Brewers Best hops question

[davebrew66]

Going to brew the Brewers Best American Light today.

Comes with 2 packets of hops, with directions when to add. Did a Coopers kit for my first batch and didn't add hops.

My question is, when adding hops, am I supposed to have them in a bag, or just add them? If not in a bag, how do I prevent them from going in my fermenter, or are they supposed to? Am I supposed to strain them out?

The directions on the kit are pretty good, but don't cover this.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

The Coopers kit has hop oils in it so you don't need to add hops.

You can just toss them in. They will settle to the bottom of the fermenter.

Forrest

 

[davebrew66]

The Coopers kit has hop oils in it so you don't need to add hops.

You can just toss them in. They will settle to the bottom of the fermenter.

Forrest

Can you explain hop oils? The two packets I have look like pellets.

Thanks.

 

[RM-MN]

Your Coopers kit probably was pre-hopped so you didn't get to add your own. Some people put the hops in bags, some don't. Some people carefully filter out the hops so they don't go into the fermenter, some just dump them in and some pour the wort until they see a significant amount of hops and pour the rest out on the ground.

If you pour all the hop residue and whatever else into your fermenter and leave it in the fermenter long enough, it will all settle to the bottom and the problem is solved.

 

[RM-MN]

Can you explain hop oils? The two packets I have look like pellets.

Thanks.

The packets you have probably have pellets. Big companies are able to extract just the oils from the hops so they can concentrate them and use them instead of the hops themselves. I think you may get better flavor with the hop pellets as they contain more than just oils.

 

[davebrew66]

The packets you have probably have pellets. Big companies are able to extract just the oils from the hops so they can concentrate them and use them instead of the hops themselves. I think you may get better flavor with the hop pellets as they contain more than just oils.

They are pellets. My concern is, am I supposed to strain what is left of the hops prior to putting in the fermenter? Does whatever is left after the boil effect the taste of the brew if it's in the fermenter for 2 weeks, or is it supposed to be in there?

I searched for other posts concerning this and it's about 50-50 using a muslin bag or straining the pour, versus just pouring the whole cooled wort into the fermenter.

 

[dandw12786]

Nope, no need to strain them. You can if you want, I never have and the beer is fine. Hops in the fermenter won't affect the taste, and it will settle to the bottom.

 

[davebrew66]

Thanks for the info guys. Just a bit jittery for my 2nd batch. After doing some digging, I read some tiny print on the box that if grain bags were needed, they'd be included.

So, I need to relax and have fun and start the 2nd brew.