do not put hops or yeast down the sink!

So contrary to what I have read and heard, I have just learned that hops/yeast and cast iron drain pipes do not mix. I was always told it was ok to dump this stuff down the drain, so I have been doing so. Only spent hops from dry hopping and yeast slurries have gone down, spent boil hops are tossed out. My drain clogged and my snake was unable to fix it. So....I had to call a plumber. $240 later, he tells me that hops and yeast should not go in the sink because they will stick to the pipes and harden. Thus causing clogs. No more hops in the sink for me, thats for sure! Just a heads up to everyone out there.

Uh oh......

Hmm. I've been dumping my primaries in the sink that my mom (landlord) just had to put a few grand into replacing (on an unrelated manner). Good to know

schristian619 said:

No more hops in the sink for me, thats for sure! Just a heads up to everyone out there.

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If you dump hops out on the compost pile make sure that your pets will not eat it. It will kill them. This is true for dogs not sure about cats.

Thirsty_Monk said:

If you dump hops out on the compost pile make sure that your pets will not eat it. It will kill them. This is true for dogs not sure about cats.

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Oh God, now you've gone and done it...

*leaves the thread running*

interesting...i also dump mine down the drain in the basement bathroom. i had a plug a few months back, i couldnt get it with my snake either, had to call a plumber as well. but i dump yeast, i always dump hops in the yard waste for pick up. guess i'll toss the yeast into the yard now.

Well thats good to know, I guess I will trash the spent hops for now on.

Been running them through the garbage disposal for years with no problems. Let's here it for PVC pipe!

Tom

Thirsty_Monk said:

If you dump hops out on the compost pile make sure that your pets will not eat it. It will kill them. This is true for dogs not sure about cats.

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Is true for some breeds, not all and discussed plenty in other related threads, but we do appreciate the concern and trying to save someones pet.


BACK ON
I' always dump my primaries down the sink.I've only DH'd one batch and did not dump that down the sink.

I have been putting yeast from wine and beer down my commode in the basement for over two years no. Before that I used 1 packet of regular bakers yeast in the commode for 5 years or more. You see, I have a septic system and the yeast are good at eating up all the nasty stuff in my septic tank. The company I just used to clean out my septic tank after 8 years was amazed at the condition of the tank and the amount (lack of actually) s#@t they sucked out.

As for the actual pipes, this may be of some concern, but it has not given me any difficulty to date as the line from the commode to the tank is very short.

Thanks for the heads up though.

Salute!

Just make sure to run the water long enough to flush your lines out. Mine go to a septic and I've dumped yeast down the drain as long as I've brewed.

Hmmmm...

Is your plumber a homebrewer with first hand experience?

Or maybe a pipe fitter for a local brewery?

Or maybe he's had a lot of house calls to homebrewers.

I'm just curious how he'd pic up on this tidbit.

I'm inclined to believe that tons of stuff sticks to cast iron pipe.

As for me...PVC. And I use 135 degree water to rinse my shop sink out. 100 plus 10-gallon batches and narry a clog. (knock on wood)

mmb said:

Just make sure to run the water long enough to flush your lines out. Mine go to a septic and I've dumped yeast down the drain as long as I've brewed.

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I dump mine my slurry in the kitchen sink and the dishwasher runs daily so I am assuming the hot water helps flush the pipes. Hope I'm OK but I use one of the balloon pipe cleaners when I have any problem with the drain.

llazy_llama said:

Oh God, now you've gone and done it...

*leaves the thread running*

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Which is better at reducing yeast clogging, stainless or aluminum?

so can't dump it down the drain cuz it will clog your pipes; you cant dump it in the yard cuz it will kill your dogs and cats.

What are we supposed to do with hop/yeast sludge?

BierMuncher said:

As for me...PVC. And I use 135 degree water to rinse my shop sink out. 100 plus 10-gallon batches and narry a clog. (knock on plastic)

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Fixed that for ya.

