Equipment advice.

[KatoKiyo]

I've been brewing AG for a good while now on borrowed equipment (brothers), but he'll soon be taking it back and while I'm away on this trip, I'm envisaging how I will be brewing when I get home.

The set-up I have been using is this: mash-tun and kettle are the same vessel. Lauter-tun and hop back are a Papazian two bucket system and the wort is chilled through a great counter-flow chiller (takes near boiling wort to as low as 8C!). Now, I will lose this equipment, so I want to build an MLT out of a cooler. My question is concerning using plug hops during the boil. As it stands now, I boil them loose in the kettle which means I have to dump the whole volume of boiling wort into my hop-back, which is connected to my chiller. I want to eliminate this hot side aeration, so I've been thinking about an immersion chiller, but I'm wondering what is the best thing for filtering hops? Or rather, what are my options for using plug hops (or pellet, I suppose) and removing the hot side aeration I have in my present system.

I apologize in advance for this long and very rambling post.

Thanks!
Tom

 

[WBC]

Use a paint strainer hop sack clamped on a PVC 4 inch pipe union supported by threaded rods. Look around this forum for pictures.

Look: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=71242

 

[malkore]

and remember that stray spent hops going into primary won't funk up your finished beer at all.

some people put a bazooka screen on the spigot for their brew kettle to filter out some of the crud.

I use hop pellets, and don't bother straining going into primary. my beers are clear and tastey. it might be worth it to devise a system that's fairly simple, but can easily be upgraded as necessary.

that hop sack rig is also a nice way to go. uses a LARGE hop sack so you don't have to worry about lower utilization, which is about the only 'complaint' regarding hop sacks.

 

[Chriso]

+1 to the Hops-in-A-Bag technique... the 5gal paint strainer works FANTASTICALLY and keeps trub to a minimum.

I've heard many Bazooka owners say they wished they got something else. I'd try the HopStopper, I think it's what I'm going to buy next. (My hop-bag doesn't work well with my Keggle because it's too short. I have to improvise new "legs" before I can use it again.)

Cooler for a MLT is a solid choice. I go rectangular 48+ qt for cheapness. I don't like round coolers. Some people do. If you're thrifty, definitely DIY the bulkhead and the manifold, they can be done for next-to-nothing. I think my valve, S/S braid, nipple, rings and washer came to less than $15.