16 replies to this topic

[Thirsty]

Home Depot dosnt carry stainless, so I went to a local hardware store and 5/8" stainless nuts were $6 a piece, and bolts were over $10! I figured I would need at least 2 nuts, and I didnt feel like coughing upo that kind of jing. I just put 2 oz into a keg of BW, and I want to sink it. I am also planning a huge impy IPA and doing 2 seperate additions of 4 oz each. So my buddy is a plumber and has all the brass I want, but no stainless. Will brass be OK submerged in beer?

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Home Depot dosnt carry stainless, so I went to a local hardware store and 5/8" stainless nuts were $6 a piece, and bolts were over $10! I figured I would need at least 2 nuts, and I didnt feel like coughing upo that kind of jing. I just put 2 oz into a keg of BW, and I want to sink it. I am also planning a huge impy IPA and doing 2 seperate additions of 4 oz each. So my buddy is a plumber and has all the brass I want, but no stainless. Will brass be OK submerged in beer?

Parts of the valve on my mash tun are brass but they only touch the beer as it drains. I'm not sure if this is actually an issue or not...

[djinkc]

I used to weight the bag with sanitized marbles. Now I don't bother. Because, well....I lost my marbles... just hops - it works fine.

[Patrick C.]

Brass will eventually corrode. You can pickle it to get rid of the surface lead, but the copper will tarnish in beer over an extended time. Not sure if you'll taste it or not, but there are cheaper and easier alternatives. Use glass or stainless that you already have- marbles, a shot glass, or a spoon will do the trick and are probably sitting in your kitchen waiting to sink those hops.

[denny]

It is absolutely not necessary to weight a hop bag....save yourself the time and effort. It gains you nothing.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I'd take the advice of the above posters. It sounds like leaving brass in the beer for a long time isn't a good idea.

[BrewerGeorge]

Brass is fine before fermenation. Once the yeast gets going, no brass.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Brass is fine before fermenation. Once the yeast gets going, no brass.

alcohol + brass = bad?

[Thirsty]

It is absolutely not necessary to weight a hop bag....save yourself the time and effort. It gains you nothing.

Denny, I think that is the best response I could have gotten.

[BrewerGeorge]

alcohol + brass = bad?

One of the first things the yeast do is lower the pH to fight other invaders. The lower pH makes the brass corrode.

[3rd party JKor]

Yup, avoid brass once it's beer.What the hell kind of hardware store was charging $6 for a stainless steel nut?

[Thirsty]

What the hell kind of hardware store was charging $6 for a stainless steel nut?

Rocky's. The HD dosnt have the SS, so I went to Rockys, needed some 02 anyhow, a backup bottle JIC my active one kicks, so the trip wasnt wasted, but unfreakinbelievably expensive. $10.68 just for a 5/8" bolt! I'm taking Dennys word, too much experience to know he has experimented with sinking or floating, done deal.

[CaptRon]

It is absolutely not necessary to weight a hop bag....save yourself the time and effort. It gains you nothing.

Will it eventually get saturated enough and sink on its own anyways, is that why?

[denny]

Will it eventually get saturated enough and sink on its own anyways, is that why?

Yep. And even if they don't sink, there's still plenty of "goodness extraction"! Believe me, I've tried it both ways and if weighting worked better, I'd be doing it! I'd be curious to hear if anyone else has ever compared the 2 methods.

[Thirsty]

I am thinking as long as beer contacts the hops, the oils will be stripped and dissolved, dosnt matter where in the keg this happens. After I pull the sack out, I am going to hook it up to 30psi and roll it around my garage anyhow. My initial concern was saturation, however I think that in a week's time, the beer will eventually soak upwards through the hops and make contact, sinking really is moot. Thinking about it now, I have never pullrd a sack out of keg or fermenter that was dry in any place, so it is reasonable. So in retrospect I am glad I posted, I will be skipping the brass, SS, and the marbles.

[jayb151]

Yea, I just go commando with my hops. It might get a little more cloudy, but it's much easier!

[KSUwildcatFAN]

If you choose to weigh it down, why not just a clean rock? Assuming you wouldn't use limestone or the like.