Advice on hop blocker

[ricksox]

Anyone have any opinions or advice on a good hop blocker that's not a Blichmann for my keggle? I'm looking for something that sits at the bottom of the keg and not something that hangs off of the rim. Thanks in advance.


Rick

 

[Golddiggie]

What do you have against a hop spider?? Many of us use them with great success.

 

[eastoak]

Anyone have any opinions or advice on a good hop blocker that's not a Blichmann for my keggle? I'm looking for something that sits at the bottom of the keg and not something that hangs off of the rim. Thanks in advance.


Rick

there are all kinds of solutions for this but no general agreement on what works best. i have a HopStopper screen on my dip tube that is 100% effective with leaf hops but marginally less effective with pellet hops as the hop charges get up there in size, plugs completely for me with anything over 3oz or so of hops. recently i bought a stainless steel hop spider from a vendor on this site, stainlessbrewing.com and using both at the same time works great for pellet hops, even 5-6 oz at a time. there is some debate as to the size of the mesh, some people think it's too fine and others think it's not fine enough but it works great for me. blichmann's hopblocker was a total fail for me when i was using it in a blichmann kettle.

 

[ricksox]

What do you have against a hop spider?? Many of us use them with great success.

It's just that my wife left me for a hop spider and I haven't been able to bring myself to use one ever since.

In all seriousness, I don't have anything against them. I was just looking for a bottom of the keg solution as I'm not sure how I'd hang the hop basket off of my keggle. I'll take a look at some of those options though. Thanks!

 

[ricksox]

there are all kinds of solutions for this but no general agreement on what works best. i have a HopStopper screen on my dip tube that is 100% effective with leaf hops but marginally less effective with pellet hops as the hop charges get up there in size, plugs completely for me with anything over 3oz or so of hops. recently i bought a stainless steel hop spider from a vendor on this site, stainlessbrewing.com and using both at the same time works great for pellet hops, even 5-6 oz at a time. there is some debate as to the size of the mesh, some people think it's too fine and others think it's not fine enough but it works great for me. blichmann's hopblocker was a total fail for me when i was using it in a blichmann kettle.

Thanks very much for the information! I'll check that site out for sure!

 

[Golddiggie]

It's just that my wife left me for a hop spider and I haven't been able to bring myself to use one ever since.

In all seriousness, I don't have anything against them. I was just looking for a bottom of the keg solution as I'm not sure how I'd hang the hop basket off of my keggle. I'll take a look at some of those options though. Thanks!

Stainless Brewing offers two versions. I made mine so that the legs rest on the top of the keggle (under where the handles are) so it's no issue at all. With the large nylon bag, I can easily contain a good amount of hop matter. Once I'm on a job again, I plan on giving one of the all stainless versions a shot (no nylon bag). It's just a rather low priority at this time. Especially since I have the 6" diameter stainless ring for mine.

 

[ricksox]

Stainless Brewing offers two versions. I made mine so that the legs rest on the top of the keggle (under where the handles are) so it's no issue at all. With the large nylon bag, I can easily contain a good amount of hop matter. Once I'm on a job again, I plan on giving one of the all stainless versions a shot (no nylon bag). It's just a rather low priority at this time. Especially since I have the 6" diameter stainless ring for mine.

Great info. Thanks for that. The all stainless one seems to be reasonable. I love the Jaybird stuff but I don't think I can spring another 150 bucks for that kind of setup at the moment. As it is, my buddy and I are about $3000 into our system. If we don't start making beer consistently pretty soon I'm afraid that my wife may just leave me for a guy named Spider.

 

[Golddiggie]

Great info. Thanks for that. The all stainless one seems to be reasonable. I love the Jaybird stuff but I don't think I can spring another 150 bucks for that kind of setup at the moment. As it is, my buddy and I are about $3000 into our system. If we don't start making beer consistently pretty soon I'm afraid that my wife may just leave me for a guy named Spider.

Well, to be fair, all three of Spider's "legs" are the same length/size. So he's more likely to keep her pleased.

 

[eastoak]

i saw a thread here about a guy on ebay who was making and selling stainless hop spiders for pretty cheap, i know nothing about them i just saw the thread.

 

[Golddiggie]

i saw a thread here about a guy on ebay who was making and selling stainless hop spiders for pretty cheap, i know nothing about them i just saw the thread.

