Hi, I’m brewing the first brew now after watching the DVD, but I’m using a Rogue Dead Guy Ale kit and just now noticed that it has steeping bags for the different hops but is vague about adding them. I was under the impression that one is supposed to just pour the hops in at the specified times. Is it normal to have hops bagged like this? Do I just tie a knot and drop the thing in or am I supposed to steep it and such? Thanks in advance.
You can bag them and throw them in the boil at the specified time but most people dont bother with that. Throw em right in!
Some may use bags so they dont clog thier chiller. So it mostly depends on your equipment. I just whirlpool at the end to get the hops to cone up in the bottom of the pot then drain off.
If you dont have a spigot on your pot and you dump into the fermentor you can either dump the whole thing or stop once you get to the hops at the bottom.
All though that is true, if it came with hops bags I would suggest using them as it will hold most of the hop residue in and will save you some wasted beer in the end.
I use a duel mesh strainer to most out of my vessel, but the bags will help out quite a bit.
If you are fermenting in a pail, go to the hardware store and get a 5g paint strainer bag. Put this in the pail and dump the whole pot in. then pull out the hops and hot/cold break material.
If you are using a carboy, get some $.99 panty hose and loosely bag your hop additions.
Okay sounds like there are pretty much only “pros” to bagging it and no “cons” especially when the kit provides the bags and says to use them. Thanks!!
Are they whole or pellet hops?
I personally would save them. They could come in handy latter on for something like dry hopping.
