As far as I can tell my new Blichmann Hop Blocker does little to nothing in terms of blocking hops. I thought it would be wonderful to have all those little hop particles swimming free, releasing all their goodness. I’m pretty sure the hops did their job. The BHB let so much through it plugged my plate chiller. I mean plugged it dead. I had to have the pump pushing and me sucking to get flow restored.
So I’m a gallon short on my batch and out $60. Back to the teabag method.
Contact Blichmann and see if they have any tips on using it. I don’t have one, so no help here.
Check YouTube. I feel I’ve seen videos of it in action.
Yep, I did the research before buying it. I used it according to instructions. No rocket science involved, it just didn’t filter any hops.
I have heard it really works the best with leaf/whole hops. Did you use those or pellets?
Pellets. I would imagine it would work better with whole cone hops but even the users guide says it was designed with pellet hops in mind.
Have you tried the hop taco/hop stopper design? The hop taco/hop stopper is only useful with a counterflow or plate chiller. This design will clog with break when used with an immersion chiller.
I honestly don’t know why anyone would try to filter pellet hops. A simple whirlpool works quite well and the little amount that makes it into the fermentor is nothing to worry about.
Being whirlpool impaired, I don’t even do that much. They go right through my pump and into the fermenter.
Pellets clog up my Blichman Therminator as soon as I start the pump in spite of utilizing a whirlpool and a stainless scrubby on the outlet of my kettle. I have given up on loose hops and bag them all in fairly large, loose bags. This works OK for me, but I tend to increase the amounts to make up for it.
I may try this. I tried to whirlpool on this go around but I think the Hop Blocker disrupted the flow. I’ve been avoiding whirlpooling as the only method because it takes so long to flush the plate chiller until no hop particles come out. But the bottom line is I just don’t want the chiller to plug.
I know Denny and others really like an immersion chiller. I don’t. It takes too long and the cool wort is exposed to airborne bugs and wild yeast. Admittedly the chances are remote of this being the cause of a spoiled batch, but I think it is best to remove all possibilities. Its a basic QC issue: identify critical control points and eliminate the possible hazard.
In true Denny fashion I’ll just keep experimenting until I find what works for me on my system the best. I guess $60 wasn’t a bad cost for an experiment.
I don’t try, I do :). It’s effortless and keeps the plate chiller clean.
What is your filtration method?
Homemade hop stopper. Going strong for 6 years now.
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=5197.msg61486#msg61486
Before:
After:
I use a hop blocker and have a lot of success with it. As Denny pointed out, I typical whirlpool and then slowly drain the kettle. You may want to try slowing your drain speed and see if that helps any.
Slow drain is by far the biggest difference maker in my opinion. It takes about five minutes for me to pull 5.5 gallons.
Getting all the break and hop material in the fermenter might not be a huge deal quality wise, but that extra 1/4 gallon makes a difference when fermenting 5.5 in a 6 gallon fermenter. There is also the added benefit of getting less garbage in my repitches.
Thank you for your input - both of you. I did go very slowly. For the reason you mentioned but also to get the temperature of the wort as close to pitching temp as possible. I’d say it took ~15 minutes to get 4 gallons into the fermenter.
I’m open to the idea that I did something wrong - a lot of people like these, and it would be very out of character for Blichmann to make something that worked as badly as this one did. I’ll probably give it another shot just to make sure.
You can get some superfine biab bags that filter pellet hops pretty well.
Steve, I feel your pain. I switched to using pellets mid-2015 after using whole hops and a false bottom for over twenty years. I like the reduced storage requirements that pellets afford a brewer, but I hate having to deal with break and hop debris. Whirlpooling after chilling helps, but it is nowhere near as effective as a false bottom and whole cones when it comes to separating wort from kettle trash. When using a well-fitting false bottom and whole cones, very little hop debris and break make into the kettle because the cones form a filter like they do in a in a hop back.
False bottom here as well. I’ll never go back.
