Hop strainer?

[Yankeehillbrewer]

I made one of these and used it on my last batch.

The difficulty came when I wanted to put the IC in with 10 minutes remaining.

Do you remove the hop strainer, add the IC and then put the hop strainer back in the middle of the IC? It was kind of awkward...

I had used one of these for a few batches, but i quit using it for this exact reason. I just throw the hops into the BK loose now. When it comes time to transfer to the fermentor, I put the 5g paint strainer over the fementor and clip it on with binder clips, then dump the BK into primary. Then all I have to do is pull the paint strainer out and wring out the hops. works great for me.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

What is the plastic piece that you used? I assume it's plastic or some kind of polymer...the white piece.

My first guess is that it's PVC...if so, is that safe??? I'd like to make one; looks awesome! Just wanna be sure I'm not poisoning myself with some chemical that leaches out of PVC at boiling temperatures...

Hopefully, I'm just being paranoid!

It's just a pvc coupler. At least in my setup the coupler never touches the wort, so it should be leaching anything into the wort. No harmful effects so far, anyway.

 

[EvilBrewer]

It's just a pvc coupler. At least in my setup the coupler never touches the wort, so it should be leaching anything into the wort. No harmful effects so far, anyway.

Fair enough...thanks for the reply. I'm gonna make one of these this week.

 

[Beavdowg]

I had used one of these for a few batches, but i quit using it for this exact reason. I just throw the hops into the BK loose now. When it comes time to transfer to the fermentor, I put the 5g paint strainer over the fementor and clip it on with binder clips, then dump the BK into primary. Then all I have to do is pull the paint strainer out and wring out the hops. works great for me.

The solution you're using doesn't work for those of us that have a ball valve to drain the kettle. The struggle we're all having is a way to strain the hop/trub while draining the kettle through the ball valve/pickup tube. If you just drain the kettle (by using the ball valve) into a straining bag in your fermentor you'll still clog up your pickup tube/ball valve and the flow of wort out of the kettle will come to a painful stop.

 

[Irrenarzt]

The hop stopper flat out rules. That plus Dennis has incredible customer service. You absolutely cannot go wrong with the hop stopper...

Watch the video on his site. They ran a batch with 26 ounces of pellet hops. 26Friggen ounces and it went fine.

 

[Beavdowg]

The hop stopper flat out rules. That plus Dennis has incredible customer service. You absolutely cannot go wrong with the hop stopper...

Watch the video on his site. They ran a batch with 26 ounces of pellet hops. 26Friggen ounces and it went fine.

Bobby M says even the hopstopper can't stop a large 100% pellet load. The other worry I have is that I have an immersion chiller so there's an enourmous amount of cold break in the kettle too. The example on hopstopper's website talks about using a CFC so there's no cold break in the kettle. Will the hopstopper be able to handle hops plus a big cold break? Finally, it just seems outrageous to spend $60 for that hopstopper. That's crazy for me. It seems a little overpriced. Other than that it seems like a cool addition.

 

[Irrenarzt]

I brewed the Northern Brewer 115th Dream IPA which was 16 oz of pellet hops and I also use an IC (although I am currently building a Brutus 10 so I will be switching over to a Therminator) and it went great. Barely any hop particulate made it through and although I hit the hop stopper with the IC all the time, it's tough enough to handle the abuse. Although a large amount of material was left behind in the kettle, I did manage to get out all the wort I could without any clogging. I have the all stainless version which was 90 bucks but it is holding up well. It's easily worth the money as I had the Blichmann screen before and that thing sucks donkeydick. If you make a lot of big hop addition beers, then the hop stopper is well worth it IMO.

 

[Dog House Brew]

I have been using an IM chiller that I whirlpool with a spoon. I have tried a lot of things. My pot has a 1 1/2" ball valve that I put a grain bag over and open into a bucket for now. It is the only way I could get the filter problem resolved. I'm trying to make a Bobby M Hopstopper. I'm sick of clogged kettles. On my new build I'm going paint strainer, and Hopstopper. If that doesn't work I'm staying with the 1 1/2" hop bag deal.

