BLOW OUT ON THE HOP BAG!!

[JayH]

I have a little problem...I did my first BATCH SPARGE last night and it went very well. Not sure how great the efficiency was since I was low on my OG by about 0.006 (significant but not the end of the world) but I know I'll have some tweaking if I want to continue this method. The beer is an IPA:

10# 2 row
1# special roast
1/2# carapils
2 oz cascade FWH
1 oz n.brewer 15 min
1 oz cascade 3 min

OG 1.049 (too low?)

Anyway, during the boil my hop/grain bag finally bit the dust and dropped about 3-4 ounces of pellet hop sludge in the wort.

I chilled and whirlpooled but probably didn't wait long enough and the sludge was sucked into the fermenter.

I have about 14 oz of sludge at the bottom of the carboy and the fermentation is just starting to take off.

Questions: what is the best way to salvage this beer? and will the hop bitterness be overwhelming?

Thanks for any help in bailing me out!!!

Jay

[Lufah]

You'll be alright. Just let it ferment out in primary and rack off to a secondary. If it's too hoppy when you bottle/keg it let it sit for a couple months. The hops fade pretty fast.

Travis

[Thirsty Mallard]

Sounds like a lost cause. Go ahead and send it to me and I will get rid of it.

Actually, I never use a hop bag, and I have yet to whirlpool (it all gets mixed up for me going from point A to point B anyways) and I haven't had too much of a problem. If you don't have a filter, I agree with Lufah... just rack it and you will be fine.

Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew.

[beer_bear]

Sounds like a lost cause. Go ahead and send it to me and I will get rid of it.
Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew.

I have to agree with you JRoche. I'll even help you "dispose" of the spoiled wort.
I use the hop bags that are basicly disposible sock like things and have no problems. I also use whole leaf hops, so it helps to keep my racking cane clear. Just my opinion.

[JayH]

i see how it is.......i guess the only thing that really sucks is the loss of almost a gallon of wort? i have exactly 5 gallons in the carboy because of this debacle and i'll probably only get 4 - 4.25 into the secondary! that doesn't seem like enough to send to anybody.....too bad for you!!! thanks for the input as always, this forum rocks.

by the way, does anyone get caught changing too many variables because there is just SO MUCH DAMN GOOD INFO between here and the brewcast? great problem to have eh?

Jay

[hopbumpingbrewer]

I have found that I sometimes try to change too many things. The key over the past few beers has been a slight adjustment. Info overload!

Taking just one aspect of the beer and changing it has been great. I just did that with a 1.072 Maibock. My last one was 1.066 and I wanted to see if I could make it a little richer.

I added a little more Munich and Vienna and that was it. I love it.

You are right though, this forum rocks. Guys like Lufah and Oz are great. Jamil chimes in when it really matters. The real key is this...

"EVERYONE is awsome in here"

Carlo

[beer_bear]

By the way, does anyone get caught changing too many variables because there is just SO MUCH DAMN GOOD INFO between here and the brewcast? great problem to have eh?

Jay

I know what you mean. The last two times I've brewed, I promised myself that I would only make one or two changes. In the end I change so much that I don't know what really made the differences that I'm finding. Eh, screw it! I'll just keep brewing and drinking. Eventually I'll calm down and pay attenetion to what the hell I'm doing.

[calvey]

Never to worry, you'll be just fine.

I try to get as much stuff out as possible, and sometimes I'm more successful than other times. I also never rack to a separate fermenter for secondary/bright tank. I usually get the beer off the sludge in three weeks or less.

All this, and my beers do not suffer.