Hop stopper or something similar

I recently purchased a SS keg, and i'm planning to use it as a boil kettle. Aside from cutting a hole in the top and adding a 1/2" coupling to the side, what other modifications will I need?

I've read about the hop stopper, but the website appears to be down.

www.ihomebrewsolutions.com

Can anyone recommend a DIY project or another company where I could buy a hop filter?

Do I even need a hop filter? I use a mix of leaf and pellet hops for most brews.

Thanks,

Matt

Check this out

made from a SS strainer

AleHole said:

Check this out

made from a SS strainer

Click to expand...

Are there any issues with getting most of the wort out of the kettle? Do you have holes in the copper tubing or just one on the end?

Matt

I've made a hop filter out of raw goods, stainless mesh and lock wire. It does the job but I don't like removing the dang thing to clean it. People will naysay using nylon hop bags for lesser hop utilization but it's so much easier to clean. I may run a few more batches before I make the ultimate determination. Some of the bad cleanup experience had to do with doing it in the dark on cold nights.






If I had any advice to offer, try to build it such that it can't collapse down on itself. For example, you could use a soft copper dip tube that you run in a circle prior to having it dip down into the keg recess. This will hold the two halves of the mesh apart. Once it collapses, you lose a lot of the benefit of having a larger surface area. Since I used a rigid copper dip tube that has a 4" drop, this along with the folds I made in the shape, keep the top and bottom meshes apart really well.

Yeah, you want some way of filtering the hops if you're using a valve. Especially whole hops as they'll clog your drain.

Hopstopper users swear by them, but they're 'spensive! brewhead uses one of these. I can't think of a cheaper way that would be as good.

Yeah, I like his solution. The only think I might change, if I build one, is to make the upper ring out of a ring of metal. Maybe a large stainless hose clamp.

The only slight kink in the process that I can see is that you usually throw your IC (for those who use them) into the wort at T-15 so you'd have to take this sucker out, drop the IC in, then replace it to ready your last aroma addition.

Certainly this design allows you to make as many additions as you need to without fishing the bag out or using multiple bags, one for each addition.

I don't know, Bobby. I would think you could pull the bag at T-0. Stick in the IC for ~ 60 secs to sanitize it, kill the heat, and start cooling. I don't think it takes 15 mins to sanitize your IC. Of course, if you use a CFC then it doesn't matter.

Plus, that contraption is way easier to clean than a hopstopper.

Lil' Sparky said:

I don't know, Bobby. I would think you could pull the bag at T-0. Stick in the IC for ~ 60 secs to sanitize it, kill the heat, and start cooling. I don't think it takes 15 mins to sanitize your IC. Of course, if you use a CFC then it doesn't matter.

Click to expand...

I'm sure you're right, but the standard answer for sanitizing the IC is 15 minutes. I think the issue is, if you drop a cold IC (~60F) into your pot, you do drop the temp down a bit. IIRC, it takes about 3 minutes of full heat to get me back up to boiling. Now we could start talking about what temp and exposure time does it really take to sanitize, but I think most would just er on the side of let it sit in the boiling wort longer.

Since I have the hop stopper, a hop bag, an IC and a CFC. I'm going back and forth trying to decide which I like using and which is easier.

Well, I guess you could take 3-5 mins to bring it back up to a boil then. If the hops are removed, I don't think it's really going to change the hop characteristic (much).

If you lived down here where the ground water is already 80', I know what you'd be doing. Your IC would become your prechiller for your CFC. That's really the only way we can get the wort down to pitching temps here.

Is there a DIY on the design that Brewhead uses? I guess I would just need a materials list. Making it is fairly self-explanatory from the picture.

I believe that's a 18-8 stainless strainer from a store like Target. Looks like the screen was cut out from the frame, folded in half, then the edges sewn up. The mesh size seems to be too small to filter all pellet hops. You could go with a splatter shield which is a finer mesh or buy 60x40 mesh from Mcmaster.com

Lil' Sparky said:

Click to expand...

I was talking about this one...sorry. It looks easy enough.

Yeah, self explanitory. Large hop bag, pvc coupling, threaded rod and nuts.

Bobby_M said:

The only slight kink in the process that I can see is that you usually throw your IC (for those who use them) into the wort at T-15 so you'd have to take this sucker out, drop the IC in, then replace it to ready your last aroma addition.

Click to expand...

I just made one of those 5 gallon paint strainers with the pvc coupling and used it for the first time on Thursday. It works great especially since I siphon my wort from the kettle. At 15 minutes left in the boil I just lifted the strainer out and let it drip for a few seconds and then slid my chiller in the pot and dropped the strainer in the middle of the chiller. Didn't spill a drop of wort. I was going to make a hopstopper like yours but after making this for 5 bucks and seeing how good it works first hand I decided against it. This batch was by far the clearest wort into the fermenter yet especially because I attached a 1 gallon strainer on the end of my Autosiphon when I racked to the primary.

CollinsBrew said:

I was talking about this one...sorry. It looks easy enough.

Click to expand...

guys can I ask what size coupler that is? It looks rather large in the picture but Home depot only sells 4". Is the photo just messing with my mind?

I primarily use whole hops, and I find that this false bottom works quite nicely for straining them out prior to my valve/pump.

guys can I ask what size coupler that is? It looks rather large in the picture but Home depot only sells 4". Is the photo just messing with my mind?

Click to expand...

step away from the kegerator

it's a 4 inch coupling. i used it becasue it has a ridge that gives the pipe clamp something to grip against when i've got the ting full o hop goodness

however a trip to your local plumbing outlet can yeild bigger couplings. HD/lowes/ etc cater to a general demand and thus you usually see smaller sizes of pvc

i don't diss the hopstopper or it's designer and the subsiquent diy knockoffs. most who have them swear by their greatness. my concern with the hopstopper is that if/when it get clogged...it's setting at the bottom of your kettle. not a whole lot you can do there. the hop bag can be lifted out ant any thime throughout the boil. on my stand i have pegs that i lodge the hop bag in and raise it up above the kettle at flame out to drain it's hoppy num nums

be for warned - after about 50 or so batches the pvc coupling will tend to warp a bit. a better design i'm working on is using a ss sleeve in place of the pvc

I wonder if the black rubber couplings they have would work without warping or spoiling the brew somehow. They've got the hose clamps in built-in grooves.

Something like this, but 4"

Hey Guys,
Here's the one i made. I was looking for a design that would prevent the hops from just piling on top of the taco or hop stopper design. Here is what i came up with. It is a splater screen folded into a type of triangle. I used small stainless screws instead of sewing in the event i ever want to change the silicone washer. The parts cost me 12 buck total and the thing works like a charm for pellet hops.

Splatter screen $2
Stainless steel faucet connector $4
Silicone washer $1
No lead Brass Nipple $4
Small Stainless Screws (no zinc) ~$1