Hop basket spider whatever. Never again!

[earachemyeye69]

Two mistakes today.
1. Never entertain guests on a brew day. You’re certain to miss something.
2. Never never ever use a damn tea ball, hop spider, meshed stainless steel device to hop your wort.
I had 150gr in this batch and after the boil I went to clean the hop screen and it was packed solid. I screwed up and didn’t use one big enough for the volume of hops. Basically my beer is going to be un-hopped.
At best I’ll use a brew bag next time or just hop directly with no screens or filters.
Ugh!!

Anyway, should I just double up and dry hop in hopes of getting some bitterness?
This is a stout, called for 150gr at boil, 60 minutes. Maybe order some hop oil and add at kegging time?

Thanks for your advice.

 

[An Ankoù]

Since they're bittering hops, you could boil the for the required 60 minutes in a litre or two of water or even some of your wort. I'd go half-and-half as the bitering efficiency declines as the SG increases. Just use the hops that were in the spider unless you've thrown them at the cat.

 

[fluketamer]

good call he is right make a bitter hop tea it will work very well. especially in a stout which doesnt require much aroma hops if any

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

Agree with above, dry hops won't provide any bitterness. So you'll need to boil the hops then add that liquid to your wort. If you've pitched yeast then I wouldn't pull any of that to boil them, you could add a small amount of dme and make some hopped wort that way so you're not diluting your current batch with just hoppy water. Or just RDWHAHB, you probably got a few ibus out of that compacted hop ball, though not much, and it's a stout so not the end of the world, if it calls for some dry hops add them as is and roll with it.

 

[fluketamer]

i forgot to mention i dropped the spider a few brews ago after not getting enough flavor or bitterness from my hops and noticing that the run off from the pressed hops in the spider had plenty of bitterness and flavor in it. i figured it was hampering my utilization even though i stirred in there etc.

my beers have much better hop profiles now that i direct pitch commando into the kettle.

.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

^^ fact ^^

 

[BeerNsteadofH2O]

Some good suggestions here.
Absolutly no company on brew day, my wife only visits to bring me a fresh cup of coffee.
When I hop heavy, I use 2 spiders, I also have a thin bladed long handled plastic mash paddle, I agitate the contents every 10 minutes or so, scraping the walls of the spider to keep the potion flowing..I cant use my Brewzilla commando, or the false bottom clogs up, creating too much work and a possible dry boiler, so hop spiders and a vigilant stir schedule are my solution.

 

[Bassman2003]

Commando is easier in the end. I also do a settling period after chilling of 20-40 min and it all drops out for a clear transfer.

 

[OleBrewing]

did you taste the wort?

 

[Broken Crow]

..another vote for skipping containment. Commando Hopping all the way;

 

[fluketamer]

i suppose increasing the amounts would work but it might be hard to figure out how much more to add in the spider for me to get the same flavor as commando.


also i notice a large part is its very hard to get a really clean fine mesh spider after the first few uses. those tiny pores clog up and i have tried boiling in bleach and hot pbw without really getting it as clean as new.

 

[Snuffy]

I think it all depends on your brewing system and equipment. Hop volume for a stout would normally allow the grenade method. Anything that calls for over 2 or 3 oz of hops get the spider. I stir and also lift and drain the spider several times during the boil - which has resulted in a drop before but never seems to limit the effectiveness of bittering or aroma. I made a hook to lift the spider with now so it isn't quite as clumsy as bare-handed. If I just commando a large volume of pellet hops in the Grainfather it clogs the tube filter and results at best in super slow chilling and transfer to the fermenter and at worst having to pry the filter off and suck loads of hop trash thru the pump. I've tried a false bottom above the filter and, while that helps catch some trash, it does not catch it all and it extends the time to reach boil. I haven't had to use a spider in a while tho. What I brew usually requires less than 3 oz of hops. And yeah, cleaning the spider afterward sux. Mine stays kinda green at the bottom.

