Hopback siphon?

[azazel1024]

Possibly a silly question, but every use of a hopback I have seen or heard of is using either a pump to transfer the wort, or pushing it through using CO2 to a keg.

Is it possible to use a hopback with a simple siphon to a bottling bucket? Or are the hops going to provide too much resistance to the flow of beer without a pump/CO2 pressure to push it through?

 

[microbusbrewery]

I have the morebeer hopback and it's gravity fed from the boil kettle, then it goes to my pump. So BK > HB > Pump > Chiller > Fermenter. Hopbacks are usually used post-boil and pre-chill so that the heat extracts the oils, then chilling locks them in. But it sounds like you're wanting to use it post fermentation, like a Randall. Assuming that is correct, I think you could gravity feed it, but you'll probably won't be able to extract as much flavor/aroma since I'm assuming it'll be close to room temp. It would be a fun experiment though.

 

[azazel1024]

I have the morebeer hopback and it's gravity fed from the boil kettle, then it goes to my pump. So BK > HB > Pump > Chiller > Fermenter. Hopbacks are usually used post-boil and pre-chill so that the heat extracts the oils, then chilling locks them in. But it sounds like you're wanting to use it post fermentation, like a Randall. Assuming that is correct, I think you could gravity feed it, but you'll probably won't be able to extract as much flavor/aroma since I'm assuming it'll be close to room temp. It would be a fun experiment though.

Yup, pretty much how I was thinking of using it. Kind of a late addition aroma bump for an IPA/DIPA. I wonder if you could stuff a hop sock in one, with pellet hops to maximize the flavor/aroma extraction, though I'd bet I'd get hop material in to the bucket/bottle. Though maybe letting it settle in the bucket for 10-15 minutes first might let a lot of it settle to the bottom before bottling.

One of these days I'll probably try it. As is, a little gun-shy about pulling the trigger to buy one. I feel like my beer equipment money is probably best spent elsewhere.

For now.

 

[microbusbrewery]

Yeah, I'd recommend looking into doing a hop stand before buying a hop back. I like my hop back but I don't use it all that often and I think you can get great results with the hop stand method partnered up with dry hopping.