[hopfenundmalz]

My wife has a pair of hop socks.

Oh, wait!

[goose]

Anyone got anything bad to say about hop socks/bags?  Ive been using quite a bit in the last year, but wondering if Im missing some of my hop flavor/bitterness in those batches.  Anyone else use them and prefer not to?  If not, what do you use instead?  It was a big relief not to have that hop trub in the general mix of trub...really hoping Im wrong in my suspicion.

I am gonna weigh in on the OP.  I have used the muslin grain/hop bags and the tighter mesh BIAB bags in the kettle to put pellets in.  I have noticed no real flavor or aroma differences between using the bags and just throwing the pellets directly into the kettle  Although I get more hop material working its way through the muslin bag, it is not enough to plug my inline SS filter or my plate chiller.  The BIAB keeps everything inside the bag but it tends to drain slower when running off the wort to the chiller.
One thing to remember is that you should try to have a bag that is large enough to keep the pellets from squeezing into a tight ball inside the bag.  You want them to move around in the bag for better utilization which is why I use the bigger bags.

[denny]

My wife has a pair of hop socks.

Oh, wait!

Susan has socks for every occasion!

[Slowbrew]

I use 5 gallon paint strainer bags.  They allow for quite a bit of space inside so the hops can move around and have a tight weave that traps all but the smallest hop pieces.  They work great with pellet or whole hops and last a long time, a couple of mine have been through 20+ brews each.

They also drain pretty quickly when I lift the bag out.  You can just clip it on the side of the kettle above the wort and let it drain while you start chilling.

Paul

[BairsBrewing]

You could dry hop by making a hop tea, I tried this on my last batch and the hop aromas are pretty good, better than I've had in the past. All you need is a big French press and extra space in the keg/fermenter.

Care to go into detail on your "hop Tea" procedure?  Amount, type of hop (pellet/whole), temp of water, how long to steep, when you added the tea etc.  I've been researching the idea of hop teas and/or tinctures and I know there has to be a good way to do this.  I just can't find anything concrete.  Just like all things related to hop additions, everyone has 3 different ways to do it!   

Thanks in advance.

I used 2 oz of whole hops, citra, straight from the fridge. Boiled water in a pot for 2 minutes, let it cool to 175 degrees. Dumped the hops into my French press, poured the water onto said hops, put lid on and let it set for 20 minutes.  Slowly pressed the hops, 1 inch at a time with a 30 second rest between, continued until I could not press anymore. Poured hop tea into my fermenter.

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[BairsBrewing]

I read an article where if you use too hot or too cold of water you get the weird flavors. The writer of said article said the sweet spot temp was between 170-180 degrees, so I opted for the middle ground. First time trying this but seems to have given good results this far.

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[KCguy]

One thing to remember is that you should try to have a bag that is large enough to keep the pellets from squeezing into a tight ball inside the bag.  You want them to move around in the bag for better utilization which is why I use the bigger bags.

Good point, I hadnt thought of that!  I will upgrade my bag.