 

[An Ankoù]

..another vote for skipping containment. Commando Hopping all the way;
View attachment 865602

Absolutely, but there's a trade off between freestyle and contained. I use as big a bag as doesn't make much difference, about a foot square of fine mesh, and then fish it out at the end of the boil or after the chill (depends how you chill). Can't say I've noticed any loss of hop utilisation.
Over here these bags can be bought for pennies for putting fruit and veg in, in the supermarket. They seem to last forever.

 

[hungupdown]

...also i notice a large part is its very hard to get a really clean fine mesh spider after the first few uses. those tiny pores clog up and i have tried boiling in bleach and hot pbw without really getting it as clean as new.

I've a sink mixer tap, that can be switched to a high pressure, fine spray. It cleans the spider of all debris, but the time full cleaning still takes, is a pain.

 

[Broken Crow]

Though I prefer to go commando on hops, I only do it with my oversized 'pillow-filter' on my diptube in my keggle;

..never clogs even with a heavy load. I went with greater surface area than the HopStopper.

 

[MaxStout]

I still use a hop spider (Wilser bag), but set the hops utilization percentage in Beersmith a little lower, to compensate. I have to use more hops, but since I usually buy them by the pound they're cheap. After knockout, I suspend the hops bag above the kettle for a few minutes and let that hoppy wort inside the bag drain to the kettle.

 

[fluketamer]

Though I prefer to go commando on hops, I only do it with my oversized 'pillow-filter' on my diptube in my keggle;
View attachment 865604
..never clogs even with a heavy load. I went with greater surface area than the HopStopper.

did you make that pillow thing?

when i go more than 3 ounces my bazooka gets clogged and i have to siphon beer out of the kettle instead of using the spigot. i wonder if the pillow would work.

 

[Deadalus]

I CIP through my EHERMs using hot PBW (~150F) for 30 minutes. The path of the CIP brings the cleaning solution into my hop spider. This catches small bits of grain and other material that may still be in the system. The hop spider gets mostly clean except wherever it is above the cleaning solution in the BK plus it has now caught about a tablespoon or two of bits. Then after cleaning the BK fully, I soak the spider with the last parts that need cleaning and hit it with Barkeepers friend and a brush. Keeps it pretty clean, takes that green color out and most of the brown coloring.

 

[worlddivides]

So up until now, 95% of my brews have used hop mesh bags (usually with them tied off near the top so that the hops have as much ability to move around within the bags as possibility since I noticed early on that tying towards the bottom reduced hop utilization). However, for beers that don't use that large of a volume of hops such as stouts I just throw them in commando.

I also have a Kegland stainless steel hop tube that I bought for keg hopping but that I want to use as a hop spider, but the last brew I used it on, the rolling boil was so intense that it couldn't stay in place and got sucked under. I bought a spring clamp with TPR (thermoplastic rubber) ends, which supposedly can handle up to 190-210C (374-410F), so the heat from the kettle wouldn't melt the spring clamp. It also supposedly has 120 neutons of clamping power so it should keep the tube in place so I can use it like a hop spider without the rolling boil pulling it under. It does feel strange to use clamps made from plastic and rubber on a boiling metal surface, though, but every single clamp I could find used either rubber or plastic on the ends, so I thought it should at least be made to be heat-resistant.

The main thing is that I don't like my fermenter to have so much trub even before the yeast or dry hopping has been added, hence why I normally only throw them in like that for beers with less boil hops. I did recently throw hops into the kettle during whirlpooling for the first time ever (I've only ever used hop bags before then). The beer turned out great, so I feel like my aversion to throwing hops in the kettle without a bag or spider is just a psychological thing without any real basis behind it.

 

[earachemyeye69]

Since they're bittering hops, you could boil the for the required 60 minutes in a litre or two of water or even some of your wort. I'd go half-and-half as the bitering efficiency declines as the SG increases. Just use the hops that were in the spider unless you've thrown them at the cat.