The grain and hops go to the backyard-dog still alive (and a hyper PITA).

The hops in grain socks from DH go to the trash, after I cut out the SS ball bearings.

I have plastic drain lines, a septic tank, and pour all primary and corny waste down the kitchen sink, using the garbage disposal and a bunch of warm water.

I go down the toilet with it. My toilet has flushed much worse. Trust me.

I have a creek to dump all things organic in maybe the shrimp will eat my spent hops and become infused for the season this year

Austin_LSU said:

I go down the toilet with it. My toilet has flushed much worse. Trust me.

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You go down the toilet???!!!! Damn...you must be skinny as Hell!

AZ_IPA said:

so can't dump it down the drain cuz it will clog your pipes; you cant dump it in the yard cuz it will kill your dogs and cats.

What are we supposed to do with hop/yeast sludge?

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Well DUH! Just dump it in the storm drain at the curb with the used motor oil. You can't clog those things up!
And if a cat or dog dies from hops consumption, the body just washes away the next time it rains!

Sigafoos said:

Which is better at reducing yeast clogging, stainless or aluminum?

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Stailuminum works best. It's the best of both worlds! It's the liger of homebrewing, bred for it's skills in magic.

We're on a septic tank, and I reiterate what was said earlier: yeast is a cure, not a problem. As for the pipes- well, lots of things will stick in there, particularly if there's not enough water to make the contents move along. The worst offender in plumbing clogs is paper products other than white toilet paper (you can guess at these....). The plumbing of your drains can also be a problem. Our house drain system when we moved in was comprised of nothing but 90° elbows and junctions. Nothing could be more conducive to problems. All that stuff should be wye'd in with 45° junctions- which we had done when we remodeled. Plenty of yeast goes through our system, but I don't dump a solid yeast cake / trub down there. That & any whole-cone hops goes on the compost heap. Any animals that want to lunch there will have to take their chances....

Grahambo said:

I have a creek to dump all things organic in maybe the shrimp will eat my spent hops and become infused for the season this year

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Forget beer batter... just feed hops right to the shrimp. Helluva idea!

bull8042 said:

Well DUH! Just dump it in the storm drain at the curb with the used motor oil. You can't clog those things up!
And if a cat or dog dies from hops consumption, the body just washes away the next time it rains!

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I've had less than 1/2" of rain so far this year.(truthfully)


So that's why there are some many dead cats around

it hasn't rained here for 2 wks and the rivers are just now getting back to 'normal spring pool'.

wow - I had no Idea

I have cast Iron pipe and I dump all my stuff down the drain

i've been doing it for over a year and not had a problem yet

maybe it is because when I do I always have a ton of stuff to wash after

So if I place my spent hops in a Staluminum bowl with some ethyl glycol, I can kill that damn Liger that is running around the neighborhood. Good to know, I pick up so much useful information around here.

As for hops and dogs, my hound eats deer sh$^ all the time. Hops are not really my worst fear at this time, besides that goes in a compost bin.

bmckee56 said:

I have been putting yeast from wine and beer down my commode in the basement for over two years no. Before that I used 1 packet of regular bakers yeast in the commode for 5 years or more. You see, I have a septic system and the yeast are good at eating up all the nasty stuff in my septic tank. The company I just used to clean out my septic tank after 8 years was amazed at the condition of the tank and the amount (lack of actually) s#@t they sucked out.

As for the actual pipes, this may be of some concern, but it has not given me any difficulty to date as the line from the commode to the tank is very short.

Thanks for the heads up though.

Salute!

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Uhhh can you imagin ... Sh*t eating mutant yeast

AZ_IPA said:

so can't dump it down the drain cuz it will clog your pipes; you cant dump it in the yard cuz it will kill your dogs and cats.

What are we supposed to do with hop/yeast sludge?

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Didn't the Aussies figure this one out a long time ago?Eat it!!Vegemite mate?

