Share hop blocker experience

[Beergnomes]

Have a system that works pretty good for me but was considering a hop blocker. Can you guys weigh in on your experiences if you use one, good and bad and also regarding using it with higher adjunct (spices) that go into Belgians? I like to throw everything loose into my boil kettle but should mention, I still only use pellet hops. I save my flower hops to use when dry hopping. Interested, thanks.

 

[Paradigm]

What, exactly, is a hop blocker? Do you mean trub filtering? What I do is that I pour my wort through this after I drop the temperature to pitching range. After that, I clean nad steralize the brew pot again and do the same thing back into the pot 2-3 more times. That usually gets next to all of the trub, not to mention aerating the crap out of my wort for my hungry little yeasties!

 

[Beergnomes]

What, exactly, is a hop blocker? Do you mean trub filtering? What I do is that I pour my wort through this after I drop the temperature to pitching range. After that, I clean nad steralize the brew pot again and do the same thing back into the pot 2-3 more times. That usually gets next to all of the trub, not to mention aerating the crap out of my wort for my hungry little yeasties!

The hop blocker is made by Blichman. You can easily look it up, Northern Brewers sell it. It is made out of ss & goes in the boil kettle. It can be used either over your outgoing flow coupling or you can just put your hops in it. I have a therminator plate chiller so it is important to filter well prior to wort entering it.

 

[alphagolf]

I have one and it seems to work okay, but if have nothing to compare it to. When I did 5 gal batches I would just dump the whole boil kettle into the fermenter. Moving to 10 gal batches with a 20 gal boilermaker with hopblocker.

Just this weekend I did an APA with 8 oz of pellet hops and it keeps mostly everything in the kettle. At the very beginning when draining the kettle I get a few hops come through, I think these are the ones that fall into the hopblocker during the boil. After that it comes pretty clean. I drain pretty slow, gravity drain with valve about half open.

I can tell you don't forget to install the hopblocker before starting the boil. One time I was about halfway draining my mash tun and realized I forgot to install it. I first wort hopped on that beer (3oz) so I transferred as much as I could out of the kettle but did not have enough room for everything. Ended up installing the hopblocker with a sludge of hop liquid on the bottom of the kettle. After the boil I plugged up my therminator immediately and it took me probably an hour to drain into my fermenters. Not a good day

alpha


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[Paradigm]

Ah, hopblocker is a title.

 

[Beergnomes]

I have one and it seems to work okay, but if have nothing to compare it to. When I did 5 gal batches I would just dump the whole boil kettle into the fermenter. Moving to 10 gal batches with a 20 gal boilermaker with hopblocker.

Just this weekend I did an APA with 8 oz of pellet hops and it keeps mostly everything in the kettle. At the very beginning when draining the kettle I get a few hops come through, I think these are the ones that fall into the hopblocker during the boil. After that it comes pretty clean. I drain pretty slow, gravity drain with valve about half open.

I can tell you don't forget to install the hopblocker before starting the boil. One time I was about halfway draining my mash tun and realized I forgot to install it. I first wort hopped on that beer (3oz) so I transferred as much as I could out of the kettle but did not have enough room for everything. Ended up installing the hopblocker with a sludge of hop liquid on the bottom of the kettle. After the boil I plugged up my therminator immediately and it took me probably an hour to drain into my fermenters. Not a good day

alpha


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

Thanks, I was looking at some other options that looked good too, like a big ss fine mesh basket that can just be lifted out of the boil kettle. Pricier than blichman hopblocker but looks like it would be effective when I am doing beers like wits that have spices, citrus peel etc. still undecided. Hope to get more posts
Before I make a decision.

