How do you hop?

[BrewerBen]

Hi,

I'm just wondering what other braumeister users do with the hops in the boil. Pellet, whole, bag or loose?
Ive only done the one brew and used loose whole hops and thinking that boiling with hop bags could make the clean up easier as well as allow me to run the pumps when cooling. But then if i run bags then i may as well use pellets.

[barneey]

Up to now for me its only been loose whole hops, which I admit when cleaning its amazing where these things end up pump wise, but easy enough to clean out.

[DeGarre]

Whole hops and a hop spider for me. Many BM comments on various forums say the BM boil is not aggressive enough and the hops in a bag/spider do not get enough hot wort circulation around them thus poor extraction. I don't brew super hoppy beers as I like balance and drinkability but I brew many 40-50 ibu beers (my taste bud sweet spot) on paper based on BS2 etc ibu-formulas and have come to the conclusion that the bitterness and hoppiness at those levels match commercial beers that report same ibu levels.

[barneey]

& the easiest way to settle the debate would be to do 2 back to back brews, one with a spider and one with out, see how they compare / get them both tested for IBU content.

Me I`m going to give a spider a go at some point.

Edit are you still using the same one?

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=62833&p=675008&hili ... rs#p675008

[borischarlton]

If you use pellets there is no need for any filter or hop bag. At the end of the boil I usually add a shed load of pellets, I then use a wide stainless spoon to create a whirlpool and leave for about 30-40 mins with the lid or dome on. Once it's whirl pooling there is no need to keep stirring. I can then drain leaving the trub in the middle and clear wort, I even use a plate chiller with no problem.

Rob

[DeGarre]

...

Edit are you still using the same one?

...

Yes although it doesn't look so shiny anymore...and needs new gaffer tape.

[barneey]

As I have a spares "storage area", I might try an experiment with this.......





+ will experiment with pellets as Rob has suggested.

[chris2012]

Where did you get that stainless hop 'bag' thing from Clive, that looks very cool!

[BrewerBen]

Well i gave hop bags a go today and they definitely helped when cleaning up, especially as i did a double brew day so i was able the get the Braumeister brewing again in no time. Both beers had quite a low hopping rate but i added a few gram's more to make up for any lost utilisation. One thing i did notice was i ended up with more trub in the fermenter than i'd like, especailly when i tipped the braumeister to get a few more liters out as it seemed to disturb the bed and get all mixed up in the wort. I think i'll look at making a dip tube again, my first attempt didn't work well but if i use bags then i don't need worry about adding a filter. With just a dip tube i'll still get some trub in the fermenter but if i can avoid tipping the braumeister then i think it will be far less.