New way to control Pellet Hop gunk!

[bovineblitz]

A $3 mesh bag works very well for this as well.

Not as well. The bag tends to clog up and get sucked into the siphon. This is especially true if there's a lot of hop material in your fermenter. With bags you have to mess with them a bunch and move the siphon around. With the SS tube you set it and forget it, just let it run and tilt it at the end.

Source: used the bag and now use a SS tube.

 

[govner1]

I just used my BB Dry Hop tube from Chad on a third batch. This time I used 2 oz of Mosaic in my Wheat IPA. Simply racked to secondary, sanitized the tube, added the hop pellets, & slowly placed into the BB before attaching the airlock.
Piece of cake!!!

 

[pfgonzo]

This is an excellent idea, and I have been contemplating the same.

But I have a hard time picturing how you route the wort-out line. You're not using the regular bulkhead on the bottom, I guess.

Is this how you do it?
You chill by recirculating, using a pump with a plate chiller or a counter flow chiller.

Do you send all your hop and break matter through the pump and chiller, unfiltered? Do you use a false bottom in the BK to trap some of that trub? Don't you have any clogging problems in the chiller or pump?

Then when chilled, do you stick the output hose into the hop basket and pump clear wort into your fermentor? Or is the basket in another vessel, your fermentor perhaps?

Thanks for any clarifications.

I have an immersion chiller, so only water is running through it.

While the water is on, I pump the wort from the bottom of the kettle and back into the kettle from an additional hole at the top to which I attached a loc line arm, via a weldless kit. I use that to whirlpool while I chill and once I'm at temp, I move the loc line arm so it's pumping into my filter. A pic would be easier to understand. Google "loc line brewing" or "mash return tube" and it should show you what I mean. (Im on vacation right now or I'd post a poc of my setup.) Bobby_M sells them, but it's just as easy (and you get more color choices) getting it from the manufacturer.

 

[pfgonzo]

Quick follow up: found a pic of my setup in the Centenniel Blonde thread.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/ce...ain-5-10-gall-42841/index293.html#post5087186

That pic is me using the filter as a boil filter. I've since started using it only post boil as I previously posted.

 

[Carlscan26]

There is actually a little more clearance. If you look at the ruler/straight edge in one of the pic, the coil is about inch inside from the ruler's outside edge.

Also, the handle on my false bottom is not centered like they appear on More Beer's website. It is toward the edge, and I can orient it in such a way to
keep it from obstructing a hop basket.

My FB came from More Beer but it looks like they altered the design. The "handle" is the same as the feet used to elevate it. So they are about 2 inches in height.

I've never tried using an FB to minimize hot break but need to try it.
Maybe it helps when doing large volumes of wort. Doing 10 gallon batches,
there may be other more practical ways.

Anyone, does it really help or are there other ways to filter the wort effectively keeping it out of the fermenters etc?

Or is an FB used for other purposes in the boil?

It may be more practical for me as well to disregard the FB altogether.

Having a conical, for example, seems to accomodate dropping this problem You could drop out any stuff that has settled after a few hours/days.

But I get minimizing it to begin with helps too.

HEFE - Did you ever order this filter? I'm emailing Chad now about it; if he's built it for you I'll just ask for a copy.

 

[HefeLibre]

Nah I didn't get around to it.

Going with the standard 6X14 filter.

 

[Carlscan26]

Nah I didn't get around to it.

Going with the standard 6X14 filter.

Will you just put it in the middle of the immersion chiller then?

 

[stewby117]

I have used my hop filter three times so far. Made an IPA, kind of a hop bomb, not only did we use it in the boil which worked great it let a little hop particles through, we also used it as a dry hop vessel. It fit feally well in my 14.7 gal. Conical from Stoudt.
The third time yeasterday brewing a wit. We only had 1 hop addition of 2oz but we had a citrus zest mix of 1 orange and 2 limes with white pepper and crused clove each about 1-1.5 oz. What we did this time was kick the boil up a notch to make it a bit more vigorous and this pushed the matetials in the screen up and down from the boil action.

We then used it as a trub filter in th conical, but need to get chad to build one about 3"deep so it can just sit on the fermenter lip and we can keep the pour moving.
Thanks Chad.

 

[Demus]

Has anyone tried one of these kettle height hop screens on the VALVE INTAKE of their kettle? In other words put the hops in the kettle instead of in the strainer, and have the strainer on valve, kind of a giant kettle screen.

Great thread...

 

[IslandLizard]

Has anyone tried one of these kettle height hop screens on the VALVE INTAKE of their kettle? In other words put the hops in the kettle instead of in the strainer, and have the strainer on valve, kind of a giant kettle screen.

Great thread...

You mean using it as a large filter inside the BK? That's what a few of us have been talking about already.

There are some problems how to connect the BK's bulkhead tube to the basket.

Poke a hole in the basket and slide it over the bulkhead stem or pickup tube before you fill the kettle?

 

[Demus]

You mean using it as a large filter inside the BK? That's what a few of us have been talking about already.

There are some problems how to connect the BK's bulkhead tube to the basket.

