a hop ball question

Never saw the 5 inch one before, but it looks like it could be useful. Early on, I gave up on smaller types of infusers. Of course, nylon bags work well too, and it may be that the simplicity of the bag is the best way to go.

 

I don't know that I'd trust a hop pellet to not sneak past the mesh of the strainer. After they get wet they pretty much turn to sawdust. It would be worth a try and probably appropriate for plugs and whole cones.

I think I'd still sacrifice a paint straining bag if I were doing a batch with 6 + oz of hops.

 

I haven't used them, but the concern with using them is a reduction in hop utilization.

I have seen reviews on similar products and they seem to work for some, but not others. A lot of time the clasps are flimsy enough that they fail. No idea about that specific one, however.

Those are the concerns people have, no idea how much stock one should put in them, as I have no experience.

 

My personal preference is just throw the pellets in the kettle.

As has been mentioned if you place hops within a ‘vessel’ there will be a reduction in hop utilization.

It seems to me that the tea ball would be problematic since it has such a small volume.

The nice feature of the infuser is the larger dimension.

I know that some brewers use a hop spider for the same concept: http://www.homebrewing.com/equipment/hop-spider.php.

It would be my guess that the hop spider is less constraining than the infuser?

Cheers!

 

@robwestcott , are you kegging? Best method I've found if your kegging is to have a designated 'conditioning keg' that has a cropped dip tube about 2'' up. Dry hop at fermentation temps in keg & then move the beer to cold condition beer for 3-4 days, if your using gelatin or other finings then maybe only 2 days. Under CO2 pressure, jump beer from conditioning keg to serving keg. Most all hop trub will be packed at the bottom.

I've used those hop ball stainless steel things before. They work ok, I was dry hopping in a keg though so the big one didn't fit and the small one was too small.

 

My biggest problem with the smaller hop ball is getting them in my fermenter. I use better bottles and the neck isn't big enough for the 2 inch infusers. Better bottle necks are 1.77". If you use buckets or big mouth bubble, or anything that will fit, I think they are OK to use. I would increase the hop amount by about 10% due to a probable loss of utilization due to the reduced surface area contact. One good thing about the infusers is that they sink. Clip 3 or 4 together and suspend them with some plain unwaxed dental floss and hang them halfway down into the beer. I've found that in the 2 inch balls you can use between a 1/4 and 1/2 ounce of hops to deal with the expansion, not sure about the bigger infuser. Me... I just toss the hops into the fermenter commando and use the hop bag over the end of my auto siphon.

 

I've just used the 5.5 inch infuser for the first time on my last brew day and was not impressed, I used pellet hops and ALOT got through the mesh, also was a bit of a pain to open/add hops to it as you went along. Going back to just tossing them in commando.

 

Jack, do you take measures to filter the hops out of your wort when transferring to the fermenter? I sometimes use bags and sometimes just try to stop racking before the hop trub hits the fermenter. Neither is completely satisfying.

 

I whirlpool then let it sit for a half hour and do pretty much like you, Stop just as it's getting into the trub. A little trub in the fermenter is OK and in some cases a good thing as it provides a bit more FAN in the fermenter. You can use a hop bag or some nylon stockings over the end of the siphon to block a lot of the trub.

 

I agree that a little trub is not a big deal. I am not unsatisfied with the way my beers come out. But I do leave a lot of liquidy hop slop in the boil bucket and it would be nice to recover the liquid without getting all the slop. If leaving it behind is the best thing I can do, then I'm OK. Just curious if others have good ways to overcome it.

 

I leave a lot of wort in the brew pot as well. I have my system and software set up to account for the extra. My brewhouse efficiency does suffer a bit, I get around 70%. For us homebrewers it's not really a big deal cost wise... pennies. I've been toying with the idea of straining the kettle leavings on my next brew and putting it in a 1 gallon jug. Pitch a bit of a different yeast and maybe dryhop it just to see how it comes out. Should be able to get at least another 6 pack out of it and it would be cool to see how it compares to the cleaner batch. I thought I'd use a 1 gallon strainer bag or some nylon voile material and line a colander with it and just pour it through. Probably do a petty good job of oxygenating it in the process.

I'd be curious to hear others alternative methods as well. FWIW, some guys just pour it in the fermenter... trub and all. It all settles out in the end, just makes rinsing and recovering the yeast a bit of a pain.

 

Peter, I do not filter. For beers which have a lot of hops I will leave some of the hop debris in the brew kettles vs. pouring all of the contents into the fermenter. For low-medium hopped beer I dump everything into the fermenter.

Cheers!

 

I"ll whirlpool with one of these....

Then use one of these when I start draining the wort into my fermentor....

Near the end of the drain, some debris gets by but no biggie.