What kind of style goes well with **** eating mutant yeast?

U know, "That dark stuff"

I know...I've been dumping them down since I've been brewing including the 8 months that I've been in this condo and have never had a problem. I always run water after I turn the disposal off, but for whatever reason it clogged last time. I don;t know if the plumber was a brewe. He said it looked like wood chips and I told him they were hops. The he proceeded to tell me that I should not dump hops or yeast down the sink. With that being said, I will not dump hops anymore, but I dumped yeast today after he left, oh well. Hops go in the planters outside my patio, if any animals eat them, that's their problem

Figbash said:

Let's here it for PVC pipe!

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As it has paid the bills for a quarter of a century for me, I'm a big fan of PVC piping products.

As for the original topic, I can see that whole hops could perhaps clog a sink if not run through the disposal, but yeast slurry should be no problem.

Yeast is like steroids for my septic system! It all goes down the drain. (hops in the composter though)

Like someone else mentioned, I throw my spent hops outside in the compost but to keep my animals safe I pour antifreeze over it and mix it a little so that the animals would never consider eating it. (I top it with raisins and baking chocolate.)

And back on topic. Whenever I want to throw hops or yeast slurry down the drain I mix it with bacon grease and hair clippings and then rinse with cold water. Works like a charm. Don't even need to run the disposal. (For some reason it just makes an annoying buzzing sound whenever I run it now anyway.)

dontman said:

Like someone else mentioned, I throw my spent hops outside in the compost but to keep my animals safe I pour antifreeze over it and mix it a little so that the animals would never consider eating it. (I top it with raisins and baking chocolate.)

And back on topic. Whenever I want to throw hops or yeast slurry down the drain I mix it with bacon grease and hair clippings and then rinse with cold water. Works like a charm. Don't even need to run the disposal. (For some reason it just makes an annoying buzzing sound whenever I run it now anyway.)

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We have been sampling a little tonight haven't we?

hopsoda said:

Uhhh can you imagin ... Sh*t eating mutant yeast

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Seeing as how they do such a good job at making wort into beer, I figure they ought to be able to convert S#@t into something better than it originally was, right!

Salute!

I too have cast iron pipe and septic. No issues with brew clogs. I wouldn't dump whole hops down the drain though.

I do have issues with clogs but it is the wife dumping whole pots of left overs down the disposal. Last time was corn. She plugged the drain, started the laundry and dishwasher and went to bed. Nice little flood there. Had to have Roto Rooter come out at 1AM. You think your plumbing bill was steep. She paid the bill though, not me. Time before a pot of left over spaghetti.

Only plumbing I ever plugged was the commode. I fixed that though by replacing the stool in my bathroom with one of those American Standard crappers that will flush a bucket of golf balls. Not even close to a clog since that glorious day.

I just smile and tell the wife I love her though. She did buy me a Sabco Brew Magic so she is a keeper in my brew log. She supports the brewing obsession. I guess she figures if I am brewing my beer and keeping busy I stay out of the Tittie bars that are in close proximity of the homestead. I dunno about that though as the last time I went she drug me there with a lesbian couple that are friends of ours and co-workers of mine. I got in free since I showed up with 3 chicks :rockin:

Smurfe said:

......I guess she figures if I am brewing my beer and keeping busy I stay out of the Tittie bars that are in close proximity of the homestead. I dunno about that though as the last time I went she drug me there with a lesbian couple that are friends of ours and co-workers of mine. I got in free since I showed up with 3 chicks :rockin:

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If there aren't pictures, it didn't happen!

Whenever I want to throw hops or yeast slurry down the drain I mix it with bacon grease and hair clippings and then rinse with cold water. Works like a charm.

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wat? No uncooked rice?

The way I see it...shortly after dumping the yeast down the drain I'll be chasing it with the PBW solution I used to clean the carboy so hopefully that's good enough.