 

[mldpaul]

Hey All. I have used the HopBlocker for about the last year with a Blichmann 10 gal. Boilermaker and an immersion chiller. I have not had much success but that may be due to user error. I typically only use pellet hops (free floating). At the end of the boil, I stir the wort in a whirlpool until the temperature drops to 80 degF, then I let it settle for 10-15 minutes. I then start to drain by opening the ball valve slowly. At this point, it almost always clogs up instantly. The issue is that there is a large amount of hops inside the hop blocker which blocks the dip tube. I see this every time. I usually have to siphon the wort out of the kettle from this point... very frustrating. I suspect that as I stir the wort when cooling (which takes about 15 minutes or so to lower the temp), hop material moves into the HopBlocker through the large holes on the side. It may also get some hops in it through the button, but I think this is less likely as it sits flat in the kettle. The only time I have had success is when I bag the hops (pellet), but I shouldn't have to do this. Next time, I will try to not whirlpool more than a minute or so and let it settle as it cools. The issue here is that it will take a long time to cool with an immersion chiller and minimal wort movement.

I just ordered a 20-gal Boilermaker. I hope that the larger diameter will give more room for the cone of hop material to settle farther away from HopBlocker.

Does anyone have any suggestions? If my next batch works well with minimal whirlpooling, I may need to ditch the immersion chiller and go with a plate or counterflow chiller outside the kettle. Any input is greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,
Paul

 

[ObsidianJester]

Hopblockers are generally a waste of time and energy. Ironically while they state not to use them with whole cone hops I've found more success with them than I have anything else. I still use mine but I do not use an immersion chiller anymore because with a 10 gallon pot there is not enough room and as a previous posted mentioned the drip tube gets clogged.

The only way that I've found some success with the hopblocker is to bag up as much of your hops as possible and whirlpool as much as you possibly can. I find that even with that thing installed and using a chill plate that the only thing that helps to really filter out my hops is the hoprocket stuffed with at least two ounces of whole leaf hops.

The biggest problem with the hopblocker is that the thing is so light that while whirlpooling it lifts up. It lifts up if it's bumped with a spoon, bumped with an immersion chiller. If it weight about five pounds then perhaps it would stay seated at the bottom of the kettle.

For the price you pay for this device and the actual performance you get out of it it is not a good deal. Blichman usually hits their products out of the park but this one is a very big disappointment. It is temperamental at best for it's performance. Again, if you have other devices to work with it does help. It does strain out hops but you really, really should whirlpool and have an additional way of filtering out trub. Just my experiences with the item.

 

[kmckiou]

I use whole hops and considered the hop blocker. However, I think I have found a simpler solution. I slip a stainless steel scrubby over the inlet of my boil kettle drain. That does the trick. I have had 6 oz of whole hops in a 7 gal pot and never had a problem. BTW, the SS scrubby should be soaked in detergent and boiled before use. They can have machine oil from manufacturing in them.

 

[basszombie666]

Does any one use the hop blocker with out a Blichmen kettle?


^v^

 

[ArcaneXor]

I prefer whirlpooling over filtration.

 

[element533]

Hey All. I have used the HopBlocker for about the last year with a Blichmann 10 gal. Boilermaker and an immersion chiller. I have not had much success but that may be due to user error. I typically only use pellet hops (free floating). At the end of the boil, I stir the wort in a whirlpool until the temperature drops to 80 degF, then I let it settle for 10-15 minutes. I then start to drain by opening the ball valve slowly. At this point, it almost always clogs up instantly. The issue is that there is a large amount of hops inside the hop blocker which blocks the dip tube.

I have the exact same problem. So far, I've only brewed one batch with the Boilermaker and HopBlocker. Is it necessary to hold the HopBlocker down against the bottom of the kettle during whirlpooling?

 

[mldpaul]

Sorry for the much delayed response. I have found that the hop blocker works well using pellet hops (not bagged) if I am recirculating my boil kettle with a pump when I add hops during the boil. The constant recirculating motion keeps the area inside the hop blocker relatively clear. I keep this going through my boil (as it also sanitizes my CFC chiller) and when I cool the wort. Once cooling is completed, I shut the pump off and let the hops settle as the kettle. After about 10 minutes, the hops have settled nicely and I can drain using the hop blocker effectively. It works well for me this way.