1lb+ boil kettle hops and siphoning

vitrael · 01-01-2012, 07:06 PM

Just looking for some advice on method for this recipe on my equipment.

I use an 8 gallon stainless kettle with no valves and brew on a stove. I usually cool with a chiller and siphon to the carboy.

I am a little worried about siphoning problems with over a pound of hops in the kettle in the IIPA I'm doing. The hops are both pellet and leaf and I'm doing so many additions that I feel like adding them to increasingly bloated hop bags is impractical.

Would a nylon bag over the tip of my autosiphon help or harm?

Also, can anyone weigh in on the kind of volume loss I can expect with ~16-20 oz of hops in the kettle, about half dry leaves and half pellets?

OHIOSTEVE · 01-01-2012, 07:18 PM

I take a big funnel and stick down in the carboy with a 5 gallon paint strainer bag over the funnel. just pour the chilled wort through that, filters and aerates all at the same time.pour carefully because the bag may clog or worse the carboy may " BURP" and spray wort and hops lol....... Or skip the bag and just dump it all in the fermentor and siphon off of it after it settles out.

**NordeastBrewer77** · 01-01-2012, 08:10 PM

why not put your hop additions into hop sacks? then you can just remove them after the boil/chill.

bengerman · 01-01-2012, 10:06 PM

try searching on here for "hop spider", might be just the ticket.

vitrael · 01-02-2012, 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bengerman

try searching on here for "hop spider", might be just the ticket.

Doh... I have no idea why I haven't made one of these yet. I feel really silly now.

Easy IPA brewin' here I come.

**NordeastBrewer77** · 01-02-2012, 03:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bengerman

try searching on here for "hop spider", might be just the ticket.

yeah, those are cool. i gotta get on that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vitrael

Doh... I have no idea why I haven't made one of these yet. I feel really silly now.

Easy IPA brewin' here I come.

i know, right. i feel the same way.

JoyousRuction · 01-02-2012, 06:23 AM

I have found that I can get away with not using hop bags at all by using the following method:

1) Turn off heat to the boil kettle 5 minutes early and stir wort gently until a nice big whirlpool starts.
2) Cover wort and wait 5 minutes
3) Take a sanitized wire mesh colander, invert it, and push it to the bottom of the brew pot (picture attached for clarity).
4) Siphon from bottom using a standard siphon with racking cane (make sure the racking cane tip is in place, and make sure the racking cane is sandwiched between the colander and the brew pot wall). Very important - minimize movement of the racking cane, as anything not trapped in the colander will settle around the colander.

So my goal with this whole procedure is to form a pyramid of hops and trub at the bottom of the boil kettle and then trap it all with the wire mesh colander. I have done this about half a dozen times so far with good results. In my experience with this method I have successfully trapped about 80% of the trub and most of the hops from the boil in the colander, and bits that are not trapped by the colander typically do not make it around the colander into the racking cane. I have not gone anywhere near 16+ oz of hops yet (I have only dealt with 8 oz or so), but I would not hesitate to try based on my current experience.

I know this sounds a little crazy, but it works for me.

**weirdboy** · 01-02-2012, 06:27 AM

I am curious what the recipe is. I have a 200 IBU recipe that is still only about 10 ounces of hops in the kettle. A pound or more seems really, really huge. Also, expensive.

And if you haven't made anything like this before, expect your hops to absorb a VERY significant amount of wort. A pound of hops can easily absorb a gallon of wort. You should design the recipe to compensate, or you will be left with much less beer than you anticipate.