Hop Bag .. necessary too suspend in BK?

[ChaosB]

First time Brewer, I have an SS Brewtech kettle with the trub guard pickup tube. I was going to get a Brewers Hardware filter or a hop back filled with rice hulls as a pre filter to my pump and plate chiller but I can't wait anymore and want to brew now. I've thought about shoving some steel wool around the pickup tube and I do have a whirlpool return that I will be utilizing however I'm still gravitating towards nylon hop bags until I get some kind of inline filter.

Is it necessary to suspend the hop bag in the boil kettle somehow or can I just let it float or sink around freely?

 

[OnePlate]

I have the smaller 5.5 gal Ss kettle and I suspend a 5 gallon paint strainer bag full open as though i'm doing BIAB and toss my hops in like that. I end up with minimal hop sludge in my wort.

 

[ChaosB]

Just to

I have the smaller 5.5 gal Ss kettle and I suspend a 5 gallon paint strainer bag full open as though i'm doing BIAB and toss my hops in like that. I end up with minimal hop sludge in my wort.

Just to allow maximum contact with the wort? I don't really have time to build anything so I was thinking more like a coat hanger hanging off the side to tie it too. Just wondered if there was a benefit to doing this versus letting the bag roam around in the pot freely, ..beyond easier retrieval at the end of boil.

 

[OnePlate]

Yeah, for maximum contact. I can't measure with anything but my senses, but I feel that hops that are free-floating in the open bag vs rolling around the bottom (as in a tied muslin bag) has a better end result.

If your kettle is too big for a paint strainer bag to be fully open, then hanging on the inside with a coat hanger, binder clip or just tied around one of the kettle handles should be fine as long as it's got good flow of wort through it. Just make sure the bag doesn't touch the bottom of the kettle and melt.

 

[ChaosB]

Yeah, for maximum contact. I can't measure with anything but my senses, but I feel that hops that are free-floating in the open bag vs rolling around the bottom (as in a tied muslin bag) has a better end result.

If your kettle is too big for a paint strainer bag to be fully open, then hanging on the inside with a coat hanger, binder clip or just tied around one of the kettle handles should be fine as long as it's got good flow of wort through it. Just make sure the bag doesn't touch the bottom of the kettle and melt.

Ah okay, so if I don't suspend the hop bag at least off the bottom, I have to worry about melting. Had not thought of that, thank you for saving me a lot of frustration.