Dumb questions? 1) how am I sure the leaf hops are doing their thing? They seem to be clumped up in the bag 2) when done, do I add the bag to the fermentor? 3) if going to dry hop with the rest of the leaf hops, use the hop bag then too? (sanitize it first, of course). I have the bag, it's in the boil (for a few more minutes). Only used the bag previously for pumpkin mash, so I don't know about using it for hops. Thanks.
1) If they are crammed in a bag that isn't big enough they probably arent "doing their thing" as well as they could be. 2) I usually leave the bag in until the wort is chilled and then (with very clean and sanitized hands wearing foodservice latex gloves) I wring it out into the fermenter. 3)Just chuck the whole dryhops into the fermenter. They will float and it's pretty easy to siphon the beer out from under them if you're a halfway proficient siphoner.
It's a pretty big bag, when the wort was cooling, I saw that there was a lot of flow. And the wort tasted bitter enough. I think all is good. Thanks! Off to bring in the new year!