Without knowing which 'stainless' he's using it's hard to say if they're really cheap or over-priced. Mine is all 300 or 400 series stainless. The clamp is 400, but the rest (including the legs) is all 300 series. I'm not trying to sell them, just saying. I think I spent about $25-$30 in parts on mine.

 

[ricksox]

Well, to be fair, all three of Spider's "legs" are the same length/size. So he's more likely to keep her pleased.

Ha! Touche....

 

[eastoak]

Without knowing which 'stainless' he's using it's hard to say if they're really cheap or over-priced. Mine is all 300 or 400 series stainless. The clamp is 400, but the rest (including the legs) is all 300 series. I'm not trying to sell them, just saying. I think I spent about $25-$30 in parts on mine.

i thought about building one myself but the screen is pretty expensive and i didn't want to use the bags. i think i paid around $80-90 for a 6 inch diameter, 19 inch tall hop spider.

 

[Golddiggie]

i thought about building one myself but the screen is pretty expensive and i didn't want to use the bags. i think i paid around $80-90 for a 6 inch diameter, 19 inch tall hop spider.

Stainless Brewing wasn't offering their product when I made mine. I think I found out about their first model (with the bag) after I had already made mine. IME, the nylon mesh bag does a really good job. You just need to be sure of the depth you've set it to before you get going that day. I make sure it's not going to come within an inch, or three, of the bottom of the boil keggle. No issues with this so far. Plus I used a 6" OD stainless ring to base mine on. I know Stainless offers one in the same size range too. Once I have better income (such as from a regular job ) I'll look at getting one of theirs. Especially if I end up increasing my batch size above what will fit in my keggles.

I kind of appreciate how I was able to save ~$50-$60 on the item cost by going the route I did. Might not look as pretty as Stainless' offering, but it does a damned fine job. :rockin:

 

[ricksox]

I kind of appreciate how I was able to save ~$50-$60 on the item cost by going the route I did. Might not look as pretty as Stainless' offering, but it does a damned fine job. :rockin:

If there is one thing I've learned about this hobby ove the last few years, it's that the things that don't look the prettiest usually work the best.

 

[Golddiggie]

If there is one thing I've learned about this hobby ove the last few years, it's that the things that don't look the prettiest usually work the best.

I can't say it works any better, or worse, than what Stainless is selling, since I've not seen one of his [in person], or had a chance to use one of them. If I have that opportunity, then I'll take it and be able to report back a comparison in performance. hint hint hint hint

 

[ricksox]

What do you guys think of something in line like this? If I'm gonna shell out the cash I'd prefer something like this I think.

http://www.brewershardware.com/FILTER1.html

 

[eastoak]

What do you guys think of something in line like this? If I'm gonna shell out the cash I'd prefer something like this I think.

http://www.brewershardware.com/FILTER1.html

that works. you have to have the tri clover fittings on your system or some sort of adapter. i think there is a long thread about that filter on here somewhere, a few guys are using it.

 

[Golddiggie]

What do you guys think of something in line like this? If I'm gonna shell out the cash I'd prefer something like this I think.

http://www.brewershardware.com/FILTER1.html

If I recall correctly, it got mixed reviews. It looks like a good idea/item, and the testing posted up on the site appears that it works. If you plan on getting it, I would just check on the return policy in case it doesn't work for you. Less risk that way.

As already stated, you'll need TC fittings on your boil kettle in order to use it. I believe a 90 degree TC elbow at the valve end, and then maybe another at the output end of it (to then feed your pump). I'm sure they'll advise you as to what you need to get it to work 100% if you call/email them about it.

 

[ricksox]

If I recall correctly, it got mixed reviews. It looks like a good idea/item, and the testing posted up on the site appears that it works. If you plan on getting it, I would just check on the return policy in case it doesn't work for you. Less risk that way.

As already stated, you'll need TC fittings on your boil kettle in order to use it. I believe a 90 degree TC elbow at the valve end, and then maybe another at the output end of it (to then feed your pump). I'm sure they'll advise you as to what you need to get it to work 100% if you call/email them about it.

Thanks. Couldn't this be placed after the pump but before the chiller? That was my thought. I can call them and see what they think.

 

[Golddiggie]

Thanks. Couldn't this be placed after the pump but before the chiller? That was my thought. I can call them and see what they think.

Pretty sure they designed it to go before the pump, after the kettle.

http://www.brewershardware.com/FILTER1-Testing.html