Hop Back question

[fhhobbies]

Ok so I have a Stout Tanks, I believe the 2.7gal version Hop Back, decided to use it for the first time last night and didn't go so well. I put 6oz of my home grown hops in there.... I put them in a mesh bag but after a min of pumping from my kettle for the cooling whirlpool it clogged up. Decided to take the bag out and that was a bad idea, hops everywhere and eventually clogging my pump. That Hop Back does not have a false bottom, what is the proper way of using these? I was filling from the top and outlet at the bottom, should I fill from bottom and outlet at the top?


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[pvault98]

I don't have the same hop back as you, I have a Blichmann hop rocket but hopefully I can help some. The biggest challenge I have had is compacting the hops and ultimately plugging the hop back. The hop rocket feeds from the bottom and out the top which should help keep the hops more suspended in wort so there is a good chance your hop back should do the same. Secondly, I stopped running my pump when using my hop back and just use gravity and that has made a big difference. When I start filling it, I do it very slowly so it doesn't compact the hops from the get go.

 

[fhhobbies]

Darn, I thought was to use it during my whirlpool but I guess that won't happen then, perhaps I'll add the hops after the whirl pool when the wort is cool as I slowly pump over to the fermenter.


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[pvault98]

Darn, I thought was to use it during my whirlpool but I guess that won't happen then, perhaps I'll add the hops after the whirl pool when the wort is cool as I slowly pump over to the fermenter.


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I successfully whirlpooled with mine once but the flow has to be perfect to actually get a whirlpool going and not compact the hopback. My best experience has been whirpool, let it settle for 15-20 minutes (all of this is good for my late hop additions), then single, slow pass through hopback to the plate chiller and fermenter.