Sanitizing the dry hop bag

[bernerbrau]

I have a hop bag but I was skittish about using it for my first brew so I ended up tossing the hops right in the top there... unfortunately, they float and I'm worried about loss of exposure.

I didn't use the hop bag because I wanted to make sure it was sanitized before going into the fermenter, but sanitizing a fabric hop bag means, unlike plastic tools, it will retain moisture and won't dry quickly, so there's a chance of getting sanitizer in the secondary. Have people soaked the hop bag in star san to sanitize without ill effects? Should I rinse? Can I run it through the clothes dryer and maintain sanitation?

 

[Big10Seaner]

You get a better distribution this way. Are they pellets or whole hops? Pellets will eventually sink and break apart. When you go to rack your beer into the bottling bucket or keg, just tie a hop bag or paint strainer on the end of your racking cane to filter out the hops.

 

[DrinksWellWithOthers]

I've dry hopped a few times by soaking a hop bag in star san, adding hops and tossing it in the secondary without any problems.

 

[bernerbrau]

I should have mentioned I used leaf hops for flavor and dry hopping. A large percentage of the hops in my current secondary just aren't touching the beer at all.

 

[Big10Seaner]

The whole hops will eventually soak in some beer, it will be fine. You will notice more of them become wet every day they are in there. You can give it a gentle swirl if you want to wet them better. By the way, it's not a big deal if your hop bag still has some sanitizer on it if you decide to go that route.

 

[BierMuncher]

Loosely tossed is the best exposure.

Rock that fermenter back and forth a few times to slosh some beer up onto the hops.

They'll do great.

 

[bernerbrau]

Rock that fermenter back and forth a few times to slosh some beer up onto the hops.

That won't put oxygen in the beer? Oh, but I suppose it's airtight and the oxygen should all be expelled by now anyway.

 

[BrewWench]

Is this the little cotton hop bag that you tie up? We reuse ours - as long as it ends up boiling for a few minutes, sterilization isn't a problem.

Now, if you're dry-hopping with it, I would just throw the hops in there with no bag. They're easy enough to strain out later on, with cool beer. But if you are concerned, boil the bag in some water for 5 minutes and then use it.

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

I soaked my bag in Iodophor for 5 minutes or so...then filled it with hops and tossed it in. PITA to get it through the small opening of the carboy, so next time I'll be thowing them in loose, and using the same back as a strainer around my autosiphon.

 

[bernerbrau]

So there appears to be some debate but it looks like the general consensus here is whole hops work better when loose? Should I put the hops in before siphoning next time, to try and get more exposure?