Pellet question.

If you have a hop related question about International Bittering Units or alpha acid, post it here!
Post Reply
Midlife
Piss Artist
Posts: 140
Joined: Wed Jul 02, 2014 9:30 pm
Location: Essex

Pellet question.

Post by Midlife » Mon Jan 15, 2018 11:04 pm

Hello, I was after some advice on pellets, I've not used them before but leaf were out of stock when I did my order so I went for the pellet version to keep the recipe.

Im using about 50g, will that amount clog the strainer in the boiler when I drain, should I use them in a hop bag or will it be ok to just throw them in?

Cheers.

chefgage
Hollow Legs
Posts: 492
Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2015 10:37 am

Re: Pellet question.

Post by chefgage » Tue Jan 16, 2018 9:35 am

I have always used pellets just chucked in and never had a problem. One thing to definetly do is after the boil, whirlpool the wort for about 15 seconds. That way you should end up with a sort of 'cone' of hop debris in the middle.

If i was using a large amount (100g plus) then i would probably use a hop spider.

User avatar
Jocky
Even further under the Table
Posts: 2738
Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2011 6:50 pm
Location: Epsom, Surrey, UK

Re: Pellet question.

Post by Jocky » Tue Jan 16, 2018 9:44 am

I use pellets almost exclusively, and my experience is that they're very good at clogging filters in general. I've used a mesh filter and a spring filter and they clogged both.

Whirlpooling is effective if you have a big enough kettle (my 35 litre one is not big enough), and don't have elements/filters/thermowells sticking out into the whirlpool that create turbulence and stop it working properly.

There are two foolproof methods I've found to solve this problem:

1. A bag or hop spider. You will need 20% or so extra pellets to achieve the same utilisation though, so now I use:

2. Time and patience! I get my wort cold with the immersion chiller, take it out and then walk away for half an hour. When I come back, all the trub has settled to near the bottom of the kettle. I siphon from near the top of the wort and leave a litre or so of mainly trub in the kettle.

I end up with crystal clear wort.
Ingredients: Water, Barley, Hops, Yeast, Seaweed, Blood, Sweat, The swim bladder of a sturgeon, My enemies tears, Scenes of mild peril, An otter's handbag and Riboflavin.

User avatar
Jocky
Even further under the Table
Posts: 2738
Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2011 6:50 pm
Location: Epsom, Surrey, UK

Re: Pellet question.

Post by Jocky » Tue Jan 16, 2018 10:10 am

Some photos:

This is a short while through siphoning. You can see the trub collected near the base of the kettle - in particular some has settled on top of the kettle element.

Image


Here is the clear wort straight from the siphon:

Image


And here's where I stop siphoning:

Image
Ingredients: Water, Barley, Hops, Yeast, Seaweed, Blood, Sweat, The swim bladder of a sturgeon, My enemies tears, Scenes of mild peril, An otter's handbag and Riboflavin.

MTW
Drunk as a Skunk
Posts: 905
Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2014 9:04 pm
Location: Just outside Scarbados

Re: Pellet question.

Post by MTW » Tue Jan 16, 2018 12:49 pm

Looks like good advice above. Pellets certainly block a braid filter very quickly. On Sunday, I tried something new, and just poured the second half of my chilled brew straight through a sheet of 30-mesh. That did a brilliant job. I must add though, that my 'odd' twin boiling-pot setup lends itself quite well to that: I brew with the boiling batch split in two equal size pots. Any pellets go in just one of them, so I only risk getting (at the very most) half the break material into the FV; in reality, it's far less than that with careful pouring and still accepting a little wastage. [The other pot gets the leaves and has a braid filter, which drains clear wort in the normally way.] 30-Mesh recommended!
Busy in the Summer House Brewery

Post Reply