Hop bags

[Donegal john]

Why on earth would anyone put leaf in a bag! Pellets are what is under discussion.

The discussion is about hops the op does not mention pellets only in the first post.
I use my mash bag for hops as I do biab so I empty the grain and put the bag in for the boil and as it fits my kettle perfectly it makes no difference to the boil or hops as they have the total size of the kettle to move around so when I finish the boil I lift the bag and drain it and no hop matter in the kettle.
why does this lead you to ask why on earth someone would do it ?
If it’s not for you then fair play but your way might not be the best way for everyone

 

[Tassie]

The discussion is about hops the op does not mention pellets only in the first post.
I use my mash bag for hops as I do biab so I empty the grain and put the bag in for the boil and as it fits my kettle perfectly it makes no difference to the boil or hops as they have the total size of the kettle to move around so when I finish the boil I lift the bag and drain it and no hop matter in the kettle.
why does this lead you to ask why on earth someone would do it ?
If it’s not for you then fair play but your way might not be the best way for everyone

Because leaf is a filter. Pellets are discussed throughout the the thread. I don't give a fig what other people do, but I thought if someone uses leaf in a bag surely I have a right to ask why? If its against the forum rules I will withdraw the question.

 

[Donegal john]

Because leaf is a filter. Pellets are discussed throughout the the thread. I don't give a fig what other people do, but I thought if someone uses leaf in a bag surely I have a right to ask why? If its against the forum rules I will withdraw the question.

Keep your question and consider it answered.

 

[The Baron]

I'm not joking about the tights, by the way. Excellent for small additions of pellets. Boil them in water a couple of times first, though as even new ones have a slight perfume smell. A veg bags a bit big for 5g!
Only use bags for pellets, though.

I have used what used to be called pop so is they are a knee length sock made out of tight denier before too but now use the supermarket veg bags

 

[hoppyscotty]

I have used the supermarket bags recently. They are made of plastic rather than material so will absorb less of the hop goodness. I try not to use bags. I find they just absorb too much and are a bit of a PITA to clean. I much prefer the stainless steel hop tubes. They clean up easily with the hose pipe and I chuck them in the BZ with the PBW when cleaning and it comes up as new. I am avoiding using a hop spider for the same reason as the OP and avoid using bags in the boil and use the tubes for dry hopping. I'm still trying to find a solution to sealing the edge of the Brewzilla false bottom. I find the combination of the whirlpool arm and settling the hops into a cone after the boil prevents significant hops to get through the false bottom, but have noticed alot of hops slide down the cone as you dain the wort into the fermenter and the wort level drops down the sides of the hop cone and its this matter that causes blockages in my plate chiller. Though don't really struggle with pump blockages though as some people seem to.

 

[chthon]

Can't understand why anyone would want to use bags? Hop matter gets left behind with the trub in the kettle.

I always ferment immediately in the boil kettle, after cooling. But one experiment I didn't do yet is check the difference when the hop is taken out by using bags, versus using loose pellets that are still present in the fermentation.

 

[Dovecote]

I don't know if they still do them, but I got my son to post me a dozen of the fruit and veg bags you can buy in the produce section of Sainsbury's. They're fine mesh, a good size and fit the bill perfectly as far as I'm concerned. I'm still using the first two after 18 months!
View attachment 66167

I agree. I use these too, works perfectly for me

 

[Loonytoone]

I use the bags for any hop and most other additions to the kettle.
For much the same reason that I use teabags in the teapot.
Less fuss and easier cleaning with no adverse effect on flavour (imho).

 

[FirebladeAdam]

I also like to think that with the bags and the mesh tubes, the action of removing it gives the beer a real hop blast. Like removing a tea bag and allowing it to hover, to make the tea a bit darker! Although this probably isn't a proven thing, so perhaps it's all in the mind.

 

[hoppyscotty]

Following some comments I read elsewhere where someone suggested that hop aroma was escaping through the airlock or spunding valve I wonder if there is something in this? I do note that when I have hopped directly into the fermenter my fermentation fridge does smell lovely and hoppy! I've more recently been dry hopping in a sealed and purged keg after fermentation (never noticed any benefit to dry hopping during active fermentation personally - no biotransformation detected) and since I've been doing this have noticed an significant improvement in the results. I wonder if others have noticed anything similar?

No doubt someone will say something along the lines of 'if its good enough for pro breweries then its good enough for the home brewer', but I guess on a commercial scale the sheer size of the equipment and volumes involved might mean they're less susceptible to the losses than a home brewer. I've noticed a few aspects that don't translate directly from commercial scale to home brewer scale.

 

[Buffers brewery]

I use the supermarket veg bags with leaf hops in the boil. At the end of the boil and after cooling I can fish the bag out and give it a squeeze to extract as much wort as possible and minimise losses.

 

[Baldylocks Brewery]

I don't know if they still do them, but I got my son to post me a dozen of the fruit and veg bags you can buy in the produce section of Sainsbury's. They're fine mesh, a good size and fit the bill perfectly as far as I'm concerned. I'm still using the first two after 18 months!
View attachment 66167

I also regularly use those fruit and veg bags which are pennies from Aldi/Lidl also. Although managed to rip one on the thermometer probe and burn one on the element in the same brew so all ended up in the wort anyhow!

 

[An Ankoù]

I also regularly use those fruit and veg bags which are pennies from Aldi/Lidl also. Although managed to rip one on the thermometer probe and burn one on the element in the same brew so all ended up in the wort anyhow!

Curiously, although we are as infested with Lidls here as you are on the Isles, I've never seen any produce bags. They do something weird and substantial in one of the big supermarket chains, but you certainly wouldn't want to boil your hops in one of them.

 

[MrJay83]

I use the supermarket veg bags with leaf hops in the boil. At the end of the boil and after cooling I can fish the bag out and give it a squeeze to extract as much wort as possible and minimise losses.

I grabbed a couple of these in Tesco today for dry hopping and when I got home I noticed they say they're made from recycled bottles. Have you no worries about leeching at boiling temperature?

 

[MrJay83]

Curiously, although we are as infested with Lidls here as you are on the Isles, I've never seen any produce bags. They do something weird and substantial in one of the big supermarket chains, but you certainly wouldn't want to boil your hops in one of them.

Do you reckon a quick boil to disinfect before using it for dry hopping would be okay?

 

[An Ankoù]

Do you reckon a quick boil to disinfect before using it for dry hopping would be okay?

Certainly. A good old boil for a good five minutes.

 

[MrJay83]

Certainly. A good old boil for a good five minutes.

Cheers. When I seen "made from recycled plastic bottles" I started thinking it would be a bit dodgy.

 

[Buffers brewery]

I grabbed a couple of these in Tesco today for dry hopping and when I got home I noticed they say they're made from recycled bottles. Have you no worries about leeching at boiling temperature?

To answer your question....no. If the plastic used in bottles is ok for several weeks/months in contact with food stuffs then recycling it for a hop bag is good use. I'd be more concerned if it was from a highly plasticised plastic like flexible pvc. But that's not used for making plastic bottles so no worries as far as I'm concerned.