I have been looking at a Hop Spider from stainlesssteelbrewing.com and was wondering if anyone has experience with these. They seem to be exactly what I am looking for but I am not sure if I am missing something. I have a 20 gal boil kettle and I am also wondering about what size I may need. Any insight would help
I use one and love it, especially for APA and AIPA styles. Cuts way down on hop matter in the fermenter. In theory it can slightly reduce hop utilization, but in practice I don’t add extra hops to compensate, and my IPAs are plenty bitter and hoppy. Let me say though that I use a 5 gallon paint strainer bag clipped to the side of my kettle as my spider, so there is plenty of room for the hops to circulate freely.
I made this, it’s an Insinkerator flange with a 5 gallon paint strainer bag. Works great and have noticed no issues with utilization.
The only drawback is whirlpool ing. For flame out additions I just let them steep for maybe 15-30 minutes, pull the bag and let it drain and then proceed. Takes a little time but happy with it!
I gave mine away at a homebrew club x mas party as a white elephant gift:(. I used it for about 10 batches. If you do a search online on how to make one you’ll find it. Really easy and cheep. My process is I chill to my desired temp then use my spoon to whirlpool/stir for a few min and then cover the pot and let sit for 20 to 30 min. Use whirfloc and it should be clear. It really work great and no need to have another piece of equipment
I was finding my hoppy beers to not have enough aroma/flavor when I used a hop bag on my last few batches. Pretty much had to use one since I was experimenting with fermenting in kegs; don’t want that diptube clogging up with hop trub on transfers. It’s fine for non-hoppy styles, in my opinion, but for hoppy beers, I didn’t like it. Sure did make clean up a lot nicer.
I have used, then not used, then used. I have now committed to use one. Doing these brews with the huge hop bills demands something to assist in getting some of that goo contained (IMO). But you have to decide. Stainlessbrewing.com has some nice products. The dry hopper rocks! I plan on adding one of the rigid bottom spiders to my set up.
You can make a spider that has a paint strainer bag clamped to some pvc with long bolts for about 10 bucks. Try it and see if it works for you. If you like it then go for the rigid one…
Here is a BYO link to build one: Build A Hop Spider - Brew Your Own
Looks like I’ll be building one soon. Great idea.
I use a 200 micron nylon filter bag from Duda Diesel very similar to these @ Amazon. My bag ( 8) is 32 inches …
I’ve got the largest size (8 5/8") and use it in my 20 gallon Blichmann kettle. It fits perfect and was well worth it in my opinion. Plenty of room for the hops to move around, keeps hops out of my plate chiller and makes clean up easier.
I liked the dry hopper too, but disliked the worm clamp to open. Utah Biodiesel makes one with screw top for about the same price. I’ve used it and think I’ll get another.
Couldn’t you just use a muslin bag that fits around your kettle? Like a BIAB bag? As long as it doesn’t drag on the bottom of the pot?
That’s what I do with the 5 gallon painter strainer bag. And the turbulence of the boil keeps the bag suspended - never touches bottom.
Ah, I figured you had a false bottom. In that case, it wouldn’t matter.
Hi all…
So I’m building a hop spider as per the byo.com kit. Will be using my plate chiller for the first time next time and have waking nightmares about it clogging and making a mess. Also picked up a bazooka screen at whole foods for $10 lol.
Anyway, my concern is the material used in the paint strainer bag. Is this food safe? I don’t believe it is, but lots of people are using them. Does this mean they actually are safe or just noone gives a f.
I’d much rather pay more for a safe bag, but they’re handy…
Cheers,
-M
I use paint strainer bag. Don’t know if they are safe. Can’t be worse than McDonald’s
I use a 200 micron bag from Duda Diesel. Nothing worth worrying about gets through the 200 micron bag. I tried the paint strainers - too course. These “bags” are filters for bio-fuel processing. They are industrial strength and will last a lifetime. I bought 5 and still using the first 1 after three years.
I have wanted a hop spider from stainless brewing for a while now. I can’t decide if the rigid bottom is worth the additional cost. Only benefit I see is the ability for it to rest directly on the bottom of a shorter kettle.
LAWLS! Yeah you’re probably right. Well the material should be the decider… need to find out what it is…
I use a homemade hop spider with a reuseable skinny nylon bag from the LHBS, and drain my wort into the fermenter through a Duda Diesel bucket filter. Keeps most all the trub and hop crap out of the fermenter.
i have 2 of them if you want to buy one - I have the small and bigger micron screens.
I was not very happy with them - hot break and hop sludge tended to clog the ‘pores’ of the screen causing limited, if any, osmosis (i believe that’s the correct term) between the wort outside and inside the basket. it was so great that at the end of the boil, I could literally lift the basket out of the kettle, completely FULL of liquid and hops - only a small trickle would be draining off the sides.
additionally, granted I boil with electric, the wort inside the basket was averaging 209-210df during the boil.
I’ve since decided that this apparatus, while a cool idea, is not for my system.