Brew day is approaching. Question about dry hopping

You can just toss them in. Problem with that is they will break apart and it's tough to rack off of them later. You can put them in muslin bag, but particles will still get out .

 

Depends on how much emphasis you pklace on clear beer.

I have found that I get better results when I just toss em in without a bag...although could just be a coincidence and those batches would have been better anyway...but I feel like there's more contact area when just tossed in loose.

But as JrGtr says above, it can be hard to prevent the hop debris from getting cuked up into your racking cane. If you keg, they can even clog up your pick up tube as happended to me on one batch that I was particluarly careless about when racking...ended up having to transfer the already carbed beer to another keg to serve while I cleaned out the mess.

I still prefer to just toss em in without a bag though

 

I've done it both ways, but settled on using a nylon bag although some hop debris still manages to escape. A straight toss might give you better oil solubility, but you'll lose some quantity when you rack. If you chill and wait for the hops to settle the hop-aroma-escaping-clock is running, just be aware. HINT: with your pellets use caution to let none of the powdered hop-residue in the fermentor, that is pretty much guaranteed to show up in your brew with or without a bag.

 

I personally use a muslin bag weighed down with marbles to manage hop debris.

I have read where folks who just throw the pellets in will place a paint strainer bag over there racking can to keep it from getting clogged up during transfers.

Cheers!

 

I just toss them in, free range hops. When I siphon into the keg, I use a nylon mesh bag to catch the debris.

 

That's what I do. I place a 1 gal nylon paint strainer bag over my siphon when I transfer to the bottling bucket. Works very well. Only drawback is it's one more thing I have to sanitize.

 

I just toss them in and then cold crash before transfer to keg. I do the same when I keg hop, I use a ss screen over the pickup tube. First pour is cloudy, but clears up completely by the 3rd or 4th pour and I never get any hop debris.

 

How much hops are you going to add? If its less than 2 oz, its perfectly fine to throw them in and it will most likely not cause any problems of clogging or clarity. I don't have much experience using more, but like some others have mentioned covering the racking cane with a grain bag or similar works pretty well and easily to avoid transferring hop debris into the bottling bucket. So, one more vote for "just toss them in".

Also, if you do end up with more than you like of hop debris in the bottle, refrigeration and a conscientious pour will keep the beer bright in the glass.

 

If you toss the pellets directly in, make sure you use a very fine mesh when filtering.

I recently had a pretty good beer basically ruined when I dry hopped with 3 oz of pellets (Amarillo and Citra) added directly to the fermenter. The hops would NOT drop out, so I tried using a paint strainer bag on the end of the siphon hose to filter the debris when I racked to the bottling bucket. The paint strainer caught some of the debris, but it's not a very fine mesh so a lot of really fine hop sediment got into the bottles and now I have gushers and hop sediment in the glass.

My most recent batch I compensated by using fine-mesh hop bags both in the boil and dry hopping. That worked great to control the debris, but at the cost of hop utilization. The beer just isn't as hoppy as it should be.

So I'm tossed up now on what to try next. I'm thinking of trying the pellets direct into the fermenter again, cold crash, and then put the finest mesh bag I have onto the siphon tube while racking. Hopefully that will give good results.

 

Brew day + >2 weeks for dryhopping, IMHO (I don't care what Vinnie says )

Use a FINE mesh bag, cold crash after 1 week dry hopping @ room temp and keep it cold from there on out...(with the exception of 2 weeks for carbonating (if bottling)...IMHO

If u dryhop a lot, kegging is the way to go, IMHO

 

I use these nylon paint strainer bags and they work great. I use them to strain from fermenter to bucket and for transferring to the bottling bucket when dry hopping. I have never experienced the problems you described and have used them around 30 times when dry hopping.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Trimaco-5-gal-Elastic-Top-Strainers-2-Pack-11573-36WF/202061360

 

I like the paint strainer bag idea, too...just make sure u replace them before they come apart...~6 0r 8 batches for me.

 

Forgot to mention I put mine around the bottom of the auto siphon. Not at the end of the hose that is in the bottling bucket. Don't pull it up to tight you want a little bit of space between the tip of the siphon and the bottom of the paint strainer bag.

 

Do you have a way to cold condition the beer? If so, I think best way is to let fermentation finish, once gravity stable you can just gently add pellets directly to fermenter for 3-7 days and then cold condition. If you cold condition, all the pellets will fall out of suspension to the bottom. That is what works for me.

 

Bare naked hops for me. Use the bag for the auto siphon. I never get hops in my bottling bucket and never get a clogged siphon. Helps if you also have then end cap for the auto siphon.

 

I toss em in, no bag. Then I sanitize and carefully drape a paint strainer bag over my beer when I'm ready to rack, pushing it down with the siphon. You can also wrap your siphon with a paint strainer bag (sanitize whatever you secure it with well, rubber bands are dirty). Works like a champ, minimal hop debris in my beer.

 

I do the same and have similar results. I like to believe that the loss of hop resins due to the cold crash is somewhat offset by the gain in extraction due to eliminating the muslin bag.