Hopping festival kits

[martin22]

just got my first festival kit and wondering about the hops for it.

I only have one fermenting bin so can i put the hops inside the mesh bag that comes in the kit to avoid them all mixing around which mean i can the use the tap on the bin to bottle it?

Or do the hops need to float around more?

 

[GavH]

I asked precisely the same question last week in the Review of the Razorback IPA thread. No one replied. I'm thinking just whack them straight in, in the hope they'll break up over the course of the week and any remaining debris will settle into the trub? My Plan B was making a hop tea out of them, but that would mean adding perhaps another Litre to my already 23L brew (didn't think about the Hop Tea option until afterwards ).

 

[Edindie]

I've done a couple of festival kits and I just threw the hops in as suggested. When I bottled I put the bag over the bottom of the siphon tube and there was very little sediment.

If you're worried about the sediment, the longer you leave it in the FV the more the solids will drop out of suspension. Leaving your brew for 3-4 weeks will not affect the flavour but will make it clearer.

 

[GavH]

When I bottled I put the bag over the bottom of the siphon tube.

I think the issue is that the OP, like myself, will be bottling from a tap and presumably bottling wand and hence not using a syphon. The concern therefore is that the hop debris may in fact block the tap and/or bottling wand?

 

[martin22]

I think i'm going to get a larger muslin bag and bung the hops in that, then they'll have more space and hopefully will be able to remove the bag with all hop bits in at the end before I bottle with the fermenter tap.

 

[martin22]

GavH - how do you make the hop 'tea' that sounds a good idea!