Hop Ball?

[MikeICR]

Have any of you tried these? Do they work? My local dollar store sell similar ones for... well... a dollar.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/hop-ball.html

 

[Big10Seaner]

I use them all the time to dry hop with whole hops in the keg, after a while they will come apart at the hinge but that's after many uses.

 

[Tinga]

It depends on what you want it for. Reading most of the reviews it seems this is not a good tool for boiling hops in. Some people think it might be useful for dry hopping but the ball cam only hold about an oz and I don't think they fit inside a carboy.

 

[MikeICR]

I was hoping to use them in the boil. Turns out it might be too good to be true. Oh well. I might pick up a couple to try for dry hopping. Thanks for the advice.

 

[agfisher02]

I use them in my boil and have not encountered any issues. Brewing the same beer with the hops in a mesh bag I can tell no difference in taste.

 

[MikeICR]

I use them in my boil and have not encountered any issues. Brewing the same beer with the hops in a mesh bag I can tell no difference in taste.

That encouraging! I'll be doing a brown ale with about 1.5oz EKG on Monday. Maybe I'll give it a try!

 

[jkarp]

They work fine in the boil but remember hop pellets REALLY expand. Don't use more than 1/2 oz per 3" ball.

 

[TheMan]

As long as the one at the dollar store is stainless steel I wouldn't hesitate. If the material is not apparent, I'd not use it though.

 

[bovineblitz]

I use 4 of them for my boils, a combo of these two products:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0047Z2FKW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
4 ¼ x 3 ½"

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004X4LGIO/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
5 x 4"

For the smaller one I only put about an ounce and a half in each and they wind up about half full of hop sludge. It's been working great for my past 10 or so batches.

The one from Midwest looks tiny. I tried out a regular sized tea ball and it's pretty useless, way too small. Good for about 1/4oz.

I'd be concerned that the dollar store versions are not 100% steel and too small.