New way to control Pellet Hop gunk!

marcb · Jan 30, 2013

sweetcell said:
awesome! take lots of pix, and/or a video, especially of what the two filters look like after the boil (i.e. put an equal amount of hops in each basket and then see how much was retained. requires splitting all your hop additions in half).

Sweetcell - thanks, will do. Any other specific request from the rest of the subscribers? Let me know and I'll happily oblige with specific pics etc during the process. Being as though this is my first day with my shiny new tankless water heater I may be able to pull it off in under 5 hours (that's my goal anyways!) so I may attempt it the morning of the SuperBowl!

This will be my PTE Clone 20 Gallon batch with over 2lbs of hops in the boil (I don't do mash hopping as the grain all goes to my chickens) I will split the hop bill additions in half, one half going into the 300 and one half going into the 400. I know what's left in the kettle after the 300 (which is next to nothing on my rig and even with vigorous stirring throughout) so I am looking at the performance of each basket and what is left in the kettle as a worst case scenario for the 400. Any feedback on what is under test?

Now if I can pull off the Super Sunday brew day and still manage to take Monday off, SWMBO decision pending ; ) then I will also do the same with a mild hopped Belgian Trippel as I'm almost dry on my Santa Clara Abbey Ale.

uberg33k · Jan 30, 2013

marcb said:
Sweetcell - thanks, will do. Any other specific request from the rest of the subscribers? Let me know and I'll happily oblige with specific pics etc during the process. Being as though this is my first day with my shiny new tankless water heater I may be able to pull it off in under 5 hours (that's my goal anyways!) so I may attempt it the morning of the SuperBowl!

This will be my PTE Clone 20 Gallon batch with over 2lbs of hops in the boil (I don't do mash hopping as the grain all goes to my chickens) I will split the hop bill additions in half, one half going into the 300 and one half going into the 400. I know what's left in the kettle after the 300 (which is next to nothing on my rig and even with vigorous stirring throughout) so I am looking at the performance of each basket and what is left in the kettle as a worst case scenario for the 400. Any feedback on what is under test?

Now if I can pull off the Super Sunday brew day and still manage to take Monday off, SWMBO decision pending ; ) then I will also do the same with a mild hopped Belgian Trippel as I'm almost dry on my Santa Clara Abbey Ale.

Just to be clear, all your hops additions will be pellet, correct?

bovineblitz · Jan 30, 2013

marcb said:
Monday, Feb 4th is the day. View the event live on PPV (I mean HBT), and by live I mean pictures that I will post throughout the day : )

Is the plan to use both in one pot, or two have two side by side pots?

It'd be especially great if you could do side by side identical beers, and fantastic if you could ferment them side by side as well and see if there's any bitterness/hop flavor differences.

That's logistically a bit difficult though. However you're doing it, we'll be interested to see!

marcb · Jan 30, 2013

bovineblitz said:
Is the plan to use both in one pot, or two have two side by side pots?

It'd be especially great if you could do side by side identical beers, and fantastic if you could ferment them side by side as well and see if there's any bitterness/hop flavor differences.

That's logistically a bit difficult though. However you're doing it, we'll be interested to see!

Wow, I'd love to but logistically it's impossible as I ferment in a single temp controlled 27gallon conical. Two kettles aren't likely either as I want one beer for consistency sake. I'm pretty comfortable with what's left behind by the 300 so this is more a measure of circulation and flow in the baskets and we should see whether or not the 400's leave more crap in the kettle than my plate chillers like ; )

I will post some photos of my brew kettle and plan later tonight....

SpeedFlutinator · Jan 30, 2013

StainlessBrewing said:
Unfortunately I don't have the tooling to make the welded seam to join the mesh. The clamps are very quick to install or uninstall if you decide to use the upper ring with a bag.

Are the rivets and the screws in the hose clamps stainless steel as well? I've heard in the past that some stainless clamps do not have stainless screws which makes them undesirable in the BK. I may be wrong but stainless rivets take a hydraulic press and are not very common.

marcb · Jan 30, 2013

uberg33k said:
Just to be clear, all your hops additions will be pellet, correct?

pellet hops indeed, and will be photographed for good measure!

StainlessBrewing · Jan 31, 2013

SpeedFlutinator said:
Are the rivets and the screws in the hose clamps stainless steel as well? I've heard in the past that some stainless clamps do not have stainless screws which makes them undesirable in the BK. I may be wrong but stainless rivets take a hydraulic press and are not very common.

