How To Build A Hop Spider To Filter Hops From Your Wort

CornyKegs 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
jbrookeiv

jbrookeiv

Crafted Magazine
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
1,309
Reaction score
25
Location
Asheville
Hey guys, just threw together a quick video on how I built my hop spider, thought some of you might be interested.



Enjoy! :mug:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Inodoro_Pereyra said:
Very nice indeed.
But shouldn't this thread be in the DIY section?:confused:
Click to expand...

Duh! Man, didn't even think about that. Any mods care to move it?

Glad you guys enjoyed the video, took me all of 10 minutes to complete the build. I'll be brewing next weekend, we'll see how it works.
 
jbrookeiv said:
Duh! Man, didn't even think about that. Any mods care to move it?

Glad you guys enjoyed the video, took me all of 10 minutes to complete the build. I'll be brewing next weekend, we'll see how it works.
Click to expand...

Yeah, let's hope they will, so it's easier to find in the future.
About the video, it'd have been better if you had a hot Chinese girl doing it (;)), but, yeah, it's ok...:D

Let us know how it goes...
 
Jbrookiv, have you had any issues with the hop spider gathering steam condensation and dripping DMS back into the kettle?
 
This should simplify things for me, I've been thinking about making one of these for a while now, and is coming up on my "easy" project list.
 
JonW said:
Really??? You guys are worried about DMS from this thing? :confused:
Click to expand...

I am not overly worried about it, but I do work hard to minimize DMS and don't know if I want to add a device that may undo some of that effort. That being said, I bought the supplies and plan to make one. I will probably not use it with batches that include pilsner malt since that is when I am most concerned about DMS.

Just asking a probing question to filter out any concerns.
 
Cool device I guess. Neat idea. But, why not just put the hops in a bag, tie it shut, and toss it into the wort? I have four smaller 4x5" bags just for this.

Anyway I may just make one to say I have one!:cross:
 
350_Malibu said:
Cool device I guess. Neat idea. But, why not just put the hops in a bag, tie it shut, and toss it into the wort? I have four smaller 4x5" bags just for this.

Anyway I may just make one to say I have one!:cross:
Click to expand...

I've done it both ways. I built one of these a few months back and have used it for the last few brews.

One thing I like about the individual hop bags is that when you are draining your kettle, they kind of create a filter bed on the bottom and a lot of the break material sticks to the bags. Cleaning multiple bags is a pain though.

With the larger bag though, I kind of feel that the hops are more free moving and might get better utilization. No evidence of that though and it is hard to tell. I do like being able to pull the one bag out and set it aside. It also makes cleanup easier. It is also easier if you have a bunch of hop additions.

It's a toss up - both methods worked well for me.
 
350_Malibu said:
Cool device I guess. Neat idea. But, why not just put the hops in a bag, tie it shut, and toss it into the wort? I have four smaller 4x5" bags just for this.

Anyway I may just make one to say I have one!:cross:
Click to expand...

  • This makes adding hops a lot easier.
  • This doesn't get sucked into the dip tube when pumping.
  • This is easier to clean when done.
  • This makes continuous hop additions really easy, like for a Pliney clone.
  • This allows you to easily and instantly removed all the hops at the end of the boil.
  • This allows you to stir the hops to (perhaps) help with utilization.
  • It's cool & cheap, and doesn't require a plasma torch or an engineering degree.
 
FYI, few comments on the build:

  1. I prefer to use that flange upside down from the way it is presented here. For some reason, my large hose clamp gets loose occasionally. The lip of the plastic flange keeps the whole thing from falling into the wort.
  2. I originally built mine with threaded rods as shown. It is far easier, though, to just drill two holes (not 4) and run a single piece of copper pipe through the whole thing. This has numerous advantages: pipe will never rust, can be removed to make the thing easy to store.
  3. The bag will want to float when in use. I keep a chunk of 1" copper pipe in it all the time to keep the bag down.
 
Why not invert the reducer so there's no chance the clamp and bag can slide off?

Doh! You beat me to it!
 
schubes said:
i've got the exact same set-up and it does gather steam and does drip back into bk.
Click to expand...

Would the condensate then go back into soulution and boil off again? Comparing the surface area of the BK to the surface area presented by the bolts leads me to think that DMS would be neglible.

Just my $/50
 
What kind of bags do you all use? I made one of these and used it for the first time last brew and used a paint strainer bag and was surprised when I went to lift it out of the wort at the end of the boil that it was clogged up by the hops and took FOREVER to drain.
 
Fastmetal said:
What kind of bags do you all use? I made one of these and used it for the first time last brew and used a paint strainer bag and was surprised when I went to lift it out of the wort at the end of the boil that it was clogged up by the hops and took FOREVER to drain.
Click to expand...

paint strainers from lowes...super cheap, so i don't mind pitching them when i'm through ($.75 added to the bill doesn't break the bank for me). i use the ic at the same time (2 birds, 1 stone type of thing), so it doesn't seem to take as long.
 
I really like the filtering affect that hops add when using a false bottom. The hops collapse onto the false bottom and strain almost all of the Trub from the wort when draining the kettle. I don't know if I would give up that property of spent hops.

just saying.....
 
i'm thinking this thing won't work too well doing ~7 gallon boils in a 10 gallon blichmann boilermaker. Don't think the bag will reach far enough into the wort.
 
MikeMayhem said:
i'm thinking this thing won't work too well doing ~7 gallon boils in a 10 gallon blichmann boilermaker. Don't think the bag will reach far enough into the wort.
Click to expand...

I do ~12 gallon boils in a 20G Boilermaker with one of these and it comes almost to the bottom of the kettle. I usually throw an SS elbow or something in there to keep it down by the bottom.

