OK, every brew things are getting a little better, a few items left on the to do list… (other than the thermometers) ;D
so far I’ve been using pellets, no bags. It is however annoying when I get to the bottom of the BK and the wort starts clogging up the strainers over the bucket and it turns into a Chinese fire drill, as I can’t stop the flow as it will kill the syphon through the 90º turn to the bottom of the barrel…If you follow.
So, I’m thinking about putting a false bottom in the bottom of the BK.
Will the ones with the larger holes (1/8" -ish ) stop the hops? Will it clog them up?
I may have to use bags except that I don’t think the hops will be able to give off their juices as efficiently…
I think dean mentioned, a few days back, having to put his arm into the wort to clear hops from his screen. A few years back I had to do the same thing in two of three batches. Moments after cleaning up from the third batch I ordered a false bottom for my kettle. I now run a bazooka under the false bottom (3/32" holes). If I use pellets I use them early in the boil and pretty much always use whole hops for flavoring/aroma. No clogs even when i brew american barleywine and IPA. cheers, j
We took the bottom flange for a toilet flange and dropped a nylon mesh paint straining bag in the middle of it and clamped it around the outside. Then, we took an old wire tomato holder and used that to suspend the strainer in the boil kettle.
So for about $15 we can transfer from the mash to the boil kettle with the strainer, and then throw hop pellets inside of it. None of that stuff ever gets through the bags and to the bottom of the kettle. The whole contraption will be nicely suspended in the boil kettle and you can throw most anything into it that you want to add to the wort but not have it get left at the bottom of the kettle.
Yeah, I brew with another guy and after a few pints we look at everything in the garage and ask ourselves, “I wonder if I can brew with that…”
Converted keg BK IIRC. If you use all leaf hops, the domed, perforated FB works great. You can use pellet too, just make sure to use an ounce or two of leaf to help filter the pellet hops and hot break material.
I took it a step further and wrapped my ABT false bottom on both sides in SS screen, raised it off the botton a tad, giving me 205 sq. in. of straining area. Awesome! I still use an oz or two of leaf if I can’t use all leaf(my pref) to help out since I use a PC. I have brewed 10g Pliny clones with it’s metric assload of hops and nary a hiccup.
I have used these when racking from a primary into a bottling bucket. It’s shocking how much these strainers pick up even when I think I’m racking clear beer.
That said, for the last several batches, I have been pouring the cooled wort through a 12" mesh strainer into a sanitized bucket and then funneling it into a fermenter. I didn’t think the strainer was fine enough to catch the pelletized hops, but durned if it doesn’t–in fact, I have to use a sanitized spoon to scrape aside hop stuff so the wort will keep on flowing. I have a theory that “sparging” the wort through the hop debris also gives the wort one last bump of hop goodness. It certainly has reduced the amount of trub in the fermenter. I regret not having brewed something to rack onto the last yeast cake – it looked perfect. My fermented beer also looks much clearer.
Another option is to whirlpool for 10 min and let the hop and trubs settle just prior to chill and transfer. A paint stirrer or mix-stir on a cordless drill will work for whirlpooling.
Umm… why not just use bags ?
If the bags are large enough so the hops aren’t compressed inside it works real well.
I use those paint strainer bags.
Easy cheap and reusable.
I use 1 gallon paint strainer bags from lowes. Just tie a knot and throw them in. Use 2 or 3 if necessary to keep from crowding the hops. I never fill them over 1/4 full of leaf hops.
Those in the know say that you have to bump up the amount of hops to get the same extraction without the bags but I don’t know what that ratio is.
OK, did I mention I use pellets, and would the bags work for those?
Next question… I have a pickup tube with a 90 that gets all of the wort out of my BK, including the hot break… I am now starting to read that that is not good. Some people have just the drain valve on the side of the kettle, and whirlpool the wort to keep all the trub from getting out. Don’t worry about the 1/2 gallon or so you may leave behind, just figure it into the grain/water bill…???
A few years back I had to do the same thing in two of three batches. Moments after cleaning up from the third batch I ordered a false bottom for my kettle. I now run a bazooka under the false bottom (3/32" holes). If I use pellets I use them early in the boil and pretty much always use whole hops for flavoring/aroma. No clogs even when i brew american barleywine and IPA. cheers, j