The rivets are stainless and the screws in the clamp are stainless as well. The rivets can be done by hand or hydraulic and are very common in the hardware industry. This has actually been a benefit for some that require a specific height and can trim it to they're desire. The screws that you're talking about are usually a steel screw that has a zinc coating.

As far as the mesh goes, my personal opinion along with others is the #40 mesh or 400 micron. I've used 30, 40 and 60 and think 40 meets both parties as far as straining and hop utilization the best. This is just an opinion. Whatever makes you happy for your style beer is what you should go with.

itzkramer · Jan 31, 2013

uberg33k said:
Sweeeeeeeeeeet. I've been holding off an order because I've been waiting for this show down.

Same here.

I don't use a plate chiller, so I'm mainly interested in wort flow through the basket. From previous pictures it seems as if the 300 always has a lot of very hoppy wort caught up in it.

Id rather let the really fine stuff settle during my whirlpool and have better wort circulation.

BxBrewer · Jan 31, 2013

itzkramer said:
Same here.

I don't use a plate chiller, so I'm mainly interested in wort flow through the basket. From previous pictures it seems as if the 300 always has a lot of very hoppy wort caught up in it.

Id rather let the really fine stuff settle during my whirlpool and have better wort circulation.

Im no where near the level of brewing as some of you guys. I do extract brews and have the 300 micron filter. The hops float for a few seconds then drop down. With the wort boiling it boils/bubbles up through the filter "always churning. When stirring the wort you can see the wort flowing through the filter. I stand my filter up in the middle of my chiller when chilling. Once chilling is almost done. I set the filter on top of the chiller to drain "takes 60 seconds or less. The most hops ive used is 5oz in my small filter.

One thing to note is i spray mine out realy well and give it a PBW soak between batches.

jtejedor · Jan 31, 2013

Wow mine got shipped the day after I ordered it.

marcb · Jan 31, 2013

BxBrewer said:
Im no where near the level of brewing as some of you guys. I do extract brews and have the 300 micron filter. The hops float for a few seconds then drop down. With the wort boiling it boils/bubbles up through the filter "always churning. When stirring the wort you can see the wort flowing through the filter. I stand my filter up in the middle of my chiller when chilling. Once chilling is almost done. I set the filter on top of the chiller to drain "takes 60 seconds or less. The most hops ive used is 5oz in my small filter.

One thing to note is i spray mine out realy well and give it a PBW soak between batches.

Don't sell yourself short, if you can reliably produce consistent beers than you're probably better than most of us.... bigger, better toys rarely make significantly better beer. It's all about process, consistency and sanitization!

marcb · Jan 31, 2013

When you ask Chad to build something that's strong enough to stand on, he takes it very seriously.....

bovineblitz · Jan 31, 2013

marcb said:
Don't sell yourself short, if you can reliably produce consistent beers than you're probably better than most of us.... bigger, better toys rarely make significantly better beer. It's all about process, consistency and sanitization!

Very true. Toys are luxuries. I love having them but they don't necessarily make better beer.

BullGator · Feb 1, 2013

marcb said:
When you ask Chad to build something that's strong enough to stand on, he takes it very seriously.....

Can you explain the reason you have it sized that way. I imagine due to your kettle? Also, is the other one shaped the same? If so, how are you going to fit them both in at once?

StainlessBrewing · Feb 1, 2013

We definitely had to step up the strength on the internal frame as well. I think UPS will have a tough time with this one.

StainlessBrewing · Feb 1, 2013

marcb said:
When you ask Chad to build something that's strong enough to stand on, he takes it very seriously.....

Is this for your setup?

marcb · Feb 1, 2013

BullGator said:
Can you explain the reason you have it sized that way. I imagine due to your kettle? Also, is the other one shaped the same? If so, how are you going to fit them both in at once?

No, it wasn't for me - Chad emailed me some pics from another customer as I'm working on a beefy grain basket design for another rig I am thinking of building. Basically a huge braumeister clone (50+ gallons). I thought the pic of him standing on the basket was funny so I thought I'd post it

marcb · Feb 1, 2013

StainlessBrewing said:
Is this for your setup?

Nope, just a funny picture I thought I'd share

Chamuco · Feb 1, 2013

marcb said:
When you ask Chad to build something that's strong enough to stand on, he takes it very seriously.....

