Clarification: Secondary Hop Additions

[Thegundog]

Brewed our second batch of beer over Labor Day, the Northern Brewer Ace of Spades IPA.

The recipe calls for hop additions in the secondary stage, which I've embedded into this post.

Since this is my first go round with secondary hop additions I wanted to make sure I understood this process.

I am utilizing a fastfermenter as my vessel.

So after the beer has completed the initial fermenting stage I will add these hop pellets.

Should I utilize a bag of some sort?

If I simply drop them in the wort, won't they go to straight to the collection ball and if so will they still be effective?

Looking for clarification on this step and all information provided is much appreciated!

BEYOND BREWING DAY—
SECONDARY FERMENTATION

18. Secondary fermentation. Allow the beer to condition in the secondary fermenter for 2–4 weeks before proceeding with the nextstep.
Timing now is somewhat flexible.

19. Add the dry hops. Add 1 oz Citra and 1 oz Centennial hops to the secondary fermenter 1–2 weeks before bottling day.

 

[porterpounder]

With pellets, a lot of the hop material will float around a bit before it drops out, but yes eventually it will drop into the ball. However if you don't use a very loose bag then the hops will clump up and you won't get all of the potential out of them, so there are benefits to each option. Another option is to use whole hops, which tend to float, bag them with a few stainless ball bearings so you get some sink and you're all set.