Kettle False Bottom, Revisited

[DNelson]

I've read through lots of threads dating back 5+ years that discuss using a false bottom in the kettle as a means of filtering out hops/break material.

Some have said that the use of pellet hops can clog the false bottom. Others seem to use pellets just fine.

I would like to explore what type/size of false bottoms people have tried, and see if this could be a factor.

I am putting together a system that uses the wider 26 gallon kettles from Update International (same as MoreBeer's Heavy Duty Kettles), and I am wondering if using the flat, 20" false bottom from MoreBeer would provide enough surface area to avoid being clogged by pellets/trub.


False Bottom:

https://www.morebeer.com/products/false-bottom-boil-kettle-screen-26-gallon-heavy-duty.html

 

[DNelson]

Note, Gordon Strong apparently uses a false bottom with ok results:


"My system has a two-piece (think half moon) slotted copper false bottom that sits on top of a stainless steel stand. The false bottom has a rim to it, so when put in place, it's kind of like a tray in the bottom of the kettle that is level with the ground. I think whole hops work best with the system, but I've lately been using all pellet hops to good effect. As long as I let the wort stand for 20 minutes at the end of the boil and as long as I don't runoff too quickly, I get pretty good clarity. The false bottom is basically acting like a hopback, so it is able to filter pellet hops fairly well. But having some whole hops does improve the process. If I could get all the hop varieties I liked in whole form, and they were always fresh, I'd probably use them. But I can't, and I don't want to miss out on using some hop varieties that I can only get as pellets."
-Gordon Strong
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=17065.55;wap2