The 5 gal paint strainer bags are pretty good sized.
 
ah yes, i suppose i could get a larger bag ;)

i don't want to get too large and risk scorching on the bottom though. So perhaps a little size adjustment to the 5 gallon plus a couple sanitized marbles for weight and i can have one that will fit perfectly
 
I built one of these two weeks ago from a blog posting elsewhere. It worked quite nicely but the hops do drain a little slowly. Simple build where the hardest part is spacing the wholes somewhat evenly!
 
I've really been doing a lot of research on what the best method of pellet separation is. I normally never cared, but now I'm using a plate chiller. I have been working with a screen lined basket that I can mash grain and boil hops in. The trick is to find the right mesh size.

One low tech method I just thought of to make the hop spider better; add a ring at the bottom or some kind of large drop in SS frame to the inside. It'd keep the "softball effect" at a minimum, allowing the hops to swim a bit better....and the bag would still retain its filtration abilities.
 
ScubaSteve said:
I've really been doing a lot of research on what the best method of pellet separation is. I normally never cared, but now I'm using a plate chiller. I have been working with a screen lined basket that I can mash grain and boil hops in. The trick is to find the right mesh size.

One low tech method I just thought of to make the hop spider better; add a ring at the bottom or some kind of large drop in SS frame to the inside. It'd keep the "softball effect" at a minimum, allowing the hops to swim a bit better....and the bag would still retain its filtration abilities.
Click to expand...

Someone here did exactly that.

Once, I turned on my pump and kept a steady flow of boiling wort returning INTO the bag. That was sorta cool. Can't say anything changed though.

FWIW, I've used this thing a ton. If there is a utilization issue, I must be unconsciously tweeking my recipes to accommodate. My beer turns out exactly like I want it. If anything, I tend to get more hop bitterness & flavor than was intended.
 
passedpawn said:
Someone here did exactly that.

Once, I turned on my pump and kept a steady flow of boiling wort returning INTO the bag. That was sorta cool. Can't say anything changed though.

FWIW, I've used this thing a ton. If there is a utilization issue, I must be unconsciously tweeking my recipes to accommodate. My beer turns out exactly like I want it. If anything, I tend to get more hop bitterness & flavor than was intended.
Click to expand...

I've used the return method as well...it actually fills the bag up past the liquid level....the hops plug the bag so well, there is almost no recirculation.

Really, I prefer whole hops. I think the flavor is a lot better. I know pellets keep better and have higher AA, but I think cone/leaf impart more aromatic flavors....which I really like. BUT, pellets are so much more available...so I want my system to be able to utilize them.
 
JonW said:
I never thought the spider created a "softball effect". With the boiling action in the kettle I thought the hops kept free swimming pretty good.
Click to expand...

Depends on how much hops you use. Once the first few ounces go in, I have serious doubts that the subsequent additions get used to the same potential as open wort. I will say this....the paint strainers are better than the small hop bags.
 
ScubaSteve said:
Depends on how much hops you use. Once the first few ounces go in, I have serious doubts that the subsequent additions get used to the same potential as open wort. I will say this....the paint strainers are better than the small hop bags.
Click to expand...

+1 The softball effect is real and I'm speaking from direct experience with a hop spyder contraption. I agree that the small hop bags aren't so good. I've had somewhat better luck with the larger grain bags, but now I just do the full monty and let them hops free range whether pellet or whole.
 
Wow, surprised on the response this has received. The main reason I built this thing was to keep pellet debris out of my new dip tube/ball valve setup.

To answer a few of the questions:

I think DMS condensing on the spider and dripping back in is pretty far fetched. The surface area of this thing is pretty tiny in comparison to the surface area of the wort.

Also, it would take some serious force to get the bag off of the spider. I have the clamp pretty far up the lip, and have pulled on the bag with no effect.

Last, we'll see if my hop utilization is effected. If it is, I'll just add few more hops during the boil, no big deal. I also dry hop most of my beers, so if late additions are less utilized, it probably wouldn't be as noticeable.
 
JonW said:
I do ~12 gallon boils in a 20G Boilermaker with one of these and it comes almost to the bottom of the kettle. I usually throw an SS elbow or something in there to keep it down by the bottom.

The 5 gal paint strainer bags are pretty good sized.
Click to expand...

I have the same. I like the idea of tossing in a SS elbow to keep the hop sack down there. Mine has never pulled off.

When done, I do wear insulated gloves to squeeze the hop sack for all the hop goodness it has to offer.

HopHolder-Blichmann.jpg
 
Ed, I see you have a blichmann...would his hopblocker make the hop spider irrelevant? have you thought about adding one of those?
 
Nice job with the video! You mentioned installing a ball valve and dip tube, got a video for that too? (searched, but can't seem to find one...)

Thanks!
 
Time-Travelers said:
Nice job with the video! You mentioned installing a ball valve and dip tube, got a video for that too? (searched, but can't seem to find one...)

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I will be making a video on the topic in the next few days. Keep checking my YouTube channel or blog, http://beerreviewdude.com.
 

Similar threads

K
Hop collection/ wort chilling solution for 1BBL setup
Replies
2
Views
246
Want2Brew
Want2Brew
B
SVBS and hop pellets
Replies
5
Views
463
stealthfixr
S
R
Question regarding hops and cooling wort
Replies
30
Views
2K
Broken Crow
Broken Crow
B
Dry hopping with fermonster closed system
Replies
14
Views
900
Dgallo
Dgallo
L
Filtering through Hop Spider at the End of Boil
Replies
7
Views
3K
jerrylotto
jerrylotto
InkBird 300

Latest posts

Back
Top