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**uwjester** · 09-21-2010, 04:17 PM

Has anyone seen this yet? I didn't see anything in a search.

YouTube (Profile Pages)

It is a Blichmann hopback/filter/randal. I haven't had much luck building my own hopback, too many leaks and clogging, but this looks awesome. Guess I know what to ask Santa for this Christmas.

buzzkill · 09-21-2010, 05:29 PM

those guys just want me to be broke for the rest of my life. but I will have beer.

Captain_Bigelow · 09-21-2010, 05:41 PM

I actually watched the video of this last night and was wondering when somebody would post about it.

There are a lot of parts to it and it seems a little tedious to put together. In fact John Blichmann seemed to be struggling with the clamp at a couple of times in the video. The idea of running it from your keg to tap handle is interesting though. I wonder if it makes much difference to the taste?

I bet the price will be about $100.

HickoryMike · 09-21-2010, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain_Bigelow

The idea of running it from your keg to tap handle is interesting though. I wonder if it makes much difference to the taste?

I bet the price will be about $100.

I have had IPA's that were fed through Randal's. I think the flavor is different and interesting when served this way, but not at all preferable. I like hops as much as the next guy, but I prefer my IPA's to have more than one note. IPA's served through a randal taste like you're chewing on a hop. Interesting, but not preferable (for me).

Now, using this device to add a late hop infusion before the wort hits the fermenter sounds really cool.

**uwjester** · 09-21-2010, 07:12 PM

Yeah. I'll be getting one for primary use as a hopback between the boil kettle and the chiller. I love the idea of locking in those hop aromas after the boil. I'm guessing it will be used as a randal once or twice just so I can say I did it.

$100 or so is what I was guessing too. I hate to drop that much for a hopback, but my own attempts have been pretty bad so far.

I didn't think it looked that complicated to assemble/disassemble.

klyph · 09-21-2010, 07:30 PM

Not sure why he used a T-bolt, when an adjustable lever style would make it much easier to assemble, and less bulky.

JetSmooth · 09-22-2010, 02:04 AM

Looks like a bear to assemble and deal with. They needed a better base or at least a stand.

**uwjester** · 09-22-2010, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JetSmooth

Looks like a bear to assemble and deal with. They needed a better base or at least a stand.

I thought it looked pretty straight forward. The top piece with the finer mesh was floating around in the beginning part of the video because he hadn't put any hops in. It looks to me like it would go together pretty smoothly. Also, it comes apart well enough to get a good wash.

JetSmooth · 09-22-2010, 03:37 PM

More like difficult to fill, I mean. The tapered top means you can't set it down to fill it. You (or someone else) has to hold it. Putting it together (I guess that's 'assembly') looks easy.

If there were a stand or mout that could hold it upside-down and in operation, that would be good.

Seems someone could open a third-party Blingmann accessory/fixer business.

Pretty slick and looks well-made, though.

**uwjester** · 09-22-2010, 04:49 PM

Gotcha. A stand would be a good idea. I'll probably just set it in an empty container. Actually, I think it would fit well in my current leaky, cloggy hopback.