Should hop additions be done in a muslin bag?
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aiptasia
Well-Known Member
It depends on your setup. If you don't have a good means of filtering your wort, a hops bag can help. Muslin is a little too porous a mesh to use with pellet hops, but it would work ok for leaf hops. You'll get slightly less extraction from your hops when using a bag but it's negligible.
Like anything else in brewing, there are very few shoulds, better, or bests...most of the time it is purely a matter of preference. What works for you. I stopped using anything like that after about my third batch...I now dump everything in. Since I leave my beer in primary for a month and skip secondary my beer is perfectly clear, so it really doesn't matter how I do it.
You'll have to try different ways and figure out which way you like.
You'll have to try different ways and figure out which way you like.
histo320
Well-Known Member
I have the same process as Revvy.
One step that may help is at flame out stir your wort aggressively in a circular motion then siphon from the side. If you are still worried you can get a screen strainer and siphon the wort through the strainer or just pour the wort through the strainer. This also helps aerate the wort before you pitch yeast.
One step that may help is at flame out stir your wort aggressively in a circular motion then siphon from the side. If you are still worried you can get a screen strainer and siphon the wort through the strainer or just pour the wort through the strainer. This also helps aerate the wort before you pitch yeast.
cheezydemon3
Well-Known Member
I typically dip my sack in the wort for only a few moment, but it is amazing how many hop particles stick to it. So I find that a sack does help, if only a little.
SoonerDoc
Well-Known Member
Kinky.
I like to use hop sacks & a dual layer fine mesh strainer. Especially since I finally used a yeast worth the effort of washing. But also,less trib means more clear beer to rack to the bottling bucket.
cheezydemon3
Well-Known Member
Not entirely unpleasant, and I usually don't have to pitch yeast.
How did this go from hop additions to yeasty sacks?
cheezydemon3
Well-Known Member
How did this go from hop additions to yeasty sacks?
He don't know me very well, Do he?
I am intrigued by the muslin idea though, I am against boiling ANY kind of plastic.
I like the muslin sacks for hop additions. They're fine for that & keep things cleaner.
scoundrel
Well-Known Member
I get 2-pk paint strainer bags from Lowes for a couple bucks but I only use them when I have a crap load of hops. For me it just makes clean up a little easier.
Do you siphon to your fermenter helping keep some of the hops behind, or just pour everything? I'll be brewing soon and am taking this route of leaving in primary for a month before kegging, i do extract recipes so in my case i usually just pour into primary.
thanks,
lg
I like a five gallon paint strainer. Large enough for the hops to churn nicely, fine enough that it keeps all the gunk.
If my hop bill is just an ounce or two, I'll toss them in loose. But once I get into the bigger hopped pales, this setup makes life easier.
If my hop bill is just an ounce or two, I'll toss them in loose. But once I get into the bigger hopped pales, this setup makes life easier.
ThatGeekGuy
Well-Known Member
I use a hop spider similar to BierMuncher, except with three arms so it sits in the center of the kettle. A muslin bag is about fifty cents, and I toss out when I'm done. I also use a two layer strainer from Duda Diesel when pouring into the bucket. Between those two things and a Whirlfloc tablet fifteen minutes before flameout, I end up with super clear beers after cold crashing and kegging.
