using hop bags

[bracconiere]

out of curiosity, does using pellet hops in hop bags clog the pores. and should only whole cone hops be used with bags?

i've been using bags with pellets for years, but my hop flavor has sucked for years too... lol

 

[Jag75]

It does in areas of the bag. I've used hop bags in my fv at home forever without issues. I just use a big enough bag and add a pinch more hops to balance it out .

 

[Langerz]

I'm a newbie (have my first batch conditioning). The first time I used hop bags and pellets since I thought it would make removal easier. After going through the process it seems like there is enough other stuff (trub etc) you have to work with in process that either straining out of avoiding hops with a siphon isn't really that big of a deal. I actually ended up just throwing the pellets straight for dry hopping and it wasn't that bad and think I'll skip the bags the next batch.

Interested in the discussion though.

 

[bracconiere]

are hop spiders preferable? i've been toying with the notion, but don't know it'd be better, or worse, being the bag 'swims' around and the spider would be afixed to the side of the pot...

i don't have a drain in my kettle, it's just a plain 15 gallon polar ware one, so i kinda need to keep the hops somehow seperate from the wort.....

 

[Jag75]

I bought a spider and used it a few times. It was a pain draining so I stopped using it . It will be worth it to add a drain valve so you can put a false bottom in it .

 

[Langerz]

are hop spiders preferable? i've been toying with the notion, but don't know it'd be better, or worse, being the bag 'swims' around and the spider would be afixed to the side of the pot...

i don't have a drain in my kettle, it's just a plain 15 gallon polar ware one, so i kinda need to keep the hops somehow seperate from the wort.....

I am planning to just run things through a strainer when I transfer to the fermenter but honestly haven’t brewed without hop bags so it’s possible I’m not thinking about everything

 

[bracconiere]

It will be worth it to add a drain valve so you can put a false bottom in it .

not sure i like that idea, but i have considered it before. i just like using my pot to scoop the wort into the fermenter to help aereate it at the same time i'm transfering.....

I am planning to just run things through a strainer when I transfer to the fermenter

Now there's an idea!

something like this on my 15 galon milk pail when i dump my pot into it, the opening is 10" so should work?

https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Colander-Strainer-Basket/dp/B06XGWS7JS/ref=asc_df_B06XGWS7JS/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=216530079733&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17397433635635531277&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1013487&hvtargid=pla-349819763440&psc=1&region_id=674469

 

[bracconiere]

just ordered this...

Stainless Steel Round Strainer Double Mesh 10" Inch Wood Handle 23" Long New | eBay

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i'll just pour the wort through it into the fermenter, probably will help aereate also.... GOOD BYE hop bags, maybe? i'll report back!

 

[Deadalus]

just ordered this...

Stainless Steel Round Strainer Double Mesh 10" Inch Wood Handle 23" Long New | eBay

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i'll just pour the wort through it into the fermenter, probably will help aereate also.... GOOD BYE hop bags, maybe? i'll report back!

That's not fine enough to strain pellet hops. Since you got it, use it with one of these Plastic Funnel, 10'' with Strainer.

Have some water heated to 170 handy about 2-3 quarts since you make larger batches. The hop oils will clog the screen, that's why you need the big funnel. Gently pour the water and use a sanitized spoon to clear the top of the screen. It goes a little slow. Works best in a carboy though, not sure what you are fermenting in. It'll aerate the wort going in, not as much as O2.

 

[Deadalus]

I'm a newbie (have my first batch conditioning). The first time I used hop bags and pellets since I thought it would make removal easier. After going through the process it seems like there is enough other stuff (trub etc) you have to work with in process that either straining out of avoiding hops with a siphon isn't really that big of a deal. I actually ended up just throwing the pellets straight for dry hopping and it wasn't that bad and think I'll skip the bags the next batch.

Interested in the discussion though.

Dry hopping correct? If you are using a clear fermenter you can see the autosiphon bottom and thus can keep it off the bottom. It'll suck up hops though, leaf hops can sometimes clog it. Not a big deal as it's not a lot of hops but if you keg, you can clog your beverage out tube with hops.

 

[bracconiere]

That's not fine enough to strain pellet hops.

but it goes to 11! (double mesh) lol damn....

 

[Deadalus]

but it goes to 11! (double mesh) lol damn....

I was just looking at it again, I didn't see the smaller mesh. It works pretty good. I got one just like it and I would use it with the one I linked. Stuff still gets through though. It'll settle under the yeast layer when the yeast drop.

