Best method to boil hops?

[jackgym]

Hi brewers,

What is the best type of cloth or bag to steep hop pellets in to avoid having to strain them out of the liquid later?
And where is the best place to purchase same?

 

[manticle]

Hop bag or grain bag from a sponsor like grain and grape or craftbrewer.

 

[mkstalen]

I got my wife to sew me up one made from fine voile (synthetic material, available in spotlight..) and some nylon thread, drawstring is a shoelace...

Works pretty well, still get a little hop material in the final product, but no more than you'd get from using a store bought version I would think.

 

[manticle]

Remember not to pack super tight. You want some movement (which is why I use a minimash grain bag for flowers).
Better to use multiple hop socks than one jammed tight.

 

[yankinoz]

Ditto about bag size. The hops should still be loose after they have swelled in the wort.

A note: Extraction of alpha acids in hot water or wort is rapid. The reason early hop additions add more bitterness than late ones is that isomerisation of alpha acids, which produces bitterness, takes more time. E.G., see the presentation by Spangler and Hopper at http://slideplayer.com/slide/4508963/

Therefore, for large early additions I drop the sack in, wait until it sinks, stir for a couple minutes (be careful not to agitate the surface and cause hot-side aeration), and then remove the sack. This procedure reduces the extraction of astringency from the pellets, which can produce a noticeable effect on taste if you use large amounts of early hops, as in brewing AIPAs or using low-alpha hops to bitter pilsners or best bitters.

You can also move the used sack quickly to a bowl, spray and pour on a little cold water, let it sit and add the runoff back to the boil.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

A nylon stocking ( stolen from SWMBO ) is really good as well

 

[manticle]

Stolen?
I just use my own.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Stocking are valuable, better to steal one that to use your own

 

[jackgym]

Stolen?
I just use my own.

We live in "gender specific" times. -_-

 

[jackgym]

Ditto about bag size. The hops should still be loose after they have swelled in the wort.

A note: Extraction of alpha acids in hot water or wort is rapid. The reason early hop additions add more bitterness than late ones is that isomerisation of alpha acids, which produces bitterness, takes more time. E.G., see the presentation by Spangler and Hopper at http://slideplayer.com/slide/4508963/

Therefore, for large early additions I drop the sack in, wait until it sinks, stir for a couple minutes (be careful not to agitate the surface and cause hot-side aeration), and then remove the sack. This procedure reduces the extraction of astringency from the pellets, which can produce a noticeable effect on taste if you use large amounts of early hops, as in brewing AIPAs or using low-alpha hops to bitter pilsners or best bitters.

You can also move the used sack quickly to a bowl, spray and pour on a little cold water, let it sit and add the runoff back to the boil.

Very informative, thanks.