Going commando with Hops

[monsteroyd]

Hey,

I usually do my hop boil with a little bag then squeeze it out and toss out the left overs after my boil. Can I just toss the hops in and avoid the whole bag thing? I realize there might be a clarity issue with doing that, but I'd like the ask the Borg for their experiences. I normally leave the beer in the LBK for a month and I usually get nice clear beer after 2 or 3 days in the frig before bottling. Will the hop particles drop out in to the trub?

I know I should just do it, but I am curious what every bodies experience has been.

Thanks
Monty

[Crazy Climber]

Going commando in the boil is no biggie at all. Many will say you get better utilization that way, too. A lot of the sludge can be left behind in the kettle and never even make it to the fermenter, if you so choose.
Going commando in a dry hop is more likely to cause clarity issues (not incredibly so, but more so), but in the boil? Fire away!

[John Sand]

I have filtered my hops, and not. No apparent difference. My only suggestion would be to chill quickly if you go commando, or you may get extra hoppiness.

[Gymrat]

I go commando then use this

[Kealia]

Do it. With that long in the LBK you won't see any difference in clarity even if you dump everything from your pot in there. It will settle out just fine.

[bpgreen]

I've only ever used a hop bag when I use whole hops.

[Rayyankee]

i always go commando with my hops since i went all grain 5 gallons and the only real issue is clean up. but to me not much of a big deal. And i have found that i get better utilization then when i used a hop sack when i first started AG.

[mashani]

Up to 2-3oz of hops goes into my boil commando, and then gets dumped into my fermenter. 2 or 3 depends on yeast I'm using, IE Notty or some other English yeasts I can do 3 as it compacts them into the trub, where S-05 or some powdery yeast maybe not...

If I use more then that, I tend to put the rest in sacks, just so I don't get trub higher then my spigot. In that case the latest hops are the commando ones. I feel that I get a bit more out of them - especially flameout or whirlpool hops - when I dump them in. If you were to pull those hops out and taste them you will see there is plenty more goodness left in them.

A strainer like Gymrat uses is great if you can keep it sanitized. Dumping it through one of those helps to oxygenate your wort too.

[RickBeer]

+1 on the strainer.

[Dawg LB Steve]

Ditch the sack, more surface area contacting the wort, more flavor and aromas that are utilized.

[FedoraDave]

Some of us also use hop spiders. Extremely easy to make yourself, not much initial $$ outlay, and reusable.

Just another option, is what I'm sayin'.

I do use hop sacks when I dry hop, or FWH. Clarity doesn't vary, so it's all good.

[monsteroyd]

Thanks Guys.

I am going to make a batch today and go commando hops.

Monty

[TonyKZ1]

Hmmm, my first batches I went commando with the hops and then noticed all the stuff going into my 1G fermenters and not wanting it to get into the bottles later, I went to using muslin hop bags instead. Maybe I should just go back to "commando" if it'd make a improvement on how my beer tastes.

[John Sand]

Hi Tony. You might also increase the volume in the kettle just a little to allow for extra hops.

[ScrewyBrewer]

I would love to be able to go hop commando, but I'm pretty sure my counter flow chiller would get plugged up. It has already happened to me when using hop sacks when brewing a really hopped up batch of IPA.