Pellet hops in pickup tube

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Stocktonbrew

Stocktonbrew

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I have a three tier gravity brew stand. My boil kettle has a false bottom with a pickup tube. I have always used leaf hops but my LHBS for the most part sells pellets. Question is, can I use pellet hops and drain from my boil kettle to carboy as I usually do, or will the pellets clog the pickup tube?
 
Stocktonbrew said:
I have a three tier gravity brew stand. My boil kettle has a false bottom with a pickup tube. I have always used leaf hops but my LHBS for the most part sells pellets. Question is, can I use pellet hops and drain from my boil kettle to carboy as I usually do, or will the pellets clog the pickup tube?
Click to expand...

The short answer is yes. I do this all the time and simply use a funnel with a strainer to catch any hop debris I do not want in my fermenter. I guess it would be theoretically possible for hop debris to plug up your dip tube, but I think its far more likely that you will suck unwanted hop debris into your fermenter.
 
Stocktonbrew said:
Do you drain from a valve in your brew kettle?
Click to expand...

Yes. I cool to pitching temperature and then drain into a funnel with a mesh screen in it as I fill my carboys. Occasionally if I am making IPA or beers with lots of hops it will clog up a bit and I will just stir it a bit and empty the hop debris using a large spoon to increase the flow rate again.
 
I have a 1/2 pickup tube, 1/2 ball valve going into a 1/2 id hose barb. I was hoping the hop pellet muck would flow through and straight into the carboy. I dont reuse my yeast and have read others say its not a big deal to leave the hops in the primary.
 
So you just throw the hop pellets in the boil kettle and they drain through ok? You don't use hop bags?
 
Stocktonbrew: what you describe is exactly what I do - except I add the step that I then pump that wort through a counterflow chiller that's only 3/8", and I have no problems. You'll be fine.
 
Doesn't matter. Strictly speaking, the pump doesn't "pull" anything. The pumps we use in homebrewing aren't self priming pumps and aren't rally capable of pulling. I gravity feed to my pump, and my pump then pushes the wort through the chiller and into my fermenter.
 
I built a hop-spider type device, works a charm and haven't had a clogged brew since I made it. Used to have issues with the hops in the hop bag clogging up the tube, if it wasn't that it was other muck. Highly recommended and cheap to build.
 
I have read about the hop spyder, but was thinking if the hops dont have an affect in the primary, why worry about it and not just dump the whole thing in. After I chill using my IC just open the valve, pitch, and thats it.
 
My challenge was it was getting stuck/clogged when draining into carboy's. Tried bazooka screen, drip tube before the spyder without good results, now I have no problems. Worked for me.
 
I noticed a lot of people had problems with the bazooka tube. I think im going to try it without a strainer and dump it right from the boil kettle into the fermenter. If it gets stuck I will make a spyder or just use bags, but the simplicity of draining it all in sounds good.
 
well I use a plate chiller and recirc it until the entire volume gets down to temp in the BK, then drain it. You can do the whole thing without taking off the spyder that way. For IC, yeah just take it off.
Bazooka works great in my mash tun though.
 

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