Hey Marc, you got me thinking the other day and now I see this badboy. What about one of these for a 1bbl BIAB batch to hold the grain? Sized to fit my future 55 gallon kettle and lift 120# (or so) of wet grain from a single eye hook. :rockin:

marcb · Feb 1, 2013

Chamuco said:
Hey Marc, you got me thinking the other day and now I see this badboy. What about one of these for a 1bbl BIAB batch to hold the grain? Sized to fit my future 55 gallon kettle and lift 120# (or so) of wet grain from a single eye hook. :rockin:

Exactamundo!

br1dge · Feb 1, 2013

StainlessBrewing said:
We definitely had to step up the strength on the internal frame as well. I think UPS will have a tough time with this one.

There we go.. This is going to be the most bad-ass hop strainer out there..

HDIr0n · Feb 2, 2013

I ordered a spider from StainlessBrewing with the paint strainer bag option, hopefully later on I will upgrade to some stainless screen. Shipped the day after ordering. I will post an update when I get to brew on it.

-G

marcb · Feb 2, 2013

br1dge said:
There we go.. This is going to be the most bad-ass hop strainer out there..

I hope it works out for you, I'm not so keen on the brass plated clamps or riveted seams ever making contact with my wort, but hey - I'm a purist. Please post some pics once your rig is all together as I'd like to see it in action. I'm working on a sic keg washer right now and the world seems to be out of 3 way 1/2" ball valves, WTH!

StainlessBrewing · Feb 2, 2013

marcb said:
I hope it works out for you, I'm not so keen on the brass plated clamps or riveted seams ever making contact with my wort, but hey - I'm a purist. Please post some pics once your rig is all together as I'd like to see it in action. I'm working on a sic keg washer right now and the world seems to be out of 3 way 1/2" ball valves, WTH!

These are all stainless. There is no brass plated anything on it. The rivets are stainless as well. After over 140 of these sold the only problem were having is UPS using them as chairs or running them over with their truck.

StainlessBrewing · Feb 2, 2013

marcb said:
I'm working on a sic keg washer right now and the world seems to be out of 3 way 1/2" ball valves, WTH!

Send me an email through the site. I can help you on these.

marcb · Feb 2, 2013

StainlessBrewing said:
Send me an email through the site. I can help you on these.

Hi, Thanks - I did check your website first but couldn't find any ball valves except the basic 1/2" stainless ball valve - I ended up sourcing them from Duda Diesel last night, I needed 3 way T style ball 1/2" ball valves and I ended up paying a lot more than I did originally from Brewer's Hardware but they weren't able to fill my order for a month and I'm just not that patient.

StainlessBrewing · Feb 2, 2013

marcb said:
Hi, Thanks - I did check your website first but couldn't find any ball valves except the basic 1/2" stainless ball valve - I ended up sourcing them from Duda Diesel last night, I needed 3 way T style ball 1/2" ball valves and I ended up paying a lot more than I did originally from Brewer's Hardware but they weren't able to fill my order for a month and I'm just not that patient.

I hear ya. If you don't see something on the site and it involves stainless let me know. I have a ton of product that's not listed yet. If I can't help you out I will try to help you find someone who can. Glad you got it covered.

marcb · Feb 2, 2013

Ok, the grain is ground (56lbs). The starter is made (6 liters) and all indicators are green for an early morning brew day tomorrow. With the new tankless water heater cart I'm hoping to get my brew day shortened to about 5 hours, we'll see what happens. Both hop baskets are taking a PBW bath currently and will be ready to go tomorrow.

marcb · Feb 3, 2013

marcb said:
Ok, the grain is ground (56lbs). The starter is made (6 liters) and all indicators are green for an early morning brew day tomorrow. With the new tankless water heater cart I'm hoping to get my brew day shortened to about 5 hours, we'll see what happens. Both hop baskets are taking a PBW bath currently and will be ready to go tomorrow.

This it begins!

Komodo · Feb 3, 2013

Thanks for doing this, were watching. If the results aren't very dramatic, be prepared to do a 300 vs 500. LOL

marcb · Feb 3, 2013

Komodo said:
Thanks for doing this, were watching. If the results aren't very dramatic, be prepared to do a 300 vs 500. LOL

Lol! I'm going to have to start asking for donations ; )

Here's what I have planned: seriously hoppy PtH clone with 35 oz of hops in the kettle and will be broken down into the following additions:

10 oz 13.1% CTZ 90 min
4 oz 13.1% CTZ 45 min
4 oz 13% Simcoe 30 min
12 oz 13% Simcoe 0 min
5 oz 9.2% Amarillo 0 min

Each addition will be split equally into both baskets and stirred vigorously.

marcb · Feb 3, 2013

The beginnings of greatness!

Almost had a beertastrophe as my new "ultimate sparge arm" MoreBeer float switch for auto sparging that I waited a month for ended up being wired backwards so it kept running and almost overflowed.....