Copper Scrubby Hop Filter

[Homercidal]

Brewed yesterday. Finally remembered that I bought some copper scrubbies a long time ago and never got around to trying them out. Since I brewed a Mild with Willamette whole hops, I thought I'd see how they work...

AWESOME!

I just stuck the scrubby on the end of the siphon tube and shoved it all the way down to the bottom of the kettle near the edge.

The siphon started quickly and easily and the wort came out clear (no chunks).

I throttled the siphon down to where I got a temp of around 62-64 and let it go.

As the wort level started reaching the bottom I paid close attention to it, but even though there was a pretty good amount of hops and hot break (2 ounces of whole hops) and the scrubby was covered by them, only some of the hot break material got past it.

There was not even 1/8 cup of wort left in the kettle when siphon broke.

Clean up was as easy as scrunching the scrubby under some hot water to get the stuff out of it and leave it out to dry. Looks as though it could be used again easily.

I know you can also get Stainless Scrubbies if you can find them.

 

[Teromous]

I bet it could be stuffed under a pickup tube on a kettle also. Just be sure you don't scratch your pot.

 

[daksin]

Brewed yesterday. Finally remembered that I bought some copper scrubbies a long time ago and never got around to trying them out. Since I brewed a Mild with Willamette whole hops, I thought I'd see how they work...

AWESOME!

I just stuck the scrubby on the end of the siphon tube and shoved it all the way down to the bottom of the kettle near the edge.

The siphon started quickly and easily and the wort came out clear (no chunks).

I throttled the siphon down to where I got a temp of around 62-64 and let it go.

As the wort level started reaching the bottom I paid close attention to it, but even though there was a pretty good amount of hops and hot break (2 ounces of whole hops) and the scrubby was covered by them, only some of the hot break material got past it.

There was not even 1/8 cup of wort left in the kettle when siphon broke.

Clean up was as easy as scrunching the scrubby under some hot water to get the stuff out of it and leave it out to dry. Looks as though it could be used again easily.

I know you can also get Stainless Scrubbies if you can find them.

This is a really, really good idea. I think I would definitely go to stainless, but I think I am definitely going to give this a try on the next brew. Ten points to Gryffindor for this innovative use of a common household material in service of beer.

 

[edmanster]

Been using SS scrubbies in my cooler MT for over 1 1/2 years!! Can't seem to link my picture from my profile on my phone so I'll hit a regular computer here at work when I get time... I've only ever had 1 stuck sparge and that was because 50% of the grist was flaked.. Haven't ever needed rice hulls but now I know when to use 'em

 

[edmanster]

here we go

 

[shelly_belly]

I found the stainless ones at Dollar General.

 

[kpr121]

Awesome! I put a couple stainless ones on my last order from MoreBeer. I had been hopping in a hop bag but I think I am going back to free balling, er hopping.

 

[leymanalff]

Sounds a good idea.

 

[edmanster]

I found the stainless ones at Dollar General.

the dollar stor ones i found to be a one time use.. kinda cheap and start to turn colors!! i get mine from just the grocery store for like $3 and use them untill i forget and leave them out of the beer equipment and end up washing pans with them

 

[Homercidal]

I got the idea from someone on this site a while back and kept forgetting I bought the Copper scrubbies at the store on impulse to try it. I'd give props to whoever it was if I could remember.

And I'll most likely be upgrading to SS pretty soon, but meantime the copper ones worked great!

And when I'm done with it I can scrub the bottom of the Keggle with it!

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

They have the bigger SS scrubbies at Target. $4 for a two pack.

More surface area to catch the crud.

 

[Peruvian802]

Zombie thread!

How well do these work with pellet hops?

 

[idylldon]

Been using SS scrubbies in my BK for just about 25 years now. They work really well.

Cheers,
--
Don

 

[Homercidal]

Zombie thread!

How well do these work with pellet hops?

They suck, TBH. I have used the SS scrubbies a few times and had clogging issues. I went back to using a hop bag and a spider.

 

[Peruvian802]

They suck, TBH. I have used the SS scrubbies a few times and had clogging issues. I went back to using a hop bag and a spider.

Thanks, homer. I had only used one once and had clogging issues as well. I built a hop spider back then but wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out on something.

 

[samandbekah]

Reviving this thread from the dead... Again!

So I've been researching this method and from what I hear, it works great if and only if you use leaf/whole cone hops.

Long story short, I harvested about 7 lbs (dried) of my homegrown hops which I'd like to exclusively use on my next few beers... I am seeking to use the scrubbers in the boil kettle, my conical fermenter and corny keg. The goal is to use zero medium to contain the hops (other than the vessel itself) to extract as much hop flavor as possible with direct contact with the wort/beer.

How's everyone's results been while performing a Whirlpool? How about dry hopping in the fermenter and cold crashing to drop them out? Dry hopping directly in the keg with the scrubber attached to the diptube?? One of my concerns outside of the hops success rate is how these will hold up to a rigorous boil for 60-90 minutes and how often can/should they be reused.

Again, this would be used solely with leaf/whole cone hops and zero pellets.

Thanks!