 

[samc]

My experience with the Hopstopper (Bobby M version) was that cold break & pellets clogged it very quickly. I stopped using pellets and now put the leaf hops in a large mesh bag. No clogging of pumps, plate chiller or anything else. If you are not using an IC then I think the Hopstopper has a fighting chance of working.

 

[Sawdustguy]

Or make yourself one of these. Easy and works great.

Sparky, that my friend is the best thing simce sliced bread!

 

[Beavdowg]

I have been using an IM chiller that I whirlpool with a spoon. I have tried a lot of things. My pot has a 1 1/2" ball valve that I put a grain bag over and open into a bucket for now. It is the only way I could get the filter problem resolved. I'm trying to make a Bobby M Hopstopper. I'm sick of clogged kettles. On my new build I'm going paint strainer, and Hopstopper. If that doesn't work I'm staying with the 1 1/2" hop bag deal.

Where can we see Bobby M's hopstopper? I don't see a link to it in his signature.

 

[Croy9000]

Bobby M's hopstopper -

BTW - can someone reference a McMaster part number for SS mesh material that works well? I searched for SS, type 316, 30x30, but there are still so many options to choose from (wire diameter etc).

 

[Sawdustguy]

I have found a better alternative to the paint strainer bags for Lil' Sparky's hop filter gadget. I use the 150 micron Polyester Multifiliment version of these:

http://www.filterbags.com/filter_bag_pricing.htm

The Polyester Multifiliment version is good to 300* F and you can load the heck out of them with pellet hops. Back in July I did some tests on the bags to see if they would restrict hop flavoring. I brewed a simple brown ale. I had enough grains to do a 10 gallon batch so I split the grains and brewed one 5 gallon batch on a Saturday without the a hop bag using an immersion chiller and on Sunday I brewed the other 5 gallon batch using the Polyester hop bag and a Shirron plate chiller. I used an equal amount of hops in each batch. When the beer was ready to drink (barely) I had my brother Gary do the taste test. Damn if he could tell a difference in hoppiness and neither could I. While this was not a perfectly controlled laboratory test. I told me what I needed to know. The cool thing was that I found no hop debris in Keggle when using the bag. The other neat thing is that you do not need a clamp when using the Polyester Multifiliment Bag as they have a molded top that is wider than the small piece of PVC pipe I used. They are washable also.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

That's a cool find there. Which part # did you use. I assume you didn't go too fine on the mesh.

The 5 gal paint strainer is fine enough to hold back all of the large hop debris, is cheap, and easy to find, but you do need to clamp it or secure it to something. The built in collar on the ones you posted are pretty cool.

 

[Sawdustguy]

That's a cool find there. Which part # did you use. I assume you didn't go too fine on the mesh.

The 5 gal paint strainer is fine enough to hold back all of the large hop debris, is cheap, and easy to find, but you do need to clamp it or secure it to something. The built in collar on the ones you posted are pretty cool.

Sparky,

I use the PEM150P2POSS Polyester Multifiliment Bag which is 150 Micron in Size 2 (7.25" Dia x 31.5" Long). I purchased the long bag in case I do a 5 gallon batch. They are well long enough to reach down into a 5 gallon batch. As I mentioned, you will get no Hop debris and the Hops incorporate themselves into the wort very well. They are $4.60 ea and are washable and reuseable.

 

[Bobby_M]

Bobby M's hopstopper - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypBIcRE2cV8

BTW - can someone reference a McMaster part number for SS mesh material that works well? I searched for SS, type 316, 30x30, but there are still so many options to choose from (wire diameter etc).

Keep in mind that I'm able to clog this thing up with about 4 oz of pellet hops (with no leaf hops to help break up the coating). I'm going to suggest that someone try 20x20 or 16x16 mesh instead.

