Monday I am brewing the same (somewhat hoppy) recipe I brewed without a spider three weeks ago; I may boost the hop schedule by 10%. Should be interesting to compare the two. It may also be the maiden voyage for my new pump, depending on whether my new ball valve passes the leak check. If not, I’ll boil in my smaller kettle and not sweat it.
Here’s the spider (and ball valve): Hop Spider and Ball Valve | Built a hop spider and drilled m… | Flickr
FYI. I drop an extra stainless nut or washer into the nylon bag with the hops to weigh it down during the boil.
And you’re done! If you want to add more hops, use a plastic zip tie instead of a knot.
I am on the fence about this hop spider thingy. Seems like just another thing you have to clean at the end of the day.
After thru hiking the Appalachian trail you learn simpler is better and all the other stuff takes away from what’s really important. If you are really bored and want to make something, here’s a novel idea: Step 1)make beer! Step2)while you are brewing, read this (and other forums or books) to learn how to improve your technique. Step3)your beer will get better, you’ll be more proficient and have more time on your hands. When you find you have more time to RDWHAHB, repeat steps 1, 2, and 3… and always remember the best things in life are not things!
Actually, I’m talking about weighing down the bag I use with my hops spider. Yes, I have to clean it at the end of the day. So what? After a couple brews, I throw the bag away and replace with a new one.
The hop spider bags are no harder to clean than the hop sacks, especially if you had multiple hop additions. My hanging hop filter is simple and easy and really makes brewing with pellet hops much easier. I haven’t tried weighing down the bag, so I may give that a shot next time to see if it makes any difference in the final product.