Blichmann HopBlocker Review

[yodalegomaster]

I just bought a new Blichmann HopBlocker, I use a keggle and set it up with a 1/4 copper line, and placed it in the center of keg it's the only spot that it will rest flat on the bottom, Just got done brewing a IPA with about 8oz of hops for a 10 gallon batch.
It was completely unusable, the blocker didn't block anything but the flow from the outlet and got caught on my immersion chiller, I had to remove it, to get any flow at all. What a mess.I don't dought that this works really well in the blichmann kettle with the flat bottom. But it's never going to work in a keggle. Just to let you know this is my 100 batch, I have designed 3 other hop separators for my keggles this is the 4th one I have tried. It's very expensive solution,but was willing to do anything to try to reduce the trub going into the fermentor. But nothing has worked to my satisfaction.
I just met John Blichman and I wanted this to work so badly, But I have to say this and the beer gun just worthless.

 

[Yambor44]

I concur.

 

[Yooper]

I'm sorry to hear that. I saw them at the NHC, but someone there told me that it probably wouldn't work for a keggle, since there isn't a flat bottom on one.

What made it unusable? Was it the "sliding" mechanism, or just simply too easily clogged with hops and debris? It looked like a great idea.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

its seems like the fact that keggles drain from the center of the bottom is a fundamental flaw...

 

[HBCBrewmaster]

I also have the hop blocker and have used it 4 times in a 30 gal Blichmann boilermaker. I think it works pretty well. but I have to agree about the beer gun. My main complaint about the gun is it takes MUCH longer to bottle with it than with a siphon and it foams up WAY too much wasting so much beer.

 

[yodalegomaster]

I do have an update, I was able to use the hop blocker, by moving to a larger feed tube, I needed to increase the size of the whole on the hop blocker but it did work better. I did notice that I was still unable to get below the stem entry point on the keggel. It's still got problem with the edges on the bottom of the keg, and sealling to the bottom, but the whole is pretty small. But, It did work better, not perfectly. This brew had another 10 oz of pellet hops, it might work better with lower hops and maybe a small amount of whole hops.

 

[HBCBrewmaster]

I hear you. I was thinking also about the fact that yours needs to sit in the middle of the pot as opposed to on the side where it was designed to install on the Boilermaker. The directions do strongly suggest that you give a vigorous swirl to the wort after the heat convection stops (about 20 minutes after flame out.) This is to Whirlpool the trub and hops into the center and away from the intake of the Hopblocker. In your case if you did this tou'd be magnifying the problem.

 

[fastricky]

Hmmm... have not tried the hopblocker but I love my beer gun!

 

[HBCBrewmaster]

Please tell me exactly how you use it so I can try mine out again.

 

[fastricky]

I follow the directions basically.

Make sure the beer is chilled real cold. Use 10 feet of small diameter tubing to the gun. Purge the bottle of air with the CO2 blast then fill making sure to tilt the bottle to get the tip of the gun submerged in flowing beer quickly. Some beers are foamy and there's nothing much to be done about that, just the grains used that cause that.

But overall I love it.

 

[RiverRat280]

Well its no surprise that the hop blocker doesn't work well in a keggle with the rounded bottom. I would think it should work much better with a flat bottom and not in the center where all the hops collect. My only gripe with blichmann is the themowell is so damn high on their kettles that it does me no good as a MLT on session ales so I haven't decided what to get for a kettle. I'm not that happy using my keggle.
I have the beer gun and I think it works great. Tip your bottles so the tip is submerged in beer as soon as possible and it foams at first it the gun is warm because it forces the CO2 out of suspension. Once it gets cold from the beer running through its fine but I make sure my beer in the keg is chilled and I throw the beer gun and hose in the kezzer to chill before use and I don't have a problem with foam anymore.