Hop Teabags

[Alby]

Hi all,

I've been reading a lot about the different styles and methods of using hops and was wondering if people just buy commercial hop bags or can really you just cut a stocking leg and tie it up?

Also...does the use of the bags have the same effect as loosely boiling hops, or dropping them directly into the wort when dry hopping? (ie no bag)...From what Ive read the hop-bits will settle out in the trub by the end of primary fermentation.

When adding hops late in fermentation, do you simply open the fermenter and drop them in? I thought this was to be avoided, or is it a two second job and minimal risk of infection?...is it preferable to add them to a secondary container when racking?

Sorry for all the questions..a lot of info here and I am enthusiastically discovering more, but still a little unclear on how best to use hops and Im really keen to give them a go and move beyond a can and BE2 pack.

cheers in advance

Al

 

[Mitcho]

Alby,

You beat me to this topic mate.

It sounds like I'm at the same stage as you, ie: wanting to move up from the basic K&K stuff. I've tried using the tea bag hops and think they work well but like you, I'm curious to know about the other types and methods and how to go about using them, and what the results are.

I bought some loose Saaz pellets for Czech Pils today and the fellow at the HBS said try boiling 10g for 10 mins then add another 15g and seep the lot for another 10 mins, strain and add.

If anyone replies to this topic I'm sure you be a big help to both myself and Alby.

Cheers all.

 

[Pollux]

Hops can make a great addition to any kit beer, throw in replacing the BE2 with all malt and you're on your way to basically extract brewing....

If you do choose to add malt, the best way to do this and also add hops is to boil the malt in some water at a rate of 100g/1L in your biggest pot (Target/BigW tend to have cheap 15L stainless ones that will hold a 10L boil) and add the hops for a shorter boil (20mins for flavour, on flameout to add some aroma) as doing a full on 60min boil will lead to overbittering when it's combined with the kit.

Forget hop teasbags, EXTREMELY overpriced when you do the sums and work out $/kg....Buy a 90/100gram shrink bag from any of the site sponsers and you will have saved some money.

Throw in some better than kit yeast (the safale sachets are an improvement) and some good temperature control and you're on your way.

 

[manticle]

I used a couple but they are not very cost effective. It's better to buy larger quantities of loose pellets and keep the remainder in the freezer for your next brew.

If you are using a kit it will already have been hopped so later pellet additions, dry hopping and hop teabags may be more appropriate than a lot of bittering hops. You could undoubtedly throw a teabag in earlier for more bittering or flavouring too.

At the moment I've moved into extract brewing so I'm adding hops (pellets) at early, mid and late stages of the boil. I've never dry hopped or added late hops. I guess dry hopping is added straight to the fermenter or to a secondary fermenter in a similar way to bulk priming. I'm sure there's a risk of infection but my guess is it's minimal. Hop teabag (single use) = around $2.90. 100g hop pellets (multiple uses) = $7.90

 

[.DJ.]

I just chuck loose pellets in.. No bags or socks


they settle after fermentation anyways...

 

[Alby]

Hi all, and thanks for the info,

when I used the term 'teabags' in the thread topic I was just thinking of hops in a bag or stocking of some sort...hadnt worked out there was a specific product called teabags! Im still a bit confused by it all. let me see if Ive got this right.

You need to boil hops to impart bitterness, with a shorter boil or steeping (or even dry hopping) imparting more aroma and flavour.

Dry hops can be added at any time?..ie when initially making up the wort, several days into fermentation, at the end of primary fermentation (either in primary vessel or in secondary when racking)...

does this sound right?...what difference would it make to a beer that has dry hops added late (racking stage) as opposed the the same type and volume of dry hops added when initially making up the wort?

cheers

Al

 

[manticle]

Hi all, and thanks for the info,

when I used the term 'teabags' in the thread topic I was just thinking of hops in a bag or stocking of some sort...hadnt worked out there was a specific product called teabags! Im still a bit confused by it all. let me see if Ive got this right.

You need to boil hops to impart bitterness, with a shorter boil or steeping (or even dry hopping) imparting more aroma and flavour.

