Hop filter

[andybiochem]

Do you use this when dry hopping and/or in a boiler?

It is used with the plastic mesh in the photo after boiled wort has been cooled, simply to stop bit bits of hop getting through to the fermentation tub. It does let some finer bits through, but they are stopped by a second filter bag:



After dry hopping & fining in the secondary, I replace the plastic mesh with a finer plastic cloth (I think it was originally a hop filter bag?). This stops the dry-hop-hops getting through, and most of the gelatine finings. Things are usually very clear by bottling time.

[darkonnis]

This is my latest creation that I tested last night. Its a muslin back reshaped into a tube with stainless mesh lining the inside to give it rigidity and maintain the 3D shape, it screws into the T piece easily enough and worked well... for all of a minute before clogging!

[Belter]

Get a Deller style strainer and be done with it

[Martin G]

Sorry it didn't work out this time. What about a coarser filter before the fine muslin?

[darkonnis]

I have a freezer full of pellets I need to use so I don't think that would work Martin, I had considered the same thing myself and for whole hops you're right, it would work a treat but pellets would go straight through =/

Aye, might be time to look at the deller style ones Belter....

Deller, what length brew are you doing these days and whats the most amount of pellets you've had in? Tryign to gauge if I'd need a bigger filter or not is all
Cheers
Cooky

[a-slayer]

I have a freezer full of pellets I need to use so I don't think that would work Martin, I had considered the same thing myself and for whole hops you're right, it would work a treat but pellets would go straight through =/

Aye, might be time to look at the deller style ones Belter....

Deller, what length brew are you doing these days and whats the most amount of pellets you've had in? Tryign to gauge if I'd need a bigger filter or not is all
Cheers
Cooky

I use a mixture of 60% loose leaf and 40% pellets with a rectangular copper manifold (came from hop and grape many years ago) covered in a muslin bag and have no problems with the pellets.

[rossa]

What's the drainage like on it? Slow enough?

[Deller12]

I have a freezer full of pellets I need to use so I don't think that would work Martin, I had considered the same thing myself and for whole hops you're right, it would work a treat but pellets would go straight through =/

Aye, might be time to look at the deller style ones Belter....

Deller, what length brew are you doing these days and whats the most amount of pellets you've had in? Tryign to gauge if I'd need a bigger filter or not is all
Cheers
Cooky

I'm doing 120 pint batches I have only ever used leaf hops.the most I've put in was 250 grms never had a problem with run off .

[Rick_UK]

I got rid of my steel braid one completely and made a large hop bag with a length of voile. It clips to the side of the boiler with a clothes peg and is easy to add later hops. When I run off I clip the hop bag into the neck of the FV (hops still in it!) ans run the wort through this to filter any crap or break material.

Works a treat. Won't be arsing about with filters anymore!

Rick

[a-slayer]

What's the drainage like on it? Slow enough?

No problem what so ever, runs well.

[john luc]

I tend to whirlpool for a bit to get all the small stuff in the middle. I find that with the suction the hops still stick to the filter and in general the surface air of hops seem to grab the hot break. But now I've got a new toy to play with.
https://www.brewershardware.com/FILTER1.html
Photos in a day or 2.

Hi Highlander,I would be interested to hear how you got on with this new filter,it is the sort of design that I was planning and would like to know if it works. I use a 50L keg as a Kettle and have mess around with different ideas,not too successfully. I want to recirculate the hot wort through a counterflow and back to the Kettle until it is cooled enough to transfer to the FV.

[greenxpaddy]

OK, I'm just chipping in here but if you're looking at a filter of any sort that runs around the outside edge of the copper don't bother thinking about whirlpooling. That will get all the solids ie the hops that actually form the filter bed into a nice tidy pile in the centre, well away from your filter/strainer. You may be lucky and be able to whirlpool fast enough that only clear wort reaches the outer - by then - non filtering filter. Most likely outcome is a tonne of shite, hop seeds and crudddddd getting through.

...

If you want to whirlpool, so far i've found that a central or slightly offest centre strainer still works best as all the hops are spun right down onto the top of it.

That is very interesting Steve. I will be doing my first whirlpool today and I would have thought that you wouldn't need the hop bed to filter out if you are getting all the gunk in the middle well away from the filter? Anyhow I'll give it a go and if you are right I will have to find a way for the wort to be moving round the IC without creating a centre bed of gunk. Maybe send it back in straight down the middle.

[darkonnis]

you've installed a whirlpool paddy? what pump are you using to drive that?

[greenxpaddy]

KISS is my fave motto...

The same trusty solar pump that I use for pretty much everything. I find even a gentle movement of wort over time massively increases IC chilling efficiency. I'm not really whirl pooling for clarity just to max chill speed. That said looking at today's results I might be even dumping the IC and just recirculating from the plate chiller. So far we are at 55 mins chill and 130 litres are from 100c to 24c. Thats splitting mains between the two. but i reckon the IC is getting about two thirds of the flow. Not bad though this time of year

[greenxpaddy]

The cooling is quick but the run off stopped as the filter got clogged. Think Steve is right about the cold break needing to be filtered by hops. I like the cooling power of recirculation but will need to think how the feed into the boiler is lined up. I reckon straight down the middle of the boiler so the hops kick out to the sides. Shame every potential solution has a problem attached!