grr... hop pellets...

[Grimsawyer]

Today I brewed with hop pellets for the first time. Everything seemed to be going well until I tried to fire up my pump and recirculate through my cfc to sterilize it before cooling to my carboys. The damn hops created a crazy sludge at the bottom of the kettle that was almost impossible to get any liquid through. I ended up not getting my wort to cool past 150 for over an hour... ended up dumping scalding hot wort to another kettle, scraping the sludge off the bottom back and forth for some time before I could pull any amount of wort through my CFC... I've heard using some whole leaf hops is a good idea but after this experience I don't know why anyone would every mess with pellets. I understand the importance of whirlpooling but don't understand how the hell I am going to get my damn wort to temp when my chiller is cfc not immersion... How many people like pellets hops vs whole leaf? On the bright side the wort is CRYSTAL clear now. I can almost see completely through the carboy... Going to be a clear beer. Them hops make for a pretty aggressive filter... a filter nothing flows through, but a filter nonetheless.

 

[Jaybird]

what kind of hop filter are you using before your CFC?

 

[Golddiggie]

I've only used the pellets so far... For the past few batches, I've been using a nylon hop bag for the pellets, instead of just tossing them into the boiling wort. That works REALLY WELL to keep the sludge out of things. You still get the flavor/IBU extraction from the hops, but you leave the crap behind.

I'm not using a CFC, just an IC, to cool my wort down. Zero worries about getting plugged there. I'm also using the BIAB method for AG... I'm brewing on the stove top, and don't have any place to setup a propane burner where I live (damned landlord)... Next place I'm going to make sure I can set up for using a propane burner to get faster boil times.

 

[KyleWolf]

whoops. Missed it. +1 to what Golddiggie said.

I use pellet, but if I also dont throw my hops into the wort. I made an apparatus from a nylon paint straining bag and it hangs into my boil kettle. I just toss the hops in and pull it out and let it drain for a minute. kinda like an giant, open-ended hop bag...that is re-usable.

 

[Ender]

ditto. Thanks to the guy who made the paint strainer first. Love that thing. I use my pump with a plate chiller and have never had a problem. Knock on wood

 

[Homercidal]

I built a paint strainer frame that hangs in the wort, holding the strainer open and hopefully getting better flow through the strainer. I love not having to mess with hops gunk and will be trying it out on whole flowers very soon.

But my solution to the chiller problem was to start a whirlpool in the Kettle, then rig up the chiller and get the water flowing. Once the chiller was cold, I started siphoning from the TOP of the wort, and slowing working it down as the wort level dropped. This kept the hops gunk out of the hose until the very last bit, which was now a pile in the center of the kettle.

It's a little 'hands-on', but it works well.