hops or pellets

[Clint]

Hello all
Just about to order some stuff for dry hopping some kits..decided on cascade and citra for the hoppy copper and saaz for the cerveza. Anyway do I get pellets or the leaf type AND do I just dry hop in a muslin bag for around the last 5 days of fermentation, do a hop tea at the start or go bananas and do both?

Cheers

Clint

 

[strange-steve]

I was a late convert to pellet hops but I wouldn't go back to leaf hops now. You get better extraction and aroma from pellets. They are easier to dry hop with too, just chuck em in the fv after fermentation has slowed down and leave them until they sink to the bottom, which they will do. Then just rack off the trub as normal before bottling.

 

[IainM]

Yeah, I second that. My pellet beers have been hoppier than the leaf ones, and when I've used both, the flavors of the pellets hops stand out more than the leaf hops. I find putting the muslin over the sediment trap works a treat at keeping then out the bottles too.

 

[dad_of_jon]

I was a late convert to pellet hops but I wouldn't go back to leaf hops now. You get better extraction and aroma from pellets. They are easier to dry hop with too, just chuck em in the fv after fermentation has slowed down and leave them until they sink to the bottom, which they will do. Then just rack off the trub as normal before bottling.

+1

pellets for me too :grin:

 

[Clint]

Phew...pellets just ordered!

Cheers

Clint

 

[chub1]

Pellets are good. I put mine into small hop bags( also use them in the boil) and pop em in for 5-7 days. I don't bother to add any weight, just drp the bag in, it will gradually sink.Rack off into another FV, batch prime and bottle:thumb:

 

[Hoppyland]

Well, I had to be awkward! :-(
I'm still struggling with pellets, because they produce such a lot of fine, powdery sediment. I sometimes use them in the late wort/FV as a flavour addition. I never now use them as a "dry hop" because, to my mind, they produce so much debris that doesn't compact down & is so difficult to get rid of (I don't filter)
For dry hopping, its whole hops every time for me. I used to put them in a mesh bag & squeeze out before casking. Now, I leave them loose. They float up to the top of the beer with the last of the fermentation & I siphon off through a fine mesh screen leaving them behind.
Try this, which can be fitted nicely over a siphon hose (takes a wee while to arrive form China, but dirt cheap!):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stainless...305951?hash=item2a6bbf001f:g:8hAAAOSwvUlWtF7W

 

[Clint]

Thanks all...chub what hop bags are you using?
Cheers

Clint

 

[MarkBowie]

Might seem a stupid question, does the mesh screen for the hose work ok whilst bottling?

 

[cheshirehomebrew]

I dry hop with pellets now but I use part of a pair of tights instead of a muslin bag as this is a finer mesh which means I don't get the mushy debris in my beer, I do like a clean but I don't filter just tru to negate any kind of trub into the bottles.

If I want a really potent dry hop I replace the bag after 5 days with another lot of hops, seems to stop any grassy notes creeping from a 10 days straight dry hop

 

[Clint]

I only have hold ups...

Cheers

Clint

 

[Hoppyland]

Might seem a stupid question, does the mesh screen for the hose work ok whilst bottling?

Not stupid at all!
Depends what you're bottling. It won't keep out suspended yeast or hop pellet powder. It will hold back whole hops, but lets through a bit of fine debris. I find this settles out pretty quickly.
I must say, clarity when bottling isn't a normal problem for me - I usually keep my beer for several weeks in a plastic "cask" before bottling, so it's fairly clear before it goes into the bottles.