 

[bracconiere]

I was just looking at it again, I didn't see the smaller mesh. It works pretty good. I got one just like it and I would use it with the one I linked. Stuff still gets through though. It'll settle under the yeast layer when the yeast drop.

so when i repitch my yeast, i can get some more use out of my hops too?


but it won't clog my bev post, or pump.....

 

[Deadalus]

so when i repitch my yeast, i can get some more use out of my hops too?


but it won't clog my bev post, or pump.....

Yes, hard to say how much. I don't do it, I make extra and store my yeast. I've washed the yeast a time or two but not often. It's style dependent too, are you dry hopping loose or in bags.

If you don't stir it up too much racking it, it's not usually a problem. Same thing about dry hopping though.

What are using the pump for?

 

[bracconiere]

What are using the pump for?

to fill my kegs.... i tried being cool and using co2, and a floating dip tube in my fermenter. but it didn't work out....but honestly, on that note and the hop trub note, maybe i should see if i can work the bugs out...my fermenter holds 5psi pressure, and i've got it rigged up with a gas and bev post....


if i can just use a $1 of co2 to fill a couple kegs....hop debris wouldn't matter with the floating dip tube, and maybe the lack of O2 would help with flavor too?

 

[OleBrewing]

I think it depends on method of cooling wort. A immersion chiller I wouldn't use hop bags. I use a thermonater and found even with a wirl pool it was still plugging up. I now use those paint strainer bags from hardware store with homemade hop spider. As for dry hopping which I don't do much I prefer whole hops might loose a little liquid but much better in the end.

 

[Deadalus]

to fill my kegs.... i tried being cool and using co2, and a floating dip tube in my fermenter. but it didn't work out....but honestly, on that note and the hop trub note, maybe i should see if i can work the bugs out...my fermenter holds 5psi pressure, and i've got it rigged up with a gas and bev post....


if i can just use a $1 of co2 to fill a couple kegs....hop debris wouldn't matter with the floating dip tube, and maybe the lack of O2 would help with flavor too?

I was using a hop spider (cylinder mesh kind) and just switched to free floating hops on my last brew. I whirlpooled (not with hop additions) while chilling with an immersion chiller and even left the whirlpool running for a while after chilling to attempt a trub cone as I had some cleaning I was working on. The pellet hops did not affect my Riptide and there were about 3 oz in the wort (5 gallons). If you strained the wort coming out of the BK, you would be fine pumping from the FV to your kegs. I've had my racking cane get stalked by a leaf hop while racking a few times but I kind of recall just banging the side of the carboy most times. I've been using hop bags for quite some time now however because I had a keg poppet stick and the keg got contaminated. I was camping and it was a NEIPA. There was too much hop debris and the keg had been transported.

Using hop bags and hop spiders is really just about giving the hops enough room to swell and allow some interspersion of fluid. When dry hopping, I use disposable bags with no more than 2 oz in a bag. The disposable bags have more gap in the material. I'll go and daily rock the fermenter. I bought some stainless steel balls to sink the bags, which swell up like ballons, but I miscalculated the sphere volume and they were too little. And then also, add a little more hops. It becomes relative though, as you alter the recipe, you figure out what it needs based on using the bags or spider.

 

[bwible]

Not a fan of hop bags or a hop spider. I have tried both and found my beers lacking. I just go full commando hops now. I use my hop spider now as a filter when I’m drawing wort out of the mash tun to my brewpot and thats the only use I have for it.

 

[bwible]

For dry hopping, oak additions or other additions, get one of these. You’ll need something like a fermonster with the wider mouth opening though.

Amazon.com: Beer Dry Hopper Filter,300 Micron Mesh Stainless Steel Hop StrainerCartridge,Homebrew Hops Beer & Tea Kettle Brew Filter by Fashionclubs(18cm x 7cm): Home & Kitchen

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[balrog]

When I strain, I use this double meshed large strainer:

Amazon.com: Adcraft DBTN-10 10" Double Mesh Tinned Steel Strainer with Light Color Hardwood Handle : Home & Kitchen

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I apologize but I've never used a hop bag for hops; however, I do use a hop bag as a "De-Rhino-Farter" when making ApfelWein - it holds the activated charcoal.

 

[Langerz]

When I strain, I use this double meshed large strainer:

Amazon.com: Adcraft DBTN-10 10" Double Mesh Tinned Steel Strainer with Light Color Hardwood Handle : Home & Kitchen

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I have that same strainer and then also the smaller set below. I forget which one (middle one I think) fits pretty perfectly in my fermenter mouth. The small one I like it works great for dipping into the fermenter and straining out dry hop pellets floating around the top.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007TUQF9O/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ok I'm new - how do I make that a pretty Amazon link?

