No hops bags experiment

[MajorTom]

I Put some photos on flickr to keep track of my experiment. Basically, I just threw all the hops into the kettle and then all the hops along with all the break went into the primary. I just want to see how that would turn out versus trying to be really careful about what goes into the primary. It looked like I put a bunch of mud in there initially. I was a little worried. But, a couple of weeks in now it is looking nice. Everything separated into giant clumps and the sample tasted great. I will keep up with it, posting another photo in a week or so before I bottle and then some photos after bottling to see what the final product looks like. So, see what you think...

First photo is day 2 in primary, second is day 14 and third is close up of clumps. Notice the clumps and the yeast on the very bottom.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33697914@N08/3130279147/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33697914@N08/3130292565/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/33697914@N08/3130321649/

 

[Deacon240]

Interesting. I found on my last batch that instead of using the hops bag for putting hops in, if I put my autosiphon into the hops bag it made my life 10x easier.

 

[Kilgore_Trout]

Your pellets settled out a lot more "pellety" than mine usually do. I just get a big slurry at the bottom.

I do as Deacon said, but only with whole hops or on brews with a lot of additions. Most of the time it all goes in the primary.

 

[MajorTom]

Im not sure why it separated into large clumps like that. I haven't seen that in the past, but normally I don't let all that junk in there. I'm thinking maybe the hops all stuck to the pieces of irish moss. Its neat how all that separated form the nice layer of white yeast on the bottom too. Curious.

 

[hammer one]

I've done my last two batches thiat way after seeing a Sam Adams comercial and they just threw hops directly into the boil. So far no complaints. But I do whirlpool and then put the bottom of the pot through a strainer.

 

[onejdn]

I have never noticed a significant difference when I dump the loose hops in the Primary, other than they are a pain when your transferring to secondary. I'm not sure they really add anything once they've been boiled for an hour or so, Maybe if you had a late addition hop. It's definitely not like dry hopping. plus I rarely use a hop bag,even in the boil, I just dump em in.

 

[Zul'jin]

OK, has "no hops" in title. Close enough.

The Honey Wheat extract beer I'm making right now will have no hops. None. SWMBO says she wants a fruity sweet beer with no bitterness. OK. No hops. I even sifted the hops out of the pre hopped DME.

We shall see.

 

[wildwest450]

Why the tiny amounts of beer? Or are those 20 gallon carboy's?

 

[andyb0527]

I always do this with pellet hops and I have never had a problem. I do strain whole hops out though I wonder how it would work if i left those in too. Maybe I will do an experiment with my next batch.

 

[Jonnio]

Yup, when I am using my buckets the hot break/cold break/hops etc... all go into the primary.

 

[IrregularPulse]

I just use a SS mesh scrubbie over my pickup tube when draining through the CFC

OK, has "no hops" in title. Close enough.

The Honey Wheat extract beer I'm making right now will have no hops. None. SWMBO says she wants a fruity sweet beer with no bitterness. OK. No hops. I even sifted the hops out of the pre hopped DME.

We shall see.

You should still add some hops or it will be a very unbalanced overly sweet beer.

 

[count barleywine]

I switched to not using hop sachels a while ago, and recently began to whirlpool primitavely with my immersion chiller, then siphon the beer into primary. No more cleaning the screen twenty times for a hoppy beer! I feel the sachels restrain the utilization of the hops.

 

[MajorTom]

One month of bottle conditioning. A week cold conditioning, getting better every day. If you look carefully in the last photo you can see a cloud of yeast drifting down, I got a little careless in the poor as I was snapping photos at the same time.

Glass Waiting on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Pale Ale on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Pale Ale on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Pale Ale on Flickr - Photo Sharing!


I think the results speak for themselves. No more bags for me...

 

[Joos]

using pellets i put it all in there.I"m making an extremely hopy ipa right now and left the 1oz. of cascade whole hops(at flame out) in there.I lost about a gallon of beer!! Tastes great though