I used 85385T857

How about 85385T67 which is 18x18 mesh.

 

[Dog House Brew]

Bazooka screens are 16 x 16 mesh. I think 16 would work great. The Bazooka screen just needs more surface area. The suface area this provides would make it awesome in my opinion.

 

[Lmuggs]

That's a cool find there. Which part # did you use. I assume you didn't go too fine on the mesh.

The 5 gal paint strainer is fine enough to hold back all of the large hop debris, is cheap, and easy to find, but you do need to clamp it or secure it to something. The built in collar on the ones you posted are pretty cool.

So I decided to build a hop strainer using a 5 gallon paint strainer bags as well. But, I'm always a little hesitant to add anything into the kettle that isn't considered "food grade". I was reading the description for the filter bags at: www.filterbags.com and noticed this: "All filter bags are of a sewn construction and all thread used in filter bags is silicone free". The paint strainer bags from Lowe's are made in China . I wonder if they are 100% nylon and safe to use.

 

[Beavdowg]

I hear you there. The whole nylon thing has me a bit concerned too. Well, what if we just made a "5-gal" bag out of stainless steel mesh? Basically, it would be an open-ended hop-stopper that hung from the top of the brew kettle.

Eh?:rockin:

 

[passedpawn]

I've used those paint strainer bags in almost every batch I've ever made. Holy Sh*t, RDWHAHB.

I made the wiki/Lil sparky deal in about 15 minutes.

Oh, btw, I have never had one break (the bag). I keep thinking the abuse, heat, etc will do it, but they kick ass. And beer comes out the other end.

 

[Sawdustguy]

So I decided to build a hop strainer using a 5 gallon paint strainer bags as well. But, I'm always a little hesitant to add anything into the kettle that isn't considered "food grade". I was reading the description for the filter bags at: www.filterbags.com and noticed this: "All filter bags are of a sewn construction and all thread used in filter bags is silicone free". The paint strainer bags from Lowe's are made in China . I wonder if they are 100% nylon and safe to use.

If you use the strainer bags from FilterBags.com the polyester one are good to 300*.

 

[Lmuggs]

I've used those paint strainer bags in almost every batch I've ever made. Holy Sh*t, RDWHAHB.

I made the wiki/Lil sparky deal in about 15 minutes.

Oh, btw, I have never had one break (the bag). I keep thinking the abuse, heat, etc will do it, but they kick ass. And beer comes out the other end.

RDWHAHB Indeed heh... After a 5 year hiatus from home brewing, I made an imperial IPA yesterday and it worked like a champ. 6.25 oz of pellet hops in the bag. Between the paint strainer bag and the DIY hop stopper screen on the pickup tube (thanks Bobby_M), I had 0 issues. Love it!

 

[FireBrewer]

You absolutely cannot go wrong with the hop stopper...

Initially I said the same thing. After about a year use though, its performance was considerably reduced. Even with vigorous cleaning (short of complete disassembly), over time it still dropped off to the point I started calling it the HopClogger™. To that end, I cannibalized it and made an impromptu strainer with the stainless steel mesh. Pellet hops are just miserable.

Think I'm gonna give BobbyM's version a try, thanks for posting it Bobby.

 

[Dog House Brew]

Actually Bobby's is finer than the HS. He recommended going to 20 x 20. I bought the 20 x 20, but think the 16 x 16 would be the best choice. Bazooka with more surface area. we will see Thanksgiving weekend if 20 x 20 is the way to go.

 

[TripleHopped]

Thanks for the inspiration Lil Sparky.

A little (very little) variation of your hop strainer.

Here it is sitting on top of a keg that wants to be a keggle when it grows up.

There are fender washers with nuts J-B Welded on them that are adjustable.

Here it is on top of my 8 gallon pot.

