Clogged Hop Spider

[jmassey9]

Hello all. Got a pump/chiller setup a while back and before too long the chiller started getting clogged on high hop volume batches. So I bought a 6x10 stainless 300micron hop spider. First batch had clogging issues, pulled out of wort and the hop spider just held the wort(clogged), had to scrape sides to loosen, took ten minutes to drain. Used a variety of hops.

Fast forward to yesterday. After one batch of clogging issues I thought I would take out hop spider at knockout, dump/sanitize, then insert for my hop stand additions. My only boil addition was .5 ounces of mosaic at 15 minutes. Pulled out at knockout, CLOGGED WITH .5 OUNCES. What's going on????

I'm under the impression that this may be a protein issue? Let me tell you why. Clogged with .5 ounces in scenario above. After I got the batch down to 170 degrees for my last hop stand, I dumped/scraped/cleaned the spider again and put back in BK, fresh and unclogged. At this point I believe most of the protein had fallen out because I then dumped 3 ounces of mosaic in the spider, ran my recirculating back into the hop spider )which people say don't do because it will clog) AND I HAD NO ISSUES WITH CLOGGING WHATSOEVER.

Hoping someone can help cure this headache. THANKS.

 

[jmassey9]

Please!

 

[iijakii]

Hoping someone can help cure this headache. THANKS.

Sell the plate chiller and get a CFC/IC

Maybe you could vorlauf for a little through a pitcher w/ bag to clear some of the trub?

 

[jmassey9]

^^^^^^^YES. I'll go back to the old method of free hops (FREE THE HOPS!), both in boil, whirlpool, hopstand, etc, then before I run through the chiller I'll just recirculate through march pump and into the hop spider. It may still get clogged but it will be much less liquid and should be easier to manage.

Sounds good to me, no?

I'll do some research on the CFC but sh** I don't need anymore brewing equipment!

 

[iijakii]

I think that's a good idea. Your pump shouldnt have any clogging issues from just break/hops. If you recirculated a bit through it to clean up for your plate chiller it should help. Still a lot of trouble to use a plate chiller in my opinion but to each their own.

 

[jmassey9]

I think that's a good idea. Your pump shouldnt have any clogging issues from just break/hops. If you recirculated a bit through it to clean up for your plate chiller it should help. Still a lot of trouble to use a plate chiller in my opinion but to each their own.

Well... I've unfortunately already invested in plate setup and a CFC setup doesn't exactly look cheap.

So are you saying with a CFC, there is generally no problem of clogging with pellet hops? In that case do you just end up with hops in your fermenter and/or try to leave most in BK via whirlpool?

 

[MagicMatt]

Well... I've unfortunately already invested in plate setup and a CFC setup doesn't exactly look cheap.

So are you saying with a CFC, there is generally no problem of clogging with pellet hops? In that case do you just end up with hops in your fermenter and/or try to leave most in BK via whirlpool?

I built my own CFC, and do not use any hop bags or straining devices. All hops go right in the kettle. I do employ a short whirlpool at flameout and let rest for 10 minutes or so, then right through the CFC and into the fermenter.

There's no harm in dumping hops, hot/cold break, etc into the kettle (some might even proclaim an advantage....see here: http://brulosophy.com/2014/06/02/the-great-trub-exbeeriment-results-are-in/).

Cheers.

 

[jmassey9]

Any other thoughts? Again my big problem is that the hop spider clogs when I pull it out. I also notice that even with a .5 ounce addition that the inside of the hop spider stops boiling and recirculating and only measures 209 during the boil. So obviously it appears that it's being clogged before I even pull it out. It seems like there's been a whole lot of hot break in the BK recently. Do I need to be boiling harder or softer or something to minimize? Again I think the protein is my big issue, not the hops.

 

[IslandLizard]

I totally understand your frustration with hop fiber, break matter, pump, plate chiller, and clogging.

Your pump will move suspended hop pellet fiber only if the slurry isn't too thick, but you really want to keep most or all of it out of your plate chiller, as you already gathered.

The clogging you're experiencing is most likely break matter coating the basket. As long as it stays submerged it seems to work fine.

Those hop baskets (e.g., 6x10, 300 micron) are really nice, I always have one on my "to buy" list, but never got one so far, so I can't chime in on my experience with them. Generally people seem to like them and I've not seen reports as bad as yours when it comes to using these baskets. Wonder what's up with that. Agreed, you're way more observant then most by noticing the lack of flow through the mesh, and the lower temperature inside, both not good for hop utilization, the lack of flow being the biggest culprit.

There are a few threads here where brewers laud those baskets, and don't report any significant loss of hop utilization. Why don't you look them up and maybe get some opinions from them.

For example, put this in your Google search:

site:homebrewtalk.com hop basket​

 

[gwiz1]

I had the same problem. I remove as much of the hot break as possible at boil and find that the filter no longer clogs at removal (I do let it drip above the kettle). Might want to try. Kevin.