reasoning against not using a big cotton bag in the kettle to filter out the hops?
They should have more then enough space to float in the boiling wort. A stone could keep the bag down.

Cheers!

 

[cubalz]

Theoretically you can but here is the issue you will have: decreased hop utilization. If the hop additions are added directly to the boil and allowed to be agitated by the boil, your utilization will naturally increase.

I personally mostly brew BIAB so I use a hop spider with a large hop bag which allows good agitation.

 

[madscientist451]

I used to worry about hop sludge but I stopped using the small hop bags years ago. I just didn't think I was getting good hop utilization and cleaning the little bags was just another chore. So now I just toss them in and the hops settle to the bottom of the kettle and the wort is easily drained off.
If you are making something like a NE IPA and using large amounts of whole cone (or pellet) hops, that is a different story and a hop spider comes in handy for that.

 

[plazola86]

No reason against it i used to do that before i got a SS hop filter. I squeezed the bag to get all the hop goodness, i think that's what most people DON'T do that say they don't get good utilization when bagging them.

 

[bradleypariah]

A stone could keep the bag down.

I really don't think you'd want the bag to sink and stay at the bottom. I've burned nylon and muslin bags before. The heat of the metal will burn a hole right through.

I just throw everything right into the boil. I ferment in glass, so I have a funnel to dump my kettle into the carboy. I set the pictured strainer below in the big funnel. No hop sludge in the carboy. That said, I also just dump hop pellets right into the carboy later for dry-hopping.
I just wait for the hops to drop out of suspension before I keg.
If I dry hop the keg, I put the hops in a muslin bag that allows the hops to fit very loosely, and I sink the bag with sanitized marbles.