Hops Question

[sjtravis]

I'm going to brew my first kit with hops. This may be a dumb question, but what do you do with the hop pellets after the boil? Do they break apart? Do you leave them or scoop them out?
Thanks
Steve

 

[Janx]

Pellets break up into a gooey, messy, clogging slime. You want to seperate them from the wort at the end of the boil Some people do this by starting a whirlpool in the kettle and then siphoning from the side of the kettle, or they have a valve on the kettle and some sort of filter.

Better yet, use whole hops, which are a piece of cake to seperate out.

Cheers

 

[Brewpastor]

The pellets will come apart in the boil and settle out, some in the kettle, some in the primary fermenter. Many brewers stir their boiled wort to create a whirlpool before chilling. The hops and other "break" material will settle out and then you can draw off the relatively clear beer. The bottom line is don't worry, they will eventually settle out.

 

[dMclaren]

The pellets will turn into a nice gooey mush after your boil. You can avoid scooping a portion of them by using a muslin bag or straining the wort as you add it to the primary.

It isn't the end of the world if some end up in the primary as they will settle out, but personally I like to have as little amount of trub in the primary as possible.