 

[Deadalus]

Not a fan of hop bags or a hop spider. I have tried both and found my beers lacking. I just go full commando hops now. I use my hop spider now as a filter when I’m drawing wort out of the mash tun to my brewpot and thats the only use I have for it.

I added a Hop Stopper II to my BK recently to let the hops go free but I've only run one brew through it so I am still evaluating. Grain bits will get through a false bottom even after a vorlauf and settling the grain bed. What do you see in your hop spider when you do this? I clean in place after brewing with my MT cleaned by hand separately and I run the flow through my hop spider. It catches about a tsp to a tbsp of mostly grain bits.

For dry hopping, oak additions or other additions, get one of these. You’ll need something like a fermonster with the wider mouth opening though.

Amazon.com: Beer Dry Hopper Filter,300 Micron Mesh Stainless Steel Hop StrainerCartridge,Homebrew Hops Beer & Tea Kettle Brew Filter by Fashionclubs(18cm x 7cm): Home & Kitchen

Shop Fashionclubs at the Amazon Home Brewing & Wine Making store. Free Shipping on eligible items. Everyday low prices, save up to 50%.

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Reusable and probably fine for some additions, might still be constraining for dry hopping depending on the amount as the hops swell. I use disposable bags because I mostly have carboys and anything more than an ounce in a bag is hard to even get into the carboy easily. I don't go with more than 2 in the size bags I use either. Getting them out of the carboy is near impossible at times since they swell so I just slice them open. That's what I use my strainer for these days, to pour them out. The strainer is also useful for cleaning out the MT so I didn't get grain in the driveway.

My strainer I picked up with a lot of HB equipment. Prior to that I already had the big funnel with filter (filter not shown, not sure where it is at the moment). With the filter in, the below setup can still start to clog but the strainer grabs most of it and it's easy to dump quickly. I used to have a smaller strainer (not double mesh) that I used with it. It's the hop oils combined with what gets through the strainer that seem to clog the filter itself. Pour a little 170F water over it and squeeze the hops is what I used to do, gently scrape the filter with a brew spoon (careful not to tilt the filter). I also do that with my hop spider too just to get some of that hop goodness out.

 

[bigboogieman]

just ordered this...

Stainless Steel Round Strainer Double Mesh 10" Inch Wood Handle 23" Long New | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Stainless Steel Round Strainer Double Mesh 10" Inch Wood Handle 23" Long New at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

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i'll just pour the wort through it into the fermenter, probably will help aereate also.... GOOD BYE hop bags, maybe? i'll report back!

On my last batch, I dumped pellet hops directly into the kettle, and filtered them through a hop bag when transferring to the fermenter. It worked pretty well.

 

[bracconiere]

On my last batch, I dumped pellet hops directly into the kettle, and filtered them through a hop bag when transferring to the fermenter. It worked pretty well.

well if my SS colander doesn't work, i could get some cheese cloth to strap around my fermenter mouth.....

 

[Broken Crow]

Hey Bracc, I know you're as .....umm; "Dollar-Wise"? [cheap] as I am and I admire that! But seriously; consider one of @Bobby_M 's bulkheads:

True Weldless Bulkhead - With Edge Pickup Diptube

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It'll give you the option of trying out inline filter, but better; you can eliminate most of the detritus by just standing there and whirlpooling by hand as it drains. When I was still doing stovetop, I had a very similar pot and I'd dump it through a double mesh filter like you linked to, on a funnel into my carboy... it got the break material and some of the hop pellets, but I still had a bigger load of cat-barf in the carboy than I'd like.

 

[bracconiere]

me and my kettle have been together since 2002, it makes me uncomfortable thinking of drilling a hole in it.....

 

[Broken Crow]

me and my kettle have been together since 2002, it makes me uncomfortable thinking of drilling a hole in it.....

I've been with my girlfriend who I Love more than anything {including beer) since 1993, and I tend to think of that as an act of devotion.

 

[bracconiere]

I've been with my girlfriend who I Love more than anything {including beer) since 1993, and I tend to think of that as an act of devotion.

i must be related to miss cleo, because i knew that joke would unfold...

(if you ever need insight on how a batch will turn out i'll give you my 900 number )

 

[Broken Crow]

Maybe I should have just appealed to the DIY nature we share;
Once I had a kettle with a diptube, I'd read about peoples issues with the original hopstopper slowing down, so my solution was a piece of 304 SS 420-mesh off ebay or amazon or something, and a small spool of 304 SS 'thread'... got out my needle for leather and canvas and sewed this:

Greater surface area and contains a couple SS 'handles' from a discount deep-fryer basket to keep it from collapsing when the break material and hops weigh it down.... does a great job.

