Using a hop bag

[Smoodude]

So I've been using a hop bag for my last few beers. Actually I've been using a paint strainer bag as a hop bag. The results have been that I have cut down the amount of junk on the bottom of my brew kettle after a boil, which makes transfers to primary much easier, but I think my beers lately have been less bitter and don't smell or taste as hoppy.

Has anyone else had this issue?

Maybe my paint strainer bag is not porous enough. Or maybe I just need to add a bit more hops when I use a hog bag?

 

[Niederhofer]

I usually only use a hop bag for dry hopping. The hops from the boil usually settle out in the primary/secondary fermenters, so I don't mind them making it that far.

 

[gtpro]

I cant help but think the same thing, it definitely cuts down on the junk left in your BK that you have to worry about when transferring, but on the down side I just dont see as much wort being able to contact the hops. In my most recent brew, an IPA, I went old school and just dumped the last two additions right into the wort, made for a messy primary but its all since settled out.

One way around this is to get a nylon bag thats big enough to line your BK, that way the hops just float around in your wort and when you pull it at the end it just strains the whole she-bang.

 

[Grinder12000]

Why are you worrying about the junk when transferring? It won't hurt the brew.

I've never used a hop bag unless it is with fresh hops. It's the beauty of pellets.

 

[gtpro]

I've never used a hop bag unless it is with fresh hops. It's the beauty of pellets.

Why with fresh hops over pellets? I'm just wondering because I'm using fresh hops in my next brew.

 

[pompeiisneaks]

hops utilization is definitely impacted w/ a bag/strainer, so its good to increase the hops to adjust, but how much is a random variable that's not easy to determine depending on the bag or strainer used. I always just pitch my hops in, and as stated, the hops will not hurt the ferment or the fermenter. If you really want to remove it, though, you can do a whirlpool and let it settle a little before transfer to get all the hops and hot break into a central cone leaving just beer wort at the edges near the drain/transfer device... Your choice... many options, do what you like best

 

[Frank99]

I use a tea infuser (Walmart $1.25) suspended by a metal hanger. It fits up to 1.5 ounces comfortably and allows the pellets to fully saturate and expand. I don't like throwing the pellets directly into the wort as the boiling throws these up against the kettle walls. If they're stuck against the walls, they're really not doing you any good.

 

[Tilldeath]

This is one of the many reasons why I like to use buckets for my primary. I use a nylon elastic bag that stretches over the top of my bucket and just
dump my cooled wort into the bucket. It strains all the stuff out of my wort and airates it pretty well as well. Then I dry hop in nylon hop bag. Just my 2cents.

 

[Rowdy]

with my latest batch i dumped and cleaned out the muslin bag from my steeping grains then stretched it over my kettle. could throw any aditions right in the pot, it moved around quite a bit in the boil, and removed alot of the junk before primary. however i did order one of the fermenting bucket strainer bags, and will probably use that from now on..

 

[ILuvIPA]

Was wondering this same thing yesterday. My first batch (according to BeerSmith) should be 87 IBU. But I sampled (gravity reading) after 2 wks in primary and my "perceived hoppiness" was about like some commercial IPA's rated around 60 IBU. Could I be losing that much because of the hop bag? To compensate I adjusted my hops yesterday and brewed what BeerSmith predicts will be 102 IBU (Cave Troll IPA?)

Next brew date in 2weeks. Maybe I'll repeat the Cave Troll IPA (102 IBU) recipe without a hop bag . . . would be able to compare the results in about 8 wks.