How to deal with 8oz of leaf hops in boil?

[rocketman768]

So, got a 4 gallon batch coming up with 8 oz of leaf hops in it.

I've never even used leaf hops myself, so I am worried that maybe it'll turn into one huge mess. I've got two muslin bags, but I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice or tips when it comes to large quantities of leaf hops.

 

[Walker]

DO you have any kind of screen or whatever in the bottom of your kettle?

I used to brew exclusively with whole hops and one of the best things about them is that I was able to just throw them into the kettle and not worry about it.

At the end when I drained to the fermenter through my spigot, the hops didn't get past my bazooka screen and made a great filter bed for break material.

EDIT: I've done up to 5 or 6 oz of whole cone hops in the kettle. no issues other than the fact that they absorb more wort than pellets, so plan for some volume losses unless you plan to scoop them out and squeeze them at the end.

 

[Poobah58]

Adjust boil size accordingly. I use hop bags or 1 gallon paint strainer bags from the local hardware store.

 

[shamrockdoc]

DO you have any kind of screen or whatever in the bottom of your kettle?

I used to brew exclusively with whole hops and one of the best things about them is that I was able to just throw them into the kettle and not worry about it.

At the end when I drained to the fermenter through my spigot, the hops didn't get past my bazooka screen and made a great filter bed for break material.

Agreed hop screens in BK is how I do it. Or you can ,if your ICing the beer, wait until its at temp and auto-siphon out of the BK into your fermenter of choice. Either way you should be good.

 

[rocketman768]

Don't have a screen for the kettle.

How much absorption should I plan for from the hops?

Are two muslin bags even close to enough?

 

[shamrockdoc]

then this thread is for you.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/hop-spider-cheap-207803/

This will work for ya. Or you if you are Immersion chilling you can chill with the wholes hops in the wort then auto-siphon into your fermenter.

 

[Walker]

How much absorption should I plan for from the hops?

In total, about 2.5 quarts. No kidding.

This is based on a bunch of attention paying I did when I used the whole hops all the time. I found it was about 0.3 qt per oz of whole hops.

 

[rocketman768]

Thanks shamrockdoc. Will probably build that.

In total, about 2.5 quarts. No kidding.

This is based on a bunch of attention paying I did when I used the whole hops all the time. I found it was about 0.3 qt per oz of whole hops.

F*** me! Alright, will take your word for it.

 

[Walker]

you might get less absorption than that if you use the hop sock thing. You'll have those soaking wet and heavy hops piled up in that thing, and it might press some of the liquid out as you drain the kettle.

Mine were just left laying in the bottom of the kettle, so they didn't drain or get pressed in any way.

 

[MDVDuber]

Eureka! Thank you! I've been confused by why I'm not hitting my SG's. I've been getting 75% efficiency on the nose and still not reaching my desired (and predicited) gravity. Whole leaf hops - duh!

Thank you!

 

[Walker]

Eureka! Thank you! I've been confused by why I'm not hitting my SG's. I've been getting 75% efficiency on the nose and still not reaching my desired (and predicited) gravity. Whole leaf hops - duh!

Thank you!

I'm not quite sure I follow you.

You calculate your efficiency by checking your gravity, so... I don't understand what you mean when you say you are hitting 75% but the gravity is not right.

 

[MDVDuber]

I calculate my efficiency by checking my SG after I extract my grains (adjusted for volume, etc.), then I start the boil and add lots of leaf hops and then I stick it in the fermenter and always have to top off to 5 gallons - by 2 or more quarts. I've been thinking that I'm boiling off more than I planned - but without fail when I measure my SG after I'm back to volume I'd be off.

Never dawned on my there was actually that much volume in my hops, but if I'm losing 2 quarts or so to my hops that translates to a chunk of SG....

So for example, a 1.050 wort at 5 gallons has 0.01 "points" per gallon, 2 quarts has 0.005 so a 2 quart top off would give me a 1.045 SG and not a 1.050 right?

I'm sure there are other errors in my process - but here's one I can account for now - thanks!

I can see my next project already.....https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/hop-spider-cheap-207803/

 

[Walker]

Ok, now I understand. I didn't realize that you were taking the gravity at an earlier stage and assume you were checking the gravity in the fermenter.

 

[rocketman768]

I actually ended up losing like 0.5 gal to the hops. Whole cones are no joke. They also made a nasty habit of clogging up my autosiphon. I should've thought this through before I decided to brew it without a giant hop bag or a screen.