Dry hops can be added at any time?..ie when initially making up the wort, several days into fermentation, at the end of primary fermentation (either in primary vessel or in secondary when racking)...

does this sound right?...what difference would it make to a beer that has dry hops added late (racking stage) as opposed the the same type and volume of dry hops added when initially making up the wort?

cheers

Al

Hops provide three characteristics to beer.

Early in the boil = bitterness
Mid - later in the boil = flavour
late in the boil, end of boil and in fermentation = aroma

I don't know much about dry hopping but that sounds right to me. My understanding is that later hopping will provide a more floral characteristic.

The teabag thing is just a way of enabling easy removal so you don't have to strain the wort or add the hops into the fermenter. If a brew is light hopped I don't think it does any harm to throw the lot in but otherwise you can just throw it through a colander which is what I do.

There are some useful guides around on which hops do what to which beers and whether they are better for bittering or for aroma etc.

Also I just discovered beer recipator which gives you a total IBU (measurement of bitterness) for any hops schedule you want to try. You can easily find typical IBU levels for various styles online and see if you hacve too much or too little.

I'm fairly new to it all so hopefully my information is up to scratch.

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/W...erPage/hops.htm

http://hbd.org/recipator/ (check the spreadsheet section)

Also a thread on hops I started a few weeks ago which has various useful links

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=30088

 

[Pollux]

Hi all, and thanks for the info,

when I used the term 'teabags' in the thread topic I was just thinking of hops in a bag or stocking of some sort...hadnt worked out there was a specific product called teabags! Im still a bit confused by it all. let me see if Ive got this right.

You need to boil hops to impart bitterness, with a shorter boil or steeping (or even dry hopping) imparting more aroma and flavour.

Spot on.

Dry hops can be added at any time?..ie when initially making up the wort, several days into fermentation, at the end of primary fermentation (either in primary vessel or in secondary when racking)...

Dry hopping is an action, you still use the same hops as in a boil but instead you throw them into a fermenter, some people like to do this while racking as it's two jobs done together, and don't worry too much about them introducing infection, little can survive on hops.

does this sound right?...what difference would it make to a beer that has dry hops added late (racking stage) as opposed the the same type and volume of dry hops added when initially making up the wort?

I personally find dry hopping give ALOT more aroma, but don't add them at the start of fermentation as the CO2 being produced will drive off alot of that aroma.

 

[loikar]

You need to boil hops to impart bitterness, with a shorter boil or steeping (or even dry hopping) imparting more aroma and flavour.

Dry hops can be added at any time?..ie when initially making up the wort, several days into fermentation, at the end of primary fermentation (either in primary vessel or in secondary when racking)...

does this sound right?...what difference would it make to a beer that has dry hops added late (racking stage) as opposed the the same type and volume of dry hops added when initially making up the wort?

cheers

Al

Just passing on the love
This will help Alby, it did me.

 

[Pollux]

I was wondering where that graph was....

Cheers Beerfingers.

 

[Bribie G]

Another good method of hopping in the fermenter is to use whole hop flowers and make a litre of hop tea, exactly as if you are making a pot of ordinary tea. In fact I have a big pyrex glass teapot I bought from an op shop and keep it just for hopping.
Let it cool for half an hour and strain the clear tea into fermenter. I usually do it two days before bottling if the style calls for a hop burst (American Pale Ale, Hoppier UK bitters etc).

Get yourself a bottle of Little Creatures Pale ale, sniff while opening :icon_drool2: and that's what I mean.

 

[peas_and_corn]

Recently made myself up a dry hop device like the one in this post. Currently dry hopping my 1-1 beer, adding some nice flavours already and it han't been in there for very long!

 

[Nick JD]

For my partials, I use the nylon stuff that Brew In A Bag users use, but I make little 20x20cm squares, plop some hops in the middle and then tie it up like a swag. I put it in the boil for 2 minutes (holding it under) to sterilize it and then into the fermenter it goes.

The bag floats in the fermenter and give a massive aroma ... and quite a bit of flavour too. Left for three weeks a lot of flavour comes out of hops, not just aroma.