Poke a hole in the basket and slide it over the bulkhead stem or pickup tube before you fill the kettle?

Sorry, it's a long thread and I admit I didn't read the whole thing. That's what I was thinking though. Even better would be some kind of funnel shaped opening in the filter so you could slide it on blind after the boil. I can picture the design in my head but was hoping someone already made something like this...

 

[Carlscan26]

Just got my latest creation from Chad. I had a "half moon" hop filter made so that I could add my IC without having to remove my filter.

Yambor44 - How is this working out for you? Have you had any issues with the boil being affected?

 

[sweetcell]

You mean using it as a large filter inside the BK? That's what a few of us have been talking about already.

There are some problems how to connect the BK's bulkhead tube to the basket.

Poke a hole in the basket and slide it over the bulkhead stem or pickup tube before you fill the kettle?

if you use pellets, the filter will clog. hell, with 2 oz of leaves my bazooka clogs and it's much coarser than one of these filters.

it might work for an unhoppy belgian with 1 oz of 60 min hops, but i'd be nervous about anything more than that.

 

[Yambor44]

Yambor44 - How is this working out for you? Have you had any issues with the boil being affected?

So far so good. Just finishing up 10 gallons of a Hop Ottin-ish/Deviant Dales IPA clone I made with it and it is pretty fantastic.

I did a Zythos IPA this past week and threw all 12 ounces of pellets straight into the boil. Then I placed the round 6x14 300 micron filter in the fermentation bucket and drained thru that. By somes definition it probably clogged, meaning it was fine all the way thru each 5 gallons but when I lifted the filter it drained slowly. The wort coming out however was crystal clear. A little inconvenient to hold it for a few minutes to drain, but it did its job non the less. Plus, 12 ounces of pellet hops....I'm happy with it. I did the same thing on another batch I posted about with less hops but also an IPA and had zero drainage issues.

 

[Carlscan26]

So far so good. Just finishing up 10 gallons of a Hop Ottin-ish/Deviant Dales IPA clone I made with it and it is pretty fantastic.

I did a Zythos IPA this past week and threw all 12 ounces of pellets straight into the boil. Then I placed the round 6x14 300 micron filter in the fermentation bucket and drained thru that. By somes definition it probably clogged, meaning it was fine all the way thru each 5 gallons but when I lifted the filter it drained slowly. The wort coming out however was crystal clear. A little inconvenient to hold it for a few minutes to drain, but it did its job non the less. Plus, 12 ounces of pellet hops....I'm happy with it. I did the same thing on another batch I posted about with less hops but also an IPA and had zero drainage issues.

Can I ask why you didn't use the half moon for the 12 ozs?

 

[Yambor44]

Can I ask why you didn't use the half moon for the 12 ozs?

Yes. No real reason, just wanted to do it that way.

 

[riverbeer]

Has anybody tried this for a hose end filter? All stainless. 2 1/5 x 5 inches
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0027D5HOM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[IslandLizard]

Has anybody tried this for a hose end filter? All stainless. 2 1/5 x 5 inches
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0027D5HOM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

2.5" x 5"
Too small and with that narrow screwcap opening, about impossible to clean.

 

[KaSaBiS]

I did read the entire thread and seeing the last few pictures I am afraid of going too big. I want a centered 8" 300 mesh for my keggle but am thinking to go 6" only in hopes of having more of a boil going on bigger is better for clogging, I am convinced the screen will drain in place as I drain into FV but to have the extra volume "not boiling" concerns me.

I do plan on lifting and doing the occasional scrape/drain throughout the process but the larger volume of no boil, the more dms you will accumulate.
In my keggle case, is an 8" a bad choice?

 

[stonebrewer]

KaSaBiS: all I can tell ya is that the post I have around 943 shows a 5 degree temperature delta AND that beer (which I am having right now!) is freaking awesome. It is an IIPA clone of Zombie Dust and it was WAY bitter and full of hoppy goodness. I took it to a bottle share party this weekend and comments were that people liked it BETTER than 3 Floyd's as it was more bitter and hoppy. So at 207-8 it still gave me plenty of bitterness, plenty of aroma, and plenty of flavor from those wonderful Citra hops. Bigger seems to be better as bigger gives more surface area which equals less clogging. Just my opinion, but that is the way I see it. I detect no DMS, but to be honest I am not doing a pilsner usually when I use the screen and don't think I would need it if I was. Cheers!

 

[marcb]

KaSaBiS: all I can tell ya is that the post I have around 943 shows a 5 degree temperature delta AND that beer (which I am having right now!) is freaking awesome. It is an IIPA clone of Zombie Dust and it was WAY bitter and full of hoppy goodness. I took it to a bottle share party this weekend and comments were that people liked it BETTER than 3 Floyd's as it was more bitter and hoppy. So at 207-8 it still gave me plenty of bitterness, plenty of aroma, and plenty of flavor from those wonderful Citra hops. Bigger seems to be better as bigger gives more surface area which equals less clogging. Just my opinion, but that is the way I see it. I detect no DMS, but to be honest I am not doing a pilsner usually when I use the screen and don't think I would need it if I was. Cheers!

