So I had been bored at work today and was thinking of more ways to add hop flavor to my beers. Has anyone ever tried or heard of someone running their cooled wort through hops into the fermentation bucket? I was thinking of building a container to hold the hops that would attach to my vinyl tubing I use to transfer the wort. Almost like a "Randal" that dogfish uses to infuse beer coming off the tap. Is this crazy does anyone have any advice/experience or anything thing to add at all? I know it would probably be better to do this step with hot wort but I use an immersion chiller so don't really have the opportunity to to it while it is hot. Any input at all will be greatly appreciated!
Hoping my wort through transfer to my fermentation bucket
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GrogNerd
mean old man
it's called a hopback, you run your wort thru it BEFORE the wort hits your chiller
haven't looked for one in a while, think HBS might sell something, but it might be something you'll have to DIY
haven't looked for one in a while, think HBS might sell something, but it might be something you'll have to DIY
I have heard of a hop back but thats not what I am talking about. My wort never leaves the boil kettle before going into the bucket since I use an immersion chiller. What I am talking about is something like a filter but its packed with hops that the wort must pass through to go from the boil kettle to the fermentation bucket. It is for sure going to be a DIY project just didnt know if anyone had heard of this.
You can recirculate your hot wort (170-190°F) through the hopback, back into the kettle (no splashing). When done, chill to fermentation temps and fill your fermentor. You do need a pump though.
Ya I have no pump and brew in my small apartment kitchen so I am trying to do this with minimal equipment and added steps. I will work on a design this week and post what I come up with, I have a vision of what I am thinking of in my head just need to put it together and see if it makes enough of a difference.
johngaltsmotor
Well-Known Member
Can you gravity feed through the hopback while hot with your IC in your fermenter bucket? I know the buckets will take the heat as many guys I know do no chill and dump straight in then top up if needed. Plus if you have the chiller running as the hopped wort flows in it will cool pretty quickly.
I frequently use hop stands at 170-190F for extended times, as long as 30-60 minutes, agitated by intermittent stirring or pump. That gives the wort an amount of "late" hop exposure you don't get with a hopback. You probably can use one of those fine mesh hop baskets Arborfab sells, and swirl it around. That way you don't end up with more hops in the kettle.
So I went to the hardware store and came up with a prototype design very basic. Wort flows into the chamber filled with hops then out into the fermentation bucket
Does this make any sense to do?
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Does this make any sense to do?
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Not with cold wort. The contact time would be so short and the temperature to low that the oils probably won't impact the wort. Generally, using hot wort (over 160 degrees) for periods of 30 minutes or so work great. You could add your hops to your wort after it cools for a bit, down to 170-180, and stir to create a bit of a whirlpool, and that would be more effective.
BlueHouseBrewhaus
Well-Known Member
I'm with IslandLizard. I keep the wort in my BK for cooling with an IC before it goes to the fermenter. At flameout, I put the BK in ice water in my sink and circulate the water through my IC with a small boat bilge pump. Five minutes gets it down to 175. Turn off the pump and do a 30 min hop stand then finish cooling to pitching temp. Great hop aroma and flavor. You need the heat to extract the oils. Otherwise, you're just wasting hops.
I get the heat thing but how about a dry hop there is no heat involved there. Also dogfish using the "Randal" has beer flowing cold off the tap threw a similar set up so this process has to have some positive effect I doubt it's just "wasting hops"
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How long does it take to dry hop a batch? 3-7 days, right? Don't expect a lot of extraction from a single 10-20 second pass with room temp wort. OK, agitation helps a lot to speed up extraction (see Peter Wolfe's thesis or a summary on this topic), but you're not going to get a lot of that inside a simple tube.
Randalls (2 l's) use a special system to extract as much lupulin and other flavor/aroma compounds as possible within the short time the cold beer passes through. Actually they rely on the tap being idle for some time to increase time exposure. Sometimes they use an after-chiller to bring the beer temp back down to pouring temps, or chill the Randall.
Keep in mind that fermentation does drive off aromatics. That is why dry hopping is done just before bottling, to keep the freshest hops aroma.
TheZymurgist
Well-Known Member
A lot of people use what's similar to a hop back, but it's on the cold-side. It's called a Randall, and Dogfish Head uses them frequently (not sure whether they're the inventors or not.) You can build one out of an in-line water filter canister, but I wouldn't do it while transferring to the fermenter. Most use it in their kegging system, and hook it up between the keg and the tap. If you're not kegging, then this obviously won't work, but I'm not sure yours will work either.
TheZymurgist
Well-Known Member
Although, I don't see a reason not to try it. Just make sure you do it in a way that your line won't get clogged. When you do try it, split the batch in half, half clean into a fermenter, half through the hops, then do a side-by-side taste test. Let us know the results.
Thank you everyone for your input I really appreciate all of it! I figured it could not just be that easy other wise it would have been done already. I think I am going to try it out anyway start by splitting a batch into 2 - 1gal jugs having one gallon pass through this and the other not and just go straight into the fermenter. I will just bottle and test from there to see if there is any noticeable difference
If you're putting in that much effort and time, you should do 3 batches, where one is run through with hot wort @170-190°F.
Please, let us know the results.
