Using a hop bag over a racking cane to filter?

[nickmv]

I've noticed people mention using a hop bag over their racking cane to keep dry hop material out of the final product. I tried recently to do this, but I think I did it wrong. I sanitized a rubber band and wrapped the bag tightly around the tip of the cane. The problem was, every time I tried to siphon, bubbles would start and then siphoning would stop.

My guess is that the bag was getting sucked into the siphon inlets. Anyways, I've just begun dry hopping with a ton of hops (2oz whole leaf, 2oz pellet) and don't need dirty beer. I thought maybe wrapping the bag around the other end (the tube in the bottling bucket) might get the job done. Does anyone have experience with this?

 

[pjj2ba]

Here's what I've found works very well - for whole hops. I haven't tried it with pellets.

You need to have the cap on the end of the cane. Go to a sewing store and buy a piece of plastic needlepoint canvas. It looks like this, and as you can see, comes in a variety of sizes. Pick one with the smallest holes

Cut yourself a little square, and then cut a little circle out of the middle so it will just fit over the racking cane. It might take several tries to get the right size. A little undersized is best.

Slip this over the cane and then install the cap and slide the custom plastic bit down against the cap. Trim off any excess material that is a lot wider than the cap. This will help to prevent it from sliding up as the can is pushed through the layer of hops. This does work very well with whole hops. It is easy to install and sanitize and is very cheap - and to make when you can't find the one you made the last time.

 

[SeanRRogers]

I have done it with a sanitized bag in the bottling bucket to catch the larger dry hop pellet debris.

It worked great. You don't want it tight around the cane or tubing though, because it will then clog and break the siphon. My bag fits around the rim of the bucket, so I just installed it and siphoned as usual, then pulled the bag out at the end.

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

I used this method a few times and found it to be more trouble than it's worth. Just siphon carefully and you can avoid most of the hop material.