Sanitize muslin bags when dry hopping?

[AlkiBrewing]

Just wondering if most people sanitize the muslin bags when dry hopping? I have not in the past and have not had any problems but don't know if I was just lucky and should be sanitizing them.

 

[Jeepinctbrewer]

Yes sanitize them!! I use star San
Soak them in it

 

[Yooper]

Anything that touches the beer or wort post boil should be sanitized. You can boil the bags, but it's easier to just soak them in star-san.

 

[alchemedes]

A good practice is to be a little OCD when it comes to sanitation, and thus sanitize everything that will touch your beer. It does take extra time and equipment, but it's worth it!

 

[ffaoe]

soak them in sanitizer, then a quick rinse with bottled water

 

[jbaysurfer]

I'd skip the rinse above. If you use starsan or iodaphor properly diluted you don't need to rinse. I soak them in starsan, wring them out and put the hops in.

 

[Sublimis]

I just soak them in Star San. It requires only 30 seconds of contact time and does not require rinsing. Unlike other no-rinse sanitizers, Star San will not contribute off-flavors at higher than recommended concentrations.

 

[AlkiBrewing]

Hey thanks everybody for the quick replies I appreciate it. Bags are now soaking in star-San. I'll rinse them with bottled water as suggested then fill them with the hops and put them in the fermenter.

 

[Yooper]

Hey thanks everybody for the quick replies I appreciate it. Bags are now soaking in star-San. I'll rinse them with bottled water as suggested then fill them with the hops and put them in the fermenter.

I wouldn't rinse them, if using a no-rinse sanitizer like star-san.

 

[smooth]

I throw the muslin bag in the sanitizer, soak it , squeeze out most of the liquid , fill with hops , tie a knot , toss into the beer.

 

[nukebrewer]

I wouldn't rinse them, if using a no-rinse sanitizer like star-san.

Seconded.

 

[rexbanner]

Boil anything that doesn't have a smooth surface. Put it in a glass of water and put it in the microwave for a few minutes. Couldn't be easier. Boiling is so underrated.

 

[johns]

boil it

 

[Clifton]

Boil it in Star San.

 

[mewithstewpid]

Boil it in Star San.

Soak in star san, boil it, then soak in star San again.

 

[edecambra]

Sanitize anything post boil, except for hops! Don't get too carried away

 

[Pastorken]

What about additions to secondary like spices and citrus peels. Should they all be boiled or pasteurized before adding, and will that affect their ability to flavor the beer?

 

[GingerBeer515]

This is a topic I've been wondering about, I'm glad to run across this thread. So why not sanitize hops? Are they sterile in the bag? In that case, should I use only unopened bags for dry hopping?

 

[day_trippr]

[...]So why not sanitize hops? Are they sterile in the bag? In that case, should I use only unopened bags for dry hopping?

Won't get much flavor that way...

Cheers!

 

[GingerBeer515]

Won't get much flavor that way...

Cheers!

Hardy har har.

 

[day_trippr]

Boil it in Star San.

Ok, that was funny!

Boiling a hop bag should be under-rated: how exactly does one fill a boiled hop bag without contaminating it? Wear sanitized gloves? Ever try handing dry hops with gloves?

I dunk the hop bag in my trusty Star San bucket along with a largish bowl, then retrieve both with bare hands, hold the bag over the bucket until it stops dripping, then place the bag in the bowl and start stuffing it with hops.

Never had an infected batch, and other than the extra thumbs growing from my wrists, no problem with the Star San exposure, either...

Cheers!

 

[jbaysurfer]

I wouldn't rinse them, if using a no-rinse sanitizer like star-san.

Hmm, this looks familiar. LOL. I guess it's obvious why I don't have the kind of street cred Yooper does

 

[squigley]

A good practice is to be a little OCD when it comes to sanitation, and thus sanitize everything that will touch your beer. It does take extra time and equipment, but it's worth it!

Do you sanitize the hops then too?

 

[bighorn_brew]

No, no real need to sanitize hops is the consensus amongst brewers. Hops are antimicrobial.

http://www.lfl.bayern.de/ipz/hopfen/10585/poster1_01.pdf

^the important part is in the conclusions section....

http://***********/stories/article/indices/37-hops/573-dry-hopping-techniques

Before I went to star san recently, I would steam my muslin bag in a stainless steel colander, my understanding is steam is actually a better sterilizer than immersing in boiling water...

 

[Peppers16]

No, no real need to sanitize hops is the consensus amongst brewers.

+1
Hops were originally favoured over other additives precisely because they help preserve beer. Sanitizing hops is like boiling your star san, and a crime against brewing in general.

 

[dfess1]

I haven't used the muslin bags for dry hopping (just pitch right in) in about a year. But the 10 leading up to that, I never sanatized the muslin bag before adding to secondary, and have never had an infected batch. I'm not doing this in a "clean room" so I have no "control", but I would wonder at the need for this step.

 

[Mishraile]

Sanitize them. To be safe Spray down your kitchen as well. SWMBO, kids and dog as well for good measure.

 

[Spartan1979]

I haven't used the muslin bags for dry hopping (just pitch right in) in about a year. But the 10 leading up to that, I never sanatized the muslin bag before adding to secondary, and have never had an infected batch. I'm not doing this in a "clean room" so I have no "control", but I would wonder at the need for this step.

I don't sanitize the hop bag either, but I use the cheap ones (about $0.50) and use a new one each time. If I was reusing them, I would try to sanitize them.

 

[Koffie]

Hop bags go into the washingmachine after use. After that they are put in the in a tiny bucket until use.
When using for dry-hop (or anything else) I don;t sanitize the bag. They are clean it is unnecessary. There is much alcohol in it, hops are used in the boiling proces and then you als use fresh hops in the back.

I know everyone here is lyrical about starsan, but I wouldn't drink beer that had a hopbag floating in it for week, soaked in a sanitizer

 

[GingerBeer515]

Thanks for the answers! I do a bunch of flavoring in secondary, so I always am interested in keeping things clean. I never had any problem just dropping in hops, but I'm glad to actually know that's ok now!