Now that I grew hops for the first time, I’m not sure whether to put them in the brew kettle loose or use my tea infusers. Any thoughts on this matter?
I have multiple nylon mesh bags, and if those aren't big enough I tend to use an extra grain bag I have. Loose is a mess, I have done it a few times both dry hop and in the boil and it just adds an extra layer to clean up.
I do have plenty of muslin bags too. I have read that putting them in loose creates a filter bed. If that would cause a mess, I’ll probably put them in bags or my infusers. Thanks!
Memory is a little foggy, but IIRC someone here on BA posted about fresh whole hops (maybe fresh-frozen/sealed?) in the boil (or maybe mash?) and that there was what looked like a fair amount undisturbed lupulin in the hops. Seeing that caused me to think I'll probably chop up my fresh-frozen hops immediately before using them, and also contain them somehow (muslin bags, hops spider, etc.) with plenty of room to move around.
Never thought of that. I'll use my wife's Cuisinart® for next fresh hop homebrew. I love to experiment!
That was me last year. This year I ripped each hop in half as it went into the kettle and it turned out 100% better.
I throw mine in naked. I mean I have to clean the kettle out at the end regardless of what’s in side right. I use a bazooka strain on the kettle outlet nipple, so the hops collect around it and strain the wort. Sometimes I have to use the mash spoon to push some off so the wort will flow better. I also like to use a lot in the mash. Just put them in with grains and the help the wort recirculate better. You do have to account for them holding more water though.
I have tryed all ways listed except making a tea. After years of experimenting I chose tossing in the hops hole in the kettle. true it takes longer for the hops to drain, like a addional 15 minutes, but it does add a small, but extra filter for the smaller fines, especially if your using 8 or more oz of hole hops. They also get banged around the kettle more which seems to loosen up the lupolin pods inside the hops. either way have fun.
