Kettle False Bottom with All Pellets?

ScubaSteve · 08-29-2008, 04:21 AM

Just brainstorming here....

What if you corrugated a false bottom (edges still flat for a good seal) or even a hopstopper in the BK? The sludge would settle in the troughs, and the peaks would be much more likely to filter because there would be a thinner layer of hops settled on them......

Is this plausible?

ScubaSteve · 08-30-2008, 11:19 PM

Anyone consider this? Maybe you could just have false bottom with a ss screen "pleated" and laid over the top. That would trap the bulk of the hop sludge. If you look at pics of the hopstopper, it looks like the hop matter settled on the top and allowed the dip tube to draw wort from the bottom.

**Bobby_M** · 08-30-2008, 11:58 PM

The only question I'd have is why spend the extra money on a false bottom if you're going to use screen material anyway. What's it buying you? Making a hopstopper clone isn't too hard. Then again, it doesn't work so well with 100% pellet hops especially if you chill with an immersion (add fine cold break to the mix).

Wables · 08-31-2008, 01:08 PM

I use all pellet hops and immersion chill, and I have tried a number of different methods of getting the beer out of my keggle. I have tried several types of false bottoms, fine screen collanders, and hose braids. I have gone back to a big siphon because I could never get anything to work 100% of the time.

menschmaschine · 08-31-2008, 01:26 PM

Yeah, I've found screens to be counter-effective with hop pellets. I have a hop-taco I made (I also immersion chill) and the first time I used it with all pellets, it clogged up bigtime. I've since reconfigured the dip-tube in my BK to angle down and to the outside wall of the keggle... then I just whirlpool the hell out of it. It flows pretty freely and I get no more trub than any other way I've tried.

RockfordWhite · 08-31-2008, 04:14 PM

Adventures in Homebrewing has a new line of fairly cheap false bottoms that use slits rather than holes that i was thinking of trying in my BK...

10 " Stainless Steel Flat False bottom for keg kettles

That might work alittle better than a hop-taco/stopper and not sure of the ramifications of the slits over the normal holes

ScubaSteve · 08-31-2008, 04:16 PM

I figure the ss mesh is about $12 from McMaster, and I would just use it to enhance a false bottom. I'm thinking the mesh would be like the fist line of defense, and that it would at least keep the false bottom from completely failing. OR, I could just buy some whole/leaf hops every brew.

It's official, I have a Chillus Convolutus now...so I'm considering equipment options to limit my hops in the fermenter.

**beerthirty** · 08-31-2008, 05:24 PM

ScubaSteve, I'm doing the same thing for different reasons(cleaner yeast cakes for easier washing and less yeast loss). My idea I'm working on is a coarse hopstopper, followed by a hopback before hitting the chiller. I was looking at the wire mesh McMasters has and the variety is astounding. What mesh sizes and open percent are you looking at?

**WortMonger** · 08-31-2008, 06:37 PM

I'm interested in making a hop and break filter for my kettle as well. I'm thinking it is either this or starting back on my juicer centrifuge idea. It worked very well in place of a coffee press when I did the Hot French Randall dry hop thingy. It filters with those little coffee papers, but only can due to force. I believe I heard somewhere that those are about 40-50 microns, and supposedly tee-shirt fabric is just above 5-20 microns. I guess there are a lot of post kettle filtering options, but I would like to hear some good ideas for inside it with pellets. The Therminator demands it, lol.

**beerthirty** · 08-31-2008, 07:55 PM

WM, My thinking was the hopstopper would stop most of it and the hopback would catch the finer particles that made it out of the kettle. Since I already have the hopback I just need to build a screen for the kettle. I saw a test of the commercial HopStopper, I tired to find the link but server is down for maintenance. They used 24-26 oz of hops both pellet and leaf and it still drained all the wort. The bottom of the kettle had 1/4' of wort left in it. If you recirc back to the BK then the pellet would packup on the screen to eventually flow clear like in mashing. Just a thought