Hop strainer vs Hops in bags !

[DC]

Hi all, I am in the process of building a new boiler (H&G 10 gallon bucket) and I am debating wether to make a hop strainer (from 22mm copper pipe) or to use bags to put the hops in. I have looked at a few posts on a few websites and I saw this video on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFxuooOKe4o and thought that this idea might be okay ! Just wondered what the pro's and cons are of using a copper hop strainer or hops in bags so I am asking the question And I am hoping some of the experts on this website will let me know.

Ps ! What would be the UK equivlant of the white plastic plumbing part used in the hop bag Youtube video be ?

Cheers DC

[Benson_JV]

I have heard its better for the utilization of the hops if they are let free during the boil, ala using a hop strainer.

[simple one]

The free hops can also act as a filter for the Break and any bits carried across. I used to use muslin bags to boil my hops in, but the utilisation was very hit and miss. It also complicates the later additions, especially if added to the same bag later on, as these would have even less utilisation statistically.

Hop bags work, and you do get more wort.

But loose is better in my opinion and experience.

[Northern Brewer]

I have always used muslin hop bags, and having read so many pots on here regarding difficulties with strainers etc, I see no reason to change.

I use one bag for my 90 minute hops and another for the 15 minute ones. The bags are simply knotted and fished out of the boiler with a domestic fork when the boiler is switched off. I normally hold then above the wort for a minute or two to drain.

Once the bags have cooled I undo the knot and empty the contents into the bin. The bags are are then washed under the tap with a little washing-up liquid, then thoroughly rinsed and dried before their next outing. Each bag sees up to 10 round trips before being finally dumped due to fraying at the knot end.

I see no variation in utilisation from batch to batch. I usually aim for 35 IBUs and believe this is pretty much what I achieve.

[simple one]

Try not using them. When I stopped using hop bags (which was a long time ago, and did coincide with the the old bruheat boiler and sparge bag method going out the window) I was impressed with change in hop taste. But then I always go for a strong hop flavour, and the muslin bags always struggled to take the amounts, they looked like icebergs in the boil.

I was forever trying to squeeze the air out of the bags against the side of the boiler trying to make them sink below the surface.

Although saying that, they do make the boiling process easier and cleaner. And the one on youtube probably is a preferable option (if its all food safe) to muslin bags. In my opinion.

[WLassell]

The strainer described in the Youtube video looks like it might address many of the issues associated with hop bags.

In particular the 5 gallon paint strainer bag is big enough that the hops are effectively `loose' inside the bag. I'd expect that unless the bag is packed full of hops that the utilization may not suffer much, if at all. Of course I haven't used this gizmo, so YMMV.

Thanks for posting the youtube link. This gizmo certainly looks worth a try.

I do not know what the UK equivalent of the PVC piping is, but you local plumbing shop might.

Hope this helps.