Filtering hops at bottling time

[Robbieb]

Hi,

I've got my third batch fermenting at the moment, I've done a coffee porter with a few different grains and East Kent Goldings hops.

It's a week in to fermentation now and I took a hydrometer sample yesterday. It tasted good but was FULL of little bits of hops. In my two previous brews I added hops straight in to the pot just like I did with this one but this has never been a problem. This time I used a total of 100g in my hop bill which is much more than I have previously used.

So my question is.. Can I expect the bits of hops to drop out when fermentation finishes up? Or am I going to have to filter them out?

AND

I have some Simcoe in the freezer and although I'm happy with the balance of malty and coffee flavours at the moment, I cant help but think about dry hopping it with a bit of Simcoe for another dimension.. is this a good or bad idea?

From Rob

 

[mongey]

Are you going to cold crash ? That gets most of the bits for me.

 

[Rocker1986]

I personally don't see the point in dry hopping a porter. It's a style all about the malts, the hops are only really there for bitterness to balance the sweetness.

And yes if you're able to cold crash it, that should drop pretty well all the hop matter out. When you say added straight to the pot, do you mean you boiled them before adding to the fermenter? If so, you can just strain these out so they don't even get into the fermenter in the first place - they won't really do anything in there anyway once they've been boiled.

 

[manticle]

Many british porters were historically highly hopped, both bittering and dry.
Beyond that it's more about preference.
Personally, I generally wouldn't and if I did, I wouldn't use simcoe. Try it next time if you think the beer is lacking.

Most of the hop particles should drop out. If you want to reduce them more in future, pack them loosely into a hop sock, grain bag or clean stocking first.

 

[Robbieb]

Thanks for the replies,

I did boil the hops before adding to the fermenter. I didn't strain them only because it hasn't been an issue for me before, but I think from now on I will.

I haven't cold crashed before, but my fermenter is in a temp controlled fridge so I may as well give it a go and see if it helps. If there's still hops in it, I was thinking of getting a second fermenter (which I've been meaning to get for bulk priming anyway) and transferring to that, straining the hops out on the way.

I'll leave the Simcoe out! I knew in the back of my mind it wasn't a good idea. It would be interesting to try one day though.

Cheers.

 

[mofox1]

If they were added due to being in the boil, then they would have dropped out pretty quick and been covered with a good amount of yeast in the first few days of ferment. No worries at all.

It's really only late dry hopping (ie after ferment has finished) that can cause issues - in which case as per manticle's & rockers advice. I tend to go for the cold crash option ('cos it's less cleaning!), often propping the fermenter up about 5cm on the tap side as my dry hopping rates can exceed 10g/L... but then that's lupulin threshold shift for you.

 

[Blind Dog]

If there's still hops in it, I was thinking of getting a second fermenter (which I've been meaning to get for bulk priming anyway) and transferring to that, straining the hops out on the way.

How are you planning on 'straining'? The 2 main risks on transfer are exposure to bugs and exposure to oxygen, both of which should be avoided by using a sanitised, closed transfer system purged with C02, that does not involve any splashing and minimises turbulence, or at the very least minimised by careful handling. I'd suggest cold crashing and then, if there are still hop bits floating around (and I suspect there wont be after a day or two), fining with unflavoured gelatine.

 

[Robbieb]

How are you planning on 'straining'? The 2 main risks on transfer are exposure to bugs and exposure to oxygen, both of which should be avoided by using a sanitised, closed transfer system purged with C02, that does not involve any splashing and minimises turbulence, or at the very least minimised by careful handling. I'd suggest cold crashing and then, if there are still hop bits floating around (and I suspect there wont be after a day or two), fining with unflavoured gelatine.

I did think of that!

I was thinking of using a sanitised food grade plastic hose to transfer from one fermenter to another, and holding a sanitised nylon mesh bag (which I normally use for steeping grains) over the end of the hose to strain out the hops.

 

[Gigantorus]

Yeah try to strain the brew as you bottle is a risky proposition.

Just drop the FV in the fridge to 2C or 0C for 4+ days before bottling and the beer will be quite clear of hop matter. The only down side of this is that the bottle carbonation will take slightly longer than normal. But it's worth it for the cleaner beer.

Cheers,

Pete

 

[hwall95]

Put something under the tap end of the fermentor to angle slightly so all the dropping yeast and hop falls to the back of the fermentor and away from the tap. Best to do at the start of fermentation but will still help now. Apart from that cold crashing for a few days will drop it free of debris

 

[Robbieb]

To follow this up, cold crashing and angling the fermenter worked a treat. I missed out on the last 2 or 3 liters because every time I tilted the fermenter forward hops blocked the tap.

It's tasting real good after 2 weeks in the bottle.

 

[Digga]

You seem to have found your happy place!! It's all about ease to reward with the home brew in my opinion!
Correct me if I'm wrong here! I do love "going to the pub" in my shed and never getting the boot!