 

[jaba]

Digging up an old thread here... I am thinking about building a device like sparky's, but just out of curiosity, is it safe to boil a nylon strainer bag for 60+ minutes? I looked around online but couldn't find anything about boiling nylon and food safety.

 

[passedpawn]

Digging up an old thread here... I am thinking about building a device like sparky's, but just out of curiosity, is it safe to boil a nylon strainer bag for 60+ minutes? I looked around online but couldn't find anything about boiling nylon and food safety.

I've been doing it for about a year and I feel pretty good. I'd say you are safe.

 

[wyzazz]

+1 Works just fine for me!

 

[carp]

I've been doing it for about a year and I feel pretty good. I'd say you are safe.

I'm always amazed at the comments by smart people along these lines. One can smoke cigarettes, or breath asbestos, or eat lead paint, or eat too much fat and sugar and salt for decades, or drive without a seatbelt, and still feel fine. It doesn't mean that eventually these things won't get to you.

In fact I use the Lowes paint strainer bag and I don't worry about it. I don't worry about the zinc nut coated with JB weld on my heat stick either. But I don't pretend that my 'feeling fine' from these activities constitutes the least bit of evidence that they are benign.

 

[passedpawn]

I was being glib. I do understand your seat belt reference and you're right about that kind of attitude.

I do have a "worry" threshold, but there are things that I just accept as harmless. Nylon is one of them. My kitchen is full of black nylon utensils (spatulas, large stiring spoons, etc).

 

[jaginger]

Those paint strainer bags don't seem like they would constrain pellet hops very well, do they?

 

[TripleHopped]

They probably keep about 90% of the hops in the bag.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

Yeah, they really work surprisingly well, and I like their more coarse mesh compared to the fine mesh bags, because I think you get better (maybe full) utilization from your hops.

 

[humann_brewing]

well I didn't take this picture for the purpose of showing the hop bag but it is in there

 

[ScottSA]

For those of you who add irish moss, do you add it into the strainer bag or outside of it. I just got all the stuff to put this together. I'm really excited to not be fishing hops out of my CPC QDs

 

[Irrenarzt]

I pitch it right in the boiling wort.

 

[legaleagle]

This paint bag on a collar thingy is nifty and seems like a good solution if your kettle drain spigot/valve has a small diameter opening and/or you are usung a CFC. However, if your drain spigot/valve has a larger diameter (like 3/4 inch) and you are using an immersion chiller (and not a CFC), a better solution (imho) is to tie the paint strainer bag to a fermentatio bucket so that the bottom sits about 1/4 of the way into the bucket, drop some whole leaf hops in to create a hopback, and open the kettle valve to let the wort drain directly into the bucket. If you ferment in a bucket, when you pull the bag you are done; if you ferment in a carboy, you pull the bag and then pour or siphon it into the carboy.

There are several benefits of this process that the bag-on-a-collar solution does not provide: complete and unrestricted mixing of hops and wort during the boil with no immersion chiller-bag entanglement issue, late wort fresh hops aroma addition via the hopback, good filtering of not only spent hops (especially pellets) but also trub, better aeration of the wort (especially if you dump into a carboy as you are aerating twice). The down side is if you ferment in a carboy, an extra step has been added (albeit a beneficial step - more aeration) and it will only work if your kettle valve is large enough to drain a wort containing hops and trub (assuming you cooled the wort inside the kettle with an immersion chiller) without clogging.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

What size ball valve are you using where whole hops won't clog it? 1"?

 

[TripleHopped]

I don't have any entanglement issues with my immersion chiller and hop strainer.

 

[legaleagle]

no whole hops in kettle; only in hopback. kettle hops are all pellets. it would take at least a 1" valve for whole hops, i would guess (and i wouldn't even try it then). i find that if i do some combination of late pellet hops in the kettle, a small amount of whole leaf hops in a hopback (1-2 ounces) and/or dry hop post fermentation with pellets, the final hoop flavor/aroma is indiscernable from using whole hops througout the entire process. but that's just my taste buds.