Help Me Find a Solution Blichmann and Shirron Users Please!!!

[albysurfin]

Hi There,
I have a new Blichmann 20 Gallon, Boilermaker BK, and Shirron Plate Chiller which is Gravity Fed. I brew 10 Gallon batches, usually super hoppy IPA's.
I brewed an IPA Yesterday with 19 ounces of pellet hops. I used about 4 different Nylon Bags. I used a SS Braid attached to the Diptube. The first 5 Gallons did all right, the next 5 gallons were miserable!!! Ended up having to pump it out with Auto Siphon. A Couple of Questions for you:

-Does using the paint strainer bag method hold back more sludge from the pellet hops than the individual bags? Would using 2 paint strainer bags help?

-I was going to try to build my own hop stopper or Hop Taco with stainless steel mesh from splatter screen but is a bit difficult with the standard Blichmann Dip Tube( Since it is oriented so close to the side). Has anybody done this successfully? Do you have any pictures?


Any Solutions you guys are using that works with high loads of pellet hops, so I can just open the valve and drain into wort chiller and into the my two 6 gallon carboys without clogging in the kettle or the wort chiller??


Thanks in Advance for your Help, This problem is driving me crazy!!!


Brian

 

[schoolmaster]

I don't try and filter out anything, I just let it settle to the bottom on the boil kettle before I draw the wort off.

The valve on my boil kettle sits about 3 inches above the bottom of the pot. If I want to get to the absolute bottom of the pot I have a down tube I can use, but for hoppy beers I just don't use the down tube. After I chill, I take a large sanitized spoon and get a good whirlpool going by stirring in a circle.
I then let the kettle sit for about 15 to 20 mins before I slowly start drawing off the liquid.

You have to add more water to account for the loss and maybe even adjust your gravity a little, but I've been able to get very clear beer into the fermenter doing this. Filters are a pain because they always clog.

 

[martymoat]

Unless you are sitting on loads of pellet hops why not just switch over to whole hops for beers like this.

Do the boilmaker pots have false bottoms in them...?