Cotton Steeping Bags for Hops

[Coreyolf1]

Hey everyone,

So I purchased three cotton steeping bags with drawstrings in hopes that I can put my hops in it during my boil. Is this going to work?

I bought the bags because I hated having hop residue at the bottom of my kettle. I'm hoping with these bags I can straight pour my boiled wort into the fermenter without any fuss.

 

[flars]

The bags will work with whole hops. Pellet hop debris will go through the bags. You also need bags large enough there is no compaction of the hops. Hop oil extraction efficiency will be decreased with compaction.
I strain out all the hop debris by pouring through a fine mesh grain bag from the boil kettle into the fermentor.

 

[Coreyolf1]

I see. Is there anything I can use that will keep the pellet hops from seeping through?

 

[flars]

Not much, it is easier to strain them out when they are wet and swelled to the max.

 

[IslandLizard]

Finer mesh bags, designed for hops. Many use paint strainer bags from HD or Lowe's.

As long as they are roomy, so wort can flow through without compacting the hop fibers, it will work. Alternatively, you can add all hops to the kettle and strain through one of those bags on the way to the fermentor by placing it into a colander or large funnel.

I use muslin bags for dry hopping in the keg and must say no hop particles make it through. But that's too tight a mesh for boiling.

 

[how1]

+1 for straining from kettle to fermentor. I just throw the hops in the boil kettle.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

I use 6"x9" nylon fine mesh bags from my LHBS. They have a draw string that closes them and also provides a nice means of tying the bag off to the BK handle while the bag hangs in the pot. The mesh is fine enough that the hops don't escape and they are sturdy enough that I have used them in several dozen brews. The will hold about 2 oz of pellet hops without much compaction. I haven't noticed any difference in hop utilization from the brews I did without the bags.

 

[olotti]

Ever think of building a hop spider. I love mine and while some very minor hop stuff gets through I can't imagine not using one for my iPas. Didn't cost a whole lot to build and I use the 5 gal really fine mesh paint strainer bags. Just pull out the spider at end of boil and twist to get out all the absorbed wort. Then I'll dump that softball of gunk put the spider back into the kettle and do my hops stands. Works great imho.