Any time I add more than 2 or so ounces of hops to the kettle, I use hop bags to contain the hops. Been thinking about going with a spider instead. Is there any advantage or disadvantage of using a spider over bags?
With a spider it is easy to add more hops, since the top is open. If you have multiple additions you can just dump them in at the right time.
I found a spider was more hassle to clean. I also felt like it reduced my utilization more than bags, but I have no proof from analysis.
I’ve used as much as 4 ounces of hops per gallon in IPA’s and I always just toss my hops in loose. I’ve never felt the need for a bag or spider, and I’d be concerned that I’d get less extraction if I restrained them.
Spiders are easier to add hops to during the boil, but they do have their negative side too. The mesh becomes plugged with proteins over time, restricting the flow of wort around the hops. This is especially true of you put the spider in before the hot break has receded. If your spider begins to take on a rusty tone, it’s time for a good cleaning. Not an easy task, but Barkeepers Friend helps a lot.
I see a little better utilization when using bags, as long as the bag is big enough to allow free movement of the hops. Multiple bags work well too. As Denny says, they are also easier to keep clean. The spider is my go to, purely for it’s ease of use. I do figure ~5% lower utilization than bags when formulating recipes.
At first I used hop bags, then switched to hop spider.
I thought it was the greatest thing, for a couple of batches.
PITA to clean, rusts, switched back to hop bags. Low pellet hop amounts are tossed in.
Still use hop sacks for dried whole cone leaf.
The hops don’t get tossed around as much during boil in hop spider.
I could see this possibly reducing efficiency.
Neither is needed. Just one more thing to clean. If the issue is not getting hop matter into the fermenter, that is easily solved by giving the wort a little extra time to settle.
For many, it’s the hop matter in the BK that’s the issue, making it hard to xfer.
If using hop pellets neither.
Same for me, but for some systems you need to contain the pellets.
I use something like what is in the first picture (not mine). Instead of threaded rods I used a length of PVC pipe (about 1/2" diameter) to hang it from similar to the wooden dowels shown in picture two (not mine). I also didn’t see a need two dowels crossed in the middle so I just used one. It uses a 4 or 5 inch diameter sewer drain coupling. The bag is a paint straining bag and is kept in place with an adjustable ring clamp. Total cost was probably less that $15.00.
picture one:
picture two:
When using a typical all in one system, bag(s) or a spider is needed unless you want a bunch of hop debris transferred into the fermenter. The relatively small diameter makes it all but impossible to whirlpool trub into the center of the BK. There’s only so much kettle trub you can contain. Much different than a much broader kettle. Other than that, I agree 100%. When I used a conventional system, all of the hops went in loose.
More often than not, the rust color you’re seeing is proteins that have collected in the mesh over time. I thought it was rust too, but discovered it wasn’t.
I use all in ones and that is not the case for me. With the older models, yep, but with the G40, S40, and G70 no container is needed. The have a huge screen over the bottom and a center drain.
That makes sense.
I questioned myself if it was truly rust, it had an odd brown color.
I throw the hop pellets in loose, but I had to adjust my counter flow chiller routine to keep it from getting clogged up.
That may well be true, but those aren’t exactly typical all in ones.
I currently use a 1520 micron SS hop spider that I custom ordered from Arbor Fab for whole hops. The holes are 1.52mm or 0.060". Wort boils right through it. Cleaning this hop spider is as simple as dumping the hops in a trash bag and taking a hose with garden hose nozzle set to stream and spraying it down. I switched over to using a bag-based spider for pellets. If the bag clogs, I switch bags. It is that simple. I would never use a 300 or 400 micron mesh spider for pellets. I have learned that that anything less than 600 micron mesh SS screen is going to clog.
When I used a 400 micron mesh hop spider, I used Eazy Off oven cleaner with the yellow cap to remove the build up. The yellow cap stuff is sodium hydroxide. The blue cap stuff is not.
I can’t think of a reason why unless using a plate chiller. For homebrewed beer there’s no reason I can think of to use a plate chiller.
Valid point. Those considering purchasing a hop spider should take note of mesh size.
Wasn’t aware of different mesh sizes, or that you could get a custom one.
https://www.arborfab.com/ 6" Mesh Screen Sample Sheet
Mesh size of hop spider I tossed was 300 micron. Always thought mesh was too small
while using, more so using dried whole leaf. I’m fine without one now, with my current gear/procedures.
Paying attention to mesh size is good info, for those considering a hop spider.