Effect of not removing hops from wort

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liammiller

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Plenty of people seem to not bother with removing hops from the wort and just transfer the whole contents of the kettle into the FV but I have been thinking that there may be an issue with this. My thinking may be completely wrong here, but I assume that this would affect the beer in a similar way to dry hopping? Would a beer that had the hops removed from the wort be different to one for which the hops went into the FV

I have used whole leaf hops in hops in the past, allowing me to remove the hops, but for my next brew I will be using pellet hops. I want to have as much control as possible over the brewing process, so if nobody can explain why leaving hops in the wort for the entire time in the FV will not affact the beer, then I will have to give up on the idea of pouring the whole kettle into my fermenting bucket and figure out the best way to leave the pellets behind.
 
I just bought a hop spider from bridge water brewing. Going to use it for the first time later today so don't know how effective this is, but it looks great. There is a forum discount code
 
I tried a 300 micron hopspider in my Grainfather but noticed with large hop bills it clogged up, I noticed this when I tried to circ. While boiling,with returns going into the spider and the spider overflowed. Now just do a good whirl pool, let it settle for 10min circ. For a few minutes back into the GF, this forms a "filter" og hops on the pump filter thing which allows only wort through, no hop debris. Have never tested it but have read in lots of different posts that it can impart a grassy flavour. Check if there are any xbeerments, think was one about just this.....
 
I don't filter my hops out, just leave the wort to settle for a few minutes after cooling. I do still get a lot of hop material in the fv sometimes but I haven't noticed any ill effects from it.
 
I always use pellets
I have no filter in my 70 litre kettle
I drain in to my FV through a biab bag
This way I catch all bits etc,but never get a blockage
Bag in the FV that it
 
Cqr said:
I always use pellets
I have no filter in my 70 litre kettle
I drain in to my FV through a biab bag
This way I catch all bits etc,but never get a blockage
Bag in the FV that it
Click to expand...

I'm pretty similar ,I tried using a sieve but to be honest it didn't catch anything even though it was pellets mind you,I'm not saying my sieve isn't fine enough but when a brussell sprout falls through it at tea time it may require upgrading :whistle:
 
pms67 said:
I'm pretty similar ,I tried using a sieve but to be honest it didn't catch anything even though it was pellets mind you,I'm not saying my sieve isn't fine enough but when a brussell sprout falls through it at tea time it may require upgrading :whistle:
Click to expand...

I've only done one AG so far but poured it through a funnel with a muslin cloth to filter out the hops. Worked a treat.
 
pms67 said:
I'm pretty similar ,I tried using a sieve but to be honest it didn't catch anything even though it was pellets mind you,I'm not saying my sieve isn't fine enough but when a brussell sprout falls through it at tea time it may require upgrading :whistle:
Click to expand...

:lol::lol:

A seive works fine. It catches almost all the hop debris. Anything that goes through gets left in the No-chill FV, as I rack my wort of the trub into a second FV after it's cooled to pitching temp 24hrs-48hrs later
 
Just to answer the OP. I left all the hop debris in the FV for two weeks once and it had a strong soapy flavour which took six weeks to condition out but once it did the beer tasted great
 
I have a hop strainer in my boil kettle, as the wort is drained into the FV via the tap the hops form an effective trub filter.
A major disadvantage in having loose leaf hops in your FV is when you come to transfer the beer to a secondary FV or bottling bucket, when siphoning the hops clog the siphon & it's a real PITA.
Apart from that, I can't see the hop debris contributing much, the hop oils from the bettering hops are all but dissolved, you may get a bit of extra flavour from the late edition hops but I would say this is minimal,
& if your going to leave hop debris in the FV for any length of time there is always a risk of grassy off flavours.
 
The hops are spent after a decent boil so there isn't much left to transfer taste to the wort. A hop sock works well to keep most of the vegetable material to the fermentation when you are using pellets.
 
For bittering and primary aroma I always boil the hops in a hop bag and periodically dunk them up and down during the boil period.

For cold hopping I just chuck them into the FV and then use a filter on the end of the syphon when transferring the brew into the Bottling Bucket.

So far, all I have used is a scrap of sanitised muslin wrapped around the end of the syphon tube, but these came two days ago so I will give them a try sometime in the New Year.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01M74BJW3/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I hate wasting the beer that can be left behind in the FV with the trub and the filters look a bit on the high side so I may modify my brewing to make good use of them and cold hop after transferring the brew to a secondary FV. :thumb:
 
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