As a second on the bigger is better bit.... For my 52G kettles my screens are more than half the diameter of the kettle and sit just above my heating elements. The last beer I did was a step mash with about 100lbs of organic grain and the cold break was so knarly it was solid in the kettle and the outside of the screen. I was able to rinse it with muni pressure with my garden hose to clean it and the beer is awesome. I used to worry about the temp delta and lack of motion in the basket but I have produced (and reproduced) many stellar beers with these filters on several different system. Chad from arbor will also build you anything you want, he's made me several filters and even a false bottom for my new brewery! These simply work well!

 

[stonebrewer]

As a second on the bigger is better bit.... For my 52G kettles my screens are more than half the diameter of the kettle and sit just above my heating elements. The last beer I did was a step mash with about 100lbs of organic grain and the cold break was so knarly it was solid in the kettle and the outside of the screen. I was able to rinse it with muni pressure with my garden hose to clean it and the beer is awesome. I used to worry about the temp delta and lack of motion in the basket but I have produced (and reproduced) many stellar beers with these filters on several different system. Chad from arbor will also build you anything you want, he's made me several filters and even a false bottom for my new brewery! These simply work well!

<Insert green from envy> Now your just showing off! Gotta fly up from SD when I am there later in the year and see your system and take you out for a Pliny!

 

[marcb]

<Insert green from envy> Now your just showing off! Gotta fly up from SD when I am there later in the year and see your system and take you out for a Pliny!

lol! Sorry man - I just wanted to close the loop on the bigger is better thing. That's why I don't think I've ever had the trouble cleaning or with my filters clogging even with knarly cold break (pictured in another one of my threads) I've never seen break material be so solid.... You are welcome to come by anytime we're going to do a monster brew day on July 27th and run the system at full capacity! It looks like I'm headed to NYC, not DC in the next couple of weeks but am looking forward to having some homebrew out your way too! Cheers!

 

[grathan]

Anyone know how many hops the keg hopper can hold without packing up?
I was thinking about using it in a speidel tank because i have a 9oz dry hop coming up, thanks.

 

[Demus]

Has anyone with a plate chiller/march pump setup tried using one of these on the INTAKE of the kettle valve? This would leave the hops OUTSIDE the filter and allow you to recirculate during chilling without fear of clogging the chiller. I emailed Chad and he kind of poo pooed the idea, but what do you all think?

 

[marcb]

Has anyone with a plate chiller/march pump setup tried using one of these on the INTAKE of the kettle valve? This would leave the hops OUTSIDE the filter and allow you to recirculate during chilling without fear of clogging the chiller. I emailed Chad and he kind of poo pooed the idea, but what do you all think?

I haven't tried it but there are definitely folks here who have, I believe the issue is that the cold break clogs up the inside of the filter but again I haven't tried it this way....

 

[Demus]

Any plate chiller/pump user folks out there care to comment? I love hoppy beers but shy away from making them, especially with pellets. Looking for a once and for all solution...

 

[kombat]

Has anyone with a plate chiller/march pump setup tried using one of these on the INTAKE of the kettle valve? This would leave the hops OUTSIDE the filter and allow you to recirculate during chilling without fear of clogging the chiller. I emailed Chad and he kind of poo pooed the idea, but what do you all think?

Any plate chiller/pump user folks out there care to comment? I love hoppy beers but shy away from making them, especially with pellets. Looking for a once and for all solution...

I have one of these, and a plate chiller and Chugger pump.

With my setup, initially used a simple bazooka screen on the kettle outlet valve port, in addition to the tall, cylindrical hop screen from Chad. The hop screen contained the hop gunk, and the bazooka screen blocked most of the break material.

Now I've replaced the bazooka screen with a Hop Stopper (pickup tube enshrouded in a frisbee-shaped wire mesh pouch). I got cocky and stopped using Chad's hop screen, but a recent brew had a little too much break material and hops, and my Hop Stopper got clogged during chilling. So now I'm back to using both.

In any case, using either combination (hop screen + bazooka, or hop screen + Hop Stopper), I've never had an issue with my pump or plate chiller. I use clear tubing, so I can see the wort flowing, and it's perfectly clear. All of the gunk (both hop pellet and break material) remains in the kettle, either in the hop screen or stuck to the outside of the Hop Stopper.

 

[stonebrewer]

+1 on kombat's post. Read through this and you will see I have done the same. I use a chugger and recirculate through one of Chad's wire mesh tubes. I also boil with one ( I have two plus a bazooka plus a filter on my funnel). No issues with clogging using a larger mesh tube in the boil, the smaller to recirculate through, and the bazooka and filter on the funnel. I used to have the filter on the funnel clog 3-4 times per 6.5G carboy. Now I get a few grains of break material after filling two of them up. Color me a happy camper!

 

[marcb]

Here's a new twist! Chad made me a grain basket for the 15g kettle! Fits like a glove, the pics are a little jacked so I took one with the flash and one w/o. This is a 400 micron basket so should be good to go for mashing in for BiAB and has a recirc line through a bulkhead in the lid.