Post-boil hops

[Kingfisher4]

I use my own hops in a muslin bag with the biggest ball-ache being to keep it 'under water'. I don't have anything like a hop basket so rely on stainless steel (santised) weights. A 70g whole hop addition needs a 1lb weight and even then it can 'float'!

Meaty,
When you next go to Dunelm or Wilkos, etc, look for these.....
https://www.dunelm.com/search/decorative+glass+beads
Buy 2 bags, just in case you have a `Floater`.
I`ve used one of these on 100gr Hop Leaf and never a problem.
Try your local toy shop for bags of marbles.
Don`t boil them to sterilise them (I did), they tend to crack and splinter.
Go on then, ask MrsMeaty if she fancies a browse around Dunelm because you are bored and fancy a day out!

WA

Thanks WA,

Dunelm much cheaper £1.29 for 500gm bag ( Wilko £1 for under 200 Gm apparently) also in stock at local Dunelm so no special order needed, just popped in after they kindly reserved for me after a phonecall to check they were in stock.

How do you clean and sterilise them to avoid the boiling water? Star San etc for Pre use, what about cleaning after use?

[spook100]

If you use a counter-flow chiller instead of an immersion chiller then there is a technique that is a "variation of the above" that I find works really well. I use it because, for me, whirlpool hopping gives a cleaner flavour that dry-hopping. I can always taste a slight vegetal flavour in dry-hopped beers that I just don't really like, even if only dry-hopped for a few days.

As soon as the boil is finished I throw in all of my flame-out hops, give it a quick whirlpool and then recirculate for a few minutes to set the filter bed. I then start cooling through the counterflow chiller directly into the FV, not recirculating back into the boiler. I have found that this method really gets a lot of hop flavour and aroma into the beer without running the risk of over-bittering.

I'm not 100% sure why this is (open to suggestions), but my theory is that many of the more volatile (and therefore more aromatic) oils that are extracted early on are immediately drawn through the chiller and cooled to a temperature that locks them in. Because it takes a while (+- 30 mins) for me to draw off the entire batch, the less volatile oils still have enough contact with the hot wort to be extracted later on.

I find that doing it this way gives a really good hop aroma and flavour to the beer and also adds a complexity of hop flavour that I just don't get with a traditional whirlpool or dry-hop addition. I'm guessing that is because you trap a variety of different hop oils as the contact time increased. I also find it a much more forgiving technique to use than traditional whirlpool hopping because only a relatively small proportion of the wort is in contact with the hops for the full 30 minutes so the chances of over-bittering is reduced.