 

[bracconiere]

well i do have some thermal wire i was trying to make heated battery powered gloves to face the frozen section at the grocery store, that's some painful work....

 

[Broken Crow]

Isn't that nichrome? Do you really want that in your beer... you know, they do have heated gloves and (more exciting to me) vests on Aliexpress.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001261284723.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.1.6e4e132fj366bj&algo_pvid=77920f6d-76ee-4160-85fc-848812c3cb9a&algo_exp_id=77920f6d-76ee-4160-85fc-848812c3cb9a-0&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2210000015508006913%22%7D&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21CAD%2144.7%2116.46%21%21%21%21%21%40211bd93f16754461811926904d0717%2110000015508006913%21sea&curPageLogUid=VxsI2QOnNgCY

 

[Biggz1313]

just ordered this...

Stainless Steel Round Strainer Double Mesh 10" Inch Wood Handle 23" Long New | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Stainless Steel Round Strainer Double Mesh 10" Inch Wood Handle 23" Long New at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

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i'll just pour the wort through it into the fermenter, probably will help aereate also.... GOOD BYE hop bags, maybe? i'll report back!

What type of fermenter are you using? Just buy a hop spiders that fits in the mouth of it, then pour through it. Arbor Fabrication might also be able to make you a custom one. You can also do what I do and use Hop Torpedos in your boil kettle. They stay completely submerged and bounce around with the boil.

 

[Deadalus]

Maybe I should have just appealed to the DIY nature we share;
Once I had a kettle with a diptube, I'd read about peoples issues with the original hopstopper slowing down, so my solution was a piece of 304 SS 420-mesh off ebay or amazon or something, and a small spool of 304 SS 'thread'... got out my needle for leather and canvas and sewed this:
View attachment 811737

Greater surface area and contains a couple SS 'handles' from a discount deep-fryer basket to keep it from collapsing when the break material and hops weigh it down.... does a great job.

How big is it?

 

[Broken Crow]

It started at 30cm x 60cm, once finished it's approx 11" square, and because of the bent SS wire inside of it, very little ever lays flat against the convex bottom of my keggle, maximizing flow. With recirc/whirlpooling, very little trub lays on inch or two of the corners, and very little plugs up the underside. I do get some smaller particles come through, but it makes for a very thin layer that's relatively easily removed when yeast harvesting and never enough to clog a pump.

 

[bracconiere]

What type of fermenter are you using? J

60L Stainless Steel Fermenter Barrel Home Brew Wine Milk Keg Silicone seal | eBay with weldles ball lock connects....and a spunding valve....

 

[Biggz1313]

60L Stainless Steel Fermenter Barrel Home Brew Wine Milk Keg Silicone seal | eBay with weldles ball lock connects....and a spunding valve....

Yeah I'd just buy a hop spider then and hand it on the lip of the mouth of your fermenter, then just pour your wort through it. Easy peasy.

Amazon.com: 4 x 10in Hop Spider 300 Micron Mesh Stainless Steel Hop Filter Strainer for Home Beer Brewing Kettle: Home & Kitchen

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[bracconiere]

Yeah I'd just buy a hop spider then and hand it on the lip of the mouth of your fermenter, then just pour your wort through it. Easy peasy.

Amazon.com: 4 x 10in Hop Spider 300 Micron Mesh Stainless Steel Hop Filter Strainer for Home Beer Brewing Kettle: Home & Kitchen

Shop TIZZE at the Amazon Home Brewing & Wine Making store. Free Shipping on eligible items. Everyday low prices, save up to 50%.

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you got me thinking trying to find a 10" hop spider...maybe something like this in the kettle?

Brewing Hopper Spider Strainer Stainless Steel 300-400 Micron Mesh 13.7 Inch | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Brewing Hopper Spider Strainer Stainless Steel 300-400 Micron Mesh 13.7 Inch at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

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edit: maybe i could just stitch up some ss mesh the size of the kettle? and that's a serious thought not sarcastic...kinda like a AIO basket.....

 

[mac_1103]

Since we're all sharing, I use one of these. Just pour through it from kettle to fermenter. It does clog, but usually not until I have put pretty close to a full five gallon batch through. Then a little stirring/scraping takes care of the rest.

 

[bracconiere]

Since we're all sharing, I use one of these. Just pour through it from kettle to fermenter. It does clog, but usually not until I have put pretty close to a full five gallon batch through. Then a little stirring/scraping takes care of the rest.

that's the hope.....

 

[mac_1103]

you got me thinking trying to find a 10" hop spider...maybe something like this in the kettle?

Not for that price!