Help with hop material after boil

[htims05]

I do 6gallon (fermenter) BIAB batches and I like very hoppy beers. IPA, DIPA etc. I am struggling with all the hop material after the boil that gets into the fermenter. So much so that I’m loosing a half gallon or so.

I Whirlpool and use a side pickup but that doesn’t seem to do much as the material is very fine...I use pellet hops.

What are your methods for keeping the hop material from getting in the fermenter?

 

[tellyho]

I feel like that's just the cost of doing business with hoppy beers. Are there ways of mitigating this that I don't know, aside from mesh bag / hop spider? I think you're losing that wort either way as soon as you hydrate those hops.

 

[Jag75]

When I brew an IPA I brew a 5.5 gallon batch instead of my normal 5 gallon.

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Run your chilled beer into a bucket/fermenter/pot/whatever with a spigot on it, let it settle for an hour or so, then rack off the trub into your normal primary fermenter. I always do this if I'm planning to harvest yeast.

 

[htims05]

I think maybe I’ll try letting it settle for an hour first.

A hop spider doesn’t work for this I assume?

 

[McKnuckle]

Stainless hop canisters work very well, actually. If you truly have a ton of hops, maybe try using 2 of them. I use my BIAB hoist to drain mine over the kettle after the boil (just for convenience, not for weight obviously).

Otherwise, try a 200 micron bucket filter. Run the wort into a bucket - obviously - to first strain out the hops, then transfer to your fermenter.

 

[htims05]

Stainless hop canisters work very well, actually. If you truly have a ton of hops, maybe try using 2 of them. I use my BIAB hoist to drain mine over the kettle after the boil (just for convenience, not for weight obviously).

Otherwise, try a 200 micron bucket filter. Run the wort into a bucket - obviously - to first strain out the hops, then transfer to your fermenter.

Something like this? https://www.lappesbeesupply.com/catalog/plastic-pail-filters/

 

[Jag75]

I think maybe I’ll try letting it settle for an hour first.

A hop spider doesn’t work for this I assume?

Before I added a false bottom in my Grainfather I bought the hop spider . After a few uses it got set to the side and never used again. It takes way to long to drain if you're brewing a hop heavy beer.

 

[McKnuckle]

Yes sir. I'd get the 400 as well (hey, they are cheap!). You can't just let it fly at full speed into these with a lot of hop material. It will clog the holes and require pushing aside with a spoon. It's not a big deal at all, though, as the filter allows for reasonable liquid volume to accumulate, and the wort will drop through easily when the muck is pushed aside.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Are there ways of mitigating this that I don't know, aside from mesh bag / hop spider?

There may be some additional ideas over in 1-Gallon Brewers UNITE! - how to a maximize the amount of beer one can get from one gallon carboy is a reoccurring topic.

 

[thehaze]

I don't think your whirlpooling the right way then. I use a Grainfather and it has a filter at the bottom with really large holes ( link to a random website where you can see the filter and its holdes: https://www.beergrains.com/grainfather-pump-filter/ ). The filter is in the kettle, before the pump, which pumps the wort out into the fermenter. I always get clean wort in the fermenter and I've used up to 15 oz of hops in the kettle.

What I do is turn the heat element off and start chilling. It takes 12-14 minutes to chill down to around 70C / 158F. I add my hops and I take my stainless steel paddle, I whirlpool manually for 30 seconds, take the paddle out and leave the wort to rest 10 minutes. I come back, I whirlpool again and leave my wort alone for another 15-25 minutes ( depends on the mood and time ). I then transfer to the fermenter. The wort cools further down, a lot of debris settles down and I transfer without any hiccups. I do have a sieve sitting on the mouthfeel of the fermenter, just to catch anything in case it goes through.

Regarding hop spider: I've tried one, didn't work, got stuck and the utilisation rate is lower, which does waste some hops, especially when going over 7-8 oz.

 

[bannonb]

Hop Stopper.

Been brewing for 13 years so far. Tried the Bazooka filter, tried using SS scrubber attached to pickup tube. The Hop stopper allows me to do IPAs and drain the boil kettle nearly dry. Take a look.

BannonB

 

[Day-Day]

I use a 5 gallon paint strainer bag as a hop bag...it's like a giant tea bag for hops. I just clip it to the side of the kettle and add my bittering hops...then add flameout, hopstand, etc... then I just pull the whole paint strainer bag out and let in drain for a few minutes...then rack. I just throw my dry hops in with no bag or anything. Works for me.