Options for hop pellets

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sbond10
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Options for hop pellets

Post by sbond10 » Sun Apr 22, 2018 1:51 pm

Im currently building a counterflow chiller. But a recent single hop pale with 150g of pellets highlighted the large amount pellet rubbish that ended up in the fv.
I currently use a spade type filter from powell and a couple of nylon bags to contain pellets but pellets seem to seep out.
If i try to push beer through a pump and then a cfc as is then im gonna get a blockage.
Ive looked at hop spiders but people say they lose huge amounts of flavour and aroma doing this.
My other thoughts are wrapping my current filter in 400 micron mess or attempting to fit a grainfather filter

Anyone any other ideas id consider whirlpooling but im hot sanitising so this wont work


Thanks in advance sean

chefgage
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Re: Options for hop pellets

Post by chefgage » Sun Apr 22, 2018 3:44 pm

I use a stainless mesh hop spider. Even with this there is still alot of hop material left in the bottom of the boiler, not as much as in the hop spider though :) . I can honestly say i have not noticed the difference in hop characteristics when i use the spider and when i dont use it. I have not done two identical brews one using the spider and one not using it to compare though.

I have read people say you do loose flavour, bitterness etc. using a hop spider and they recomend adding an extra 20% hops to your recipe.

The main problem i have with it is cleaning it. As its stainless mesh there are a few spikey bits inside so when cleaning it i always get some scratches that bleed nicely :) Infact i can see the scratch from last time has just healed (left a sligjt scar though :( )

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Re: Options for hop pellets

Post by chefgage » Sun Apr 22, 2018 3:49 pm

sbond10 wrote:
Sun Apr 22, 2018 1:51 pm
Anyone any other ideas id consider whirlpooling but im hot sanitising so this wont work
I use a grain father and hot sanitise my CFC. What i do is at the end of the boil i whirlpool then connect my CFC and run hot wort through for 5 mins or so. Then pump to my fermenter. This seems to work for me. There is still alot of hop material around the grainfather filter when it is drained though. But it pumps ok.

sbond10
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Re: Options for hop pellets

Post by sbond10 » Sun Apr 22, 2018 4:11 pm

So ypu dont actually have it boiling when your running it thru i suppose when i recirc i could try to get it whirlpool too

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Re: Options for hop pellets

Post by Kingfisher4 » Sun Apr 22, 2018 4:17 pm

I have only recently started brewing, but 3 brews with "leaf" hops and 1 with hop pellets ( also about 150gm) in a grainfather has persuaded me I will stick to leaf in future, despite their bulk for storage.

Much cleaner filtered wort with leaf, lots of sludge passed through from the pellets. I doubt that trying to use a grainfather filter would help you too much.

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Re: Options for hop pellets

Post by chefgage » Sun Apr 22, 2018 4:19 pm

sbond10 wrote:
Sun Apr 22, 2018 4:11 pm
So ypu dont actually have it boiling when your running it thru i suppose when i recirc i could try to get it whirlpool too
I used to have it boiling when using a IC but i have switched to a grainfather. So now i recirculate after the boil and after whirlpooling. I figure as the wort is at about 90-95'c as i recirculate through the CFC this is hot enough to sanitise.

sbond10
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Re: Options for hop pellets

Post by sbond10 » Sun Apr 22, 2018 4:29 pm

Anything above 66c to pasturise i believe. I could as the boil finish fire it soley thru the pump and spin the wort this way then connect up the cfc

aamcle
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Re: Options for hop pellets

Post by aamcle » Mon Apr 23, 2018 8:59 am

Easy enough to sort out, I use an old Biab bag there is plenty of room for the hops to move and it retains nearly all the hop residue including pellet hop sludge.

How's the CfC working out?

Aamcle

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Jocky
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Re: Options for hop pellets

Post by Jocky » Mon Apr 23, 2018 9:24 am

A counterflow chiller (goat or coil, not a plate chiller) should be fine with hop pellets - they're fine enough to not get stuck as long as you have a pump with a big enough impeller that can handle hop pellet debris (chugger/march ideally). Mesh filters do tend to block with hop pellets unless they're quite big.

A decent size hop spider will have a small effect on hop utilisation, but adding a little more (10-20%) resolves that.
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sbond10
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Re: Options for hop pellets

Post by sbond10 » Mon Apr 23, 2018 10:16 am

aamcle wrote:
Mon Apr 23, 2018 8:59 am
Easy enough to sort out, I use an old Biab bag there is plenty of room for the hops to move and it retains nearly all the hop residue including pellet hop sludge.

How's the CfC working out?

Aamcle
I gave my old biab away hinsight is a wonderful thing

The cfc isnt going anywhere atm still accumulating parts moneys tight atm so it s a slow process

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