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Author Topic: Effect of bagging your hops in the boil...  (Read 2053 times)

Offline drtanglebones

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Effect of bagging your hops in the boil...
« on: September 22, 2010, 10:43:42 am »
Hey all,

I have a boil kettle without any sort of false bottom or screen to the out spigot.  I use a Therminator wort chiller and want to keep the chunkies out of the chiller.  I have been using a large nylon bag to put my hops in over the last year or so.  This seems to work, but I am wondering if this is affecting my process at all.  Do I need to change my alpha acid numbers to account for the bag?  Also when I add Whirlfloc or Irish Moss to the last 15 minutes of the boil, I get a coating on the bag...will this affect my aroma hop additions?

Thanks for your input!

--Eric Wentling

Offline denny

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Re: Effect of bagging your hops in the boil...
« Reply #1 on: September 22, 2010, 10:46:15 am »
I use bags for whole hops, too.  The ROT is that they reduce your utilization by about 10%, so I just increase the IBU by that amount.
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Offline Pawtucket Patriot

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Re: Effect of bagging your hops in the boil...
« Reply #2 on: September 22, 2010, 10:47:54 am »
I use bags for whole hops, too.  The ROT is that they reduce your utilization by about 10%, so I just increase the IBU by that amount.

+1

I do the same thing. Works fine.
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Offline theoman

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Re: Effect of bagging your hops in the boil...
« Reply #3 on: September 22, 2010, 11:11:29 am »
Thanks for asking this question. Now I know why my last beer seems less well-hopped than I expected.

Offline blatz

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Re: Effect of bagging your hops in the boil...
« Reply #4 on: September 22, 2010, 11:17:35 am »
How big of a bag?  something like this I wouldn't think would change the utilization all that much:

http://www.bayareamashers.org/gadgets/Hop%20bag%20holder.pdf
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Offline drtanglebones

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Re: Effect of bagging your hops in the boil...
« Reply #5 on: September 22, 2010, 01:01:02 pm »
Thanks for the quick info guys!  I think I'll work on one of those bag holders...that looks sweet!

Offline Slowbrew

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Re: Effect of bagging your hops in the boil...
« Reply #6 on: September 22, 2010, 01:10:05 pm »
I used one of the bag designs in the link for the past year.  I have noticed my hop utilization seems lower than it used to. 

I didn't use it for the the last few beers I've made to see if it is really making a difference.  I haven't tasted the finished product yet so I can't say.

Paul
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