Hops Particles

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Strange Dog

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So I just bottled my first brew that I used hops with and the bottles contain significant particles of hops.

When I made the brew initially, I boiled 15g of hops in 5L of water, then added another 15g and removed it from the heat. I added this mixture to the fermenter and made up the rest as usual.

So after some quick research it would seem that I am not the only person to suffer from the particles of hops. I have started trying to formulate a plan to prevent this from happening in future but figured you guys might already have some answers.

I have been tasting my gravity samples and the hops really seem to have added a lot of interesting flavours and aromas so I expect I will make them a permanent addition to my homebrewing technique and I would ideally like to come up with a solution to the particle issue.

So what should I do to achieve some better clarity? Add finings prior to bottling? Filter them out at some point of the bottling procedures? Gravity did not seem to take care of the particles whilst in the fermenter for more than a week so I dont think waiting for them to settle is an option.

The hops were Galaxy pellets (the kind that have to be kept in the freezer, I dont know what other kinds there are so I just thought I should clarify).
 
Did you not use some kind of fine material / fine hop sock to boil in? Or if not boil with, filter / pour through?
 
Gravity did not seem to take care of the particles whilst in the fermenter for more than a week so I dont think waiting for them to settle is an option.
Really? A week is a long time? A week barely achieves FG in my brewery. Don't discount the idea of the hops settling out if you are patient.
 
Hops yum!..............Who cares what it looks like!
 
Its the first time I have brewed in summer, with temps averaging in my fermenter around 22 degrees so thats how long it took for the gravity to stabilise. The brew will be in the bottle for 2 months before I start drinking so I guess over that kind of time period it would settle, but I would prefer to not have it in the bottle at all (I am ultimately aiming for being able to drink straight from my bottles with not much sediment, I dont kow if this is just a fantasy).
 
Did you not use some kind of fine material / fine hop sock to boil in? Or if not boil with, filter / pour through?

No I didnt, but do you think I should? I have no idea what I should be using for filtration, or at what stage I should be using it. Do they make socks specifically for this purpose ? I was considering trying to put some kind of fabric over the end of my bottling tube.
 
cold crash if you have access to a fridge and/or add finings.

If that does not help, next time maybe use a hop sock
 
filtering hop particles is pretty easy..

option 1
1.JPG
a sieve works pretty well, strain the resultant liquid through this into the fermenter.

option 2
2.JPG
The best option is to get a fridge set up going, having the ability to cold condition (Keeping a beer at close to 0'c for a week) will settle alot of yeast and hop material still floating.

Option 3
Investigate racking to bulk prime. I use this method in conjuction with option 2, after Cold Conditioning for a week I transfer the beer off to another drum, this drum contains all the sugar needed for carbonation. Doing this will allow you to leave behind the settled yeast, hops and trub when it comes time to bottle. I find that with this method I get very clear beer. Havnt had a floatie... er... ever I think when using this method.
Note. When racking try to avoid splashing the beer, I find that using a hose from tap to tap is the best. (slowly at first and then when the tap is covered it can be increased)

Option 4
Filter.

Yob

edit: I found the use of a hop sock to be messy and expensive, messy if you want to clean and re-use the bag, expensive if you throw them away... there are methods such as the 'chux' method but I found that I just wasnt getting the full potential from having them tightly enclosed.
 
Chilling for a period will help, even leaving it an extra week at fermenting temps will help.
The fermenting fridge will not only help but allowing you to cold condition, it will improve the final beer by fermenting at the correct temps all the time.

I keg, but have one of these in the racking cane
http://www.wetearth.com.au/Product/Product...lngProductID=56 (but purchased from Bunnings)

They work a treat for removing most hop crap, I think you could hook one up somehow into the bottling setup.
Option 1. dump the beer via the filter into a second fermentor for bulk priming.
Option 2. extend the bottling cane to allow one of these

When I used to bottle I was always trying to reduce the sediment, the best way to get rid of it is kegging B)


QldKev
 
So what should I do to achieve some better clarity?


I went to Kmart and bought a few pairs of womens stockings off the discount trolley and have been using them to strain my hops and grains into the fermenter. Stretch over fermenter and hold in place with a rubber band. Simple
 
Thanks for the tips. I guess that at this stage I will go for the strainer/stockings option and add finings prior to bottling. I will be getting a second fermenter in a week or two so that I can bulk-prime (or is there some other thing I should ask for if it is solely for bulk priming ?).

I guess after that I will have to bite the bullet and find myself a second fridge.

I got into home brewing to save money on beer. I am starting to think I was fooling myself.... :D
 
Thanks for the tips. I guess that at this stage I will go for the strainer/stockings option and add finings prior to bottling. I will be getting a second fermenter in a week or two so that I can bulk-prime (or is there some other thing I should ask for if it is solely for bulk priming ?).
A second fermenter is fine. You could use a cube (jerry can) or a bottling bucket, but I would think most of us bulk primers use a fermenter.
If you rack from the primary to the secondary prior to adding finings, you will leave a bunch of sediment behind in the primary fermenter. You can then clean/sanitize it and use it to bottle from (after fining/chilling the beer for a bit to drop out even more sediment)
Just a suggestion though. Some will say that racking to a secondary carries more potential risks than benefits.

I got into home brewing to save money on beer. I am starting to think I was fooling myself.... :D
You will still save money. Sooner or later...
 
Thanks for the tips. I guess that at this stage I will go for the strainer/stockings option and add finings prior to bottling. I will be getting a second fermenter in a week or two so that I can bulk-prime (or is there some other thing I should ask for if it is solely for bulk priming ?).

I guess after that I will have to bite the bullet and find myself a second fridge.

I got into home brewing to save money on beer. I am starting to think I was fooling myself.... :D

I just went to Bunnings and bought a couple of 30ltr drums with tap to bulk prime in. I also now use one as a fermenter. Cost a quarter the price of a new fermenter and does exactly the same thing. Think they were about $18 for the 30ltr, $16 for 25ltr and the 20ltr cubes were on special for $12.50.

Cheers,
Mut
 
I will be getting a second fermenter in a week or two so that I can bulk-prime.

I got into home brewing to save money on beer. I am starting to think I was fooling myself.... :D

Personally I just use the $15 Bunnings water Drums, perfect size for a secondary / racking vessel.

Saving money on beer is kinda out the window for me now, Ive got 3 fridges, 3 fermenters, 3 STC 1000 Box's, 2 racking drums, 2 Cubes, and a shed full of 3V stuffs (Burners and MP Reg etc)...

I started with a can opener and a kit for my birthday 2 years ago... though it can be said that the equipment purchases / builds are slowing down now... not stopped, just slowing...

there's lots of upgrades on this slope :rolleyes:
 

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