Question during wort stage

[Quoodle]

this is only my second day on this bb, so I apologize if this has been dealt with but I have a general inquiry about homebrewing

After brewing for years with largely beginner methods I have gotten tired of sparging out hops and grains from my wort - I am very lazy. In my last batch I put the hops (pelletized) in a cheesecloth to make a tea bag like device that I just removed from my wort when I was done. I also did this with a small amount of grains that I add for body when I bring the water up to the boil. This saved me alot of hassle sparging but I have not read about doing it in any of the brew books that I peruse. Does any one know of any reasons why this practice should be avoided? I have yet to tast the beer (about 10 days away) but I did not recognize (smell, see or hear) any real differences during this slightly altered process,

I am not overly worried at this point - just wondering

[ray m]

That's how you're supposed to do it, Q!! Please tell everyone what books you've been reading so we can stay away from them! I'm surprised none of these books ever mentioned putting the grains & hops in bags. Oh, yes...it makes things much easier. I've never heard of putting them in cheesecloth---most homebrew stores sell these little muslin sacks specifically for that purpose. I guess cheesecloth would be OK, I dunno---never worked with that in brewing myself...

[Quoodle]

thanx ray - I am sure many books have mentioned bags but i guess I just glazed over that in a drunken haze - the bible I use the most for reference is Papzian - and after a few quick checks I cant see them referenced - although I'll take your word on my ignorance - I also have tended to brew with little communal support for many years - I have showed a few people how to brew but never really been shown by anyone - I like this bb though and I am sure I will continue to learn -

[Payson]

I've opted for the cheesecloth method many times if I don't have any of the muslim bags around... My only complaint w/ cheesecloth is the fact that strings sometimes detach from it. Never experienced any problems though. I've also been advised that new panty hose socks (or whatever you call the small ones) work real well.

[Quoodle]

Panteyhose are great as well, I use them as a filter/strainer when I rack from my primary. Someone told me once to watch heating panteyhose in the wort - are they not made of some oil based/ plastic like material? If so I would watch heating them in the wort.

[Beerconnoisseur]

Pantyhose are typically made of nylon. They should be OK to use, but nylon can melt if subjected to high heat. I would use the muslin sacks/mesh bags at homebrew supply places, unless you have a good reason not to. All you need is some pantyhose manufacturer using new chemical XYZ, not realizing that it might get accidentally added as a beverage byproduct, and you could have problems. Why risk it if the bags are comparably priced? Just my 2 cents...