Hop pellets

[Dave's Bunker]

Hi everyone, I'm looking for a bit of advice here hope someone can help, I enjoy the flavour of hops in my kit based brews and have been putting a quantity of hop pellets in a brew bag then plopping into the brew, stay with me, the problem with this is the hops create a "dirty" brew and becomes a so and so to clear. My question is (are you still there?) can I put the hops in the bag then into a jug with boiling water, leave for a couple of days to steep then pour the liquid only into the brew? Thanks again happy brewing

 

[Clint]

I'd say you're only looking at half hour maybe to steep the hops for your hop "tea"..if that.
I usually add hops towards the end of fermentation then chill the brew to drop out any suspended bits.

 

[Buffers brewery]

This might help…..

https://beerandbrewing.com/use-hops-tea-to-enhance-flavors-in-your-beer/

 

[Stevieboy]

Obviously a common issue - there's a bloke called Dave that's posted exactly the same query just 5 minutes before you!! Weird eh?

 

[crowcrow]

Note that 'tea' will draw out different flavours to a proper dry hopping.

Is you don't have somewhere to cold crash u can probably just put your fermentation vessel outside in the shade for 2 or 3 days when the fermentation has stopped and the cold will help all the bits drop out. I just throw my hops in (pellet or whole) and a good cold crash draws them to the bottom.

 

[crowcrow]

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/the-magic-of-a-cold-crash.96206

 

[Eskimo John]

I find that hop pellets disintegrate where as hop leafs don't and therefore are better contained by a bag.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

I find that hop pellets disintegrate where as hop leafs don't and therefore are better contained by a bag.

Yep, supermarket nylon fruit and veg bag. Boil the bag and a stainless steel spoon for 10 minutes first then spoon and hops in the bag and into the FV. I clip the lid of the FV onto the drawstring so it doesn’t sink right to the bottom.

 

[lancon]

When I have used pellets to dry hop (which for dry hopping are far more efficient than leaf I think) I tie a nylon bag on the end of the syphon tube in my bottling bucket. I used to tie the bag on the end of the syphon as a filter but the suction of the syphon clogged the bag. The bag does get full but it does stay on and works well as a filter.

 

[sgmbrewer]

I use a "dry hopping tube" (google that for examples) - think I got it for about £10 from Amazon - very fine mesh so seems to keep all hop matter out of the fermenter. Bear in mind that for very heavily dry hopped beers you might need two tubes - I just finished up a black IPA dry hopped with about 250g of pellets and the tube was so packed once the pellets had expanded with the absorption that I'm sure it will have impacted the ability to infuse. I'd say more than 150g is going to be the limit.

For clarity I'd use finings when kegging (or stirred gently into fermenter a few days before bottling) and cold crash if you can move to a colder place for 48 hours before packaging.

If you do try the hop tea method (I'm sceptical whether it'll be any good) - please post back what the results are!

 

[Dave's Bunker]

Obviously a common issue - there's a bloke called Dave that's posted exactly the same query just 5 minutes before you!! Weird eh?

Nice to see someone with positive comments for a change(not)

 

[Dave's Bunker]

I use a "dry hopping tube" (google that for examples) - think I got it for about £10 from Amazon - very fine mesh so seems to keep all hop matter out of the fermenter. Bear in mind that for very heavily dry hopped beers you might need two tubes - I just finished up a black IPA dry hopped with about 250g of pellets and the tube was so packed once the pellets had expanded with the absorption that I'm sure it will have impacted the ability to infuse. I'd say more than 150g is going to be the limit.

For clarity I'd use finings when kegging (or stirred gently into fermenter a few days before bottling) and cold crash if you can move to a colder place for 48 hours before packaging.

If you do try the hop tea method (I'm sceptical whether it'll be any good) - please post back what the results are!

Many thanks

 

[Dave's Bunker]

I use a "dry hopping tube" (google that for examples) - think I got it for about £10 from Amazon - very fine mesh so seems to keep all hop matter out of the fermenter. Bear in mind that for very heavily dry hopped beers you might need two tubes - I just finished up a black IPA dry hopped with about 250g of pellets and the tube was so packed once the pellets had expanded with the absorption that I'm sure it will have impacted the ability to infuse. I'd say more than 150g is going to be the limit.

For clarity I'd use finings when kegging (or stirred gently into fermenter a few days before bottling) and cold crash if you can move to a colder place for 48 hours before packaging.

If you do try the hop tea method (I'm sceptical whether it'll be any good) - please post back what the results are!

 

[Dave's Bunker]

Cheers I've ordered one

 

[Dave's Bunker]

I use a "dry hopping tube" (google that for examples) - think I got it for about £10 from Amazon - very fine mesh so seems to keep all hop matter out of the fermenter. Bear in mind that for very heavily dry hopped beers you might need two tubes - I just finished up a black IPA dry hopped with about 250g of pellets and the tube was so packed once the pellets had expanded with the absorption that I'm sure it will have impacted the ability to infuse. I'd say more than 150g is going to be the limit.

For clarity I'd use finings when kegging (or stirred gently into fermenter a few days before bottling) and cold crash if you can move to a colder place for 48 hours before packaging.

If you do try the hop tea method (I'm sceptical whether it'll be any good) - please post back what the results are!

Hi, yes like you I have been using finings in an attempt to clear the brew but gonna start looking at the "cold crashing method folkes on this forum are recommending, cheers

 

[Duxuk]

I've found in my 217 brews (when I found who drank all that beer, they're in trouble!) that dry hopped beers are less clear and much more prone to chill hazes. ATM I'm tending to cool the brew to 75C and add my last hops at that point before filtering into the FV. The flavour is different and less emphatic than dry hopping but lasts much longer in the bottle.

 

[The Baron]

Dry hop using the re-usable veg bags from Aldi etc @25p
cold crash if possible say this time of the year if no fridge a garage will do
You can use gelatine if you want whilst cold crashing
then syphon carefully to bottle or keg
Then time is your friend for full clarity
Ps large dry hopping will take longer to clear than a standard dry hop

 

[Dave's Bunker]

Dry hop using the re-usable veg bags from Aldi etc @25p
cold crash if possible say this time of the year if no fridge a garage will do
You can use gelatine if you want whilst cold crashing
then syphon carefully to bottle or keg
Then time is your friend for full clarity
Ps large dry hopping will take longer to clear than a standard dry hop

Many thanks, I've received some great tips on this subject and I'm gonna try them all in time, thanks again wasn't the quote on your profile attributed to Winston Churchill )

 

[Dave's Bunker]

I've found in my 217 brews (when I found who drank all that beer, they're in trouble!) that dry hopped beers are less clear and much more prone to chill hazes. ATM I'm tending to cool the brew to 75C and add my last hops at that point before filtering into the FV. The flavour is different and less emphatic than dry hopping but lasts much longer in the bottle.

Many thanks for the pointers, cheers Dave

 

[Dave's Bunker]

I find that hop pellets disintegrate where as hop leafs don't and therefore are better contained by a bag.

Thanks