Followed and saved. Will be different than the last batch but again, I need to stop changing the process and tools if I’m going to get batch to batch consistency.

Thanks!!

 

[bike2brew]

I had to drop the hop spider once I began using the steam condenser lid. Switched to little bags that float freely in the wort during the boil. I may likewise drop the hop utilization % to compensate. Currently using the 94%, how much as a start?

 

[Broken Crow]

did you make that pillow thing?

when i go more than 3 ounces my bazooka gets clogged and i have to siphon beer out of the kettle instead of using the spigot. i wonder if the pillow would work.

Yup.. very simple DIY: I hit ebay for some 304 SS 400-mesh screen and 'thread' and sewed it by hand.. you'll also want some thicker wire (0.5mm-2mm) to make a loose support on the inside. I salvaged a couple handles from a SS deep-fryer basket I had laying around and they sit loosely inside and prevent it from collapsing under the wieght of the trub. I also had a wire-type SS hose-clamp that I used to hold it on the diptube, but I lost it so I switched out to using a silicone o-ring as a rubber band and it works just as well. This square filter is ideal for the concaved bottom of my keggle because the shape ensures there'll be minimum surface resting against the keggle itself. As you have an AIO, you'll probably want to fold some pleats into one to minimize surface made useless by pressing against the walls.
I'm currently suffering some indecision about how to proceed with the new one I'm making for the 'improved' BIAB unit I'm very slowly building. If you decide to give making one a shot, please show us what you come up with.

 

[BeerNsteadofH2O]

I had to drop the hop spider once I began using the steam condenser lid. Switched to little bags that float freely in the wort during the boil. I may likewise drop the hop utilization % to compensate. Currently using the 94%, how much as a start?

View attachment 865653

I also run a steam condenser, I brew in a Brewzilla 35L, i bent one of the arms on the spider so it sits inside the welded ring for the malt tube, I do not use the window, I cover the viewing port with a folded towel, because even at 1K watts you still risk a boil over, I can reach through the port to stir my hops with a long paddle, BTW late addition hops do go commando, it's just the full boil addition that causes me problems with that system

 

[Yesfan]

Yup.. very simple DIY: I hit ebay for some 304 SS 400-mesh screen and 'thread' and sewed it by hand.. you'll also want some thicker wire (0.5mm-2mm) to make a loose support on the inside. I salvaged a couple handles from a SS deep-fryer basket I had laying around and they sit loosely inside and prevent it from collapsing under the wieght of the trub. I also had a wire-type SS hose-clamp that I used to hold it on the diptube, but I lost it so I switched out to using a silicone o-ring as a rubber band and it works just as well. This square filter is ideal for the concaved bottom of my keggle because the shape ensures there'll be minimum surface resting against the keggle itself. As you have an AIO, you'll probably want to fold some pleats into one to minimize surface made useless by pressing against the walls.
I'm currently suffering some indecision about how to proceed with the new one I'm making for the 'improved' BIAB unit I'm very slowly building. If you decide to give making one a shot, please show us what you come up with.

Great job! I thought it was a Hopstopper 2.0 when I first looked at it. The guy that makes those went out of business I think. He's just an hour away from me, in Knoxville.

I go commando on all my hopping, except dry hopping. I use a bag for those. I still have my Stainless Brewing hop spider (anyone remember them?) from back in the day. The mesh is pretty clogged and that was one reason I quit using it. It being another thing to clean at the end of brew day was another reason.

 

[day_trippr]

The word from the Electric Brewery was Mister Hopstopper retired. Probably wore their hands out building the things

I have a 2.0 still used on every brew, and a 1.0 hiding somewhere. Had to be tough to fabricate, I don't see much opportunity for mechanization aside from maybe pattern punching the mesh forms - but then again there were so many models and sizes offered, they may have cut the mesh by hand, too...

Cheers!

 

[Yesfan]

Retirement sounds better than bankruptcy. My cousin uses the 2.0 and swears by it.