Hop Straining Device Help

I would recommend the large funnels with the built in screens. Works pretty well. Obviously hop bags in the boil, and if you want it to be easier for dry hopping, use about an ounce per bag and they'll come right out.

 

The only bit of info I can offer is that a bazooka tube will clog if you use pellets. Works like a charm with leaf...but pellets will clog it faster than anything.

It should be noted that I do not use a pump...so I don't know what effect increasing the flow rate would have on a bazooka screen's straining ability. I will say that they seem pretty stout...and I can't imagine them collapsing, but again I haven't used it with a pump.

 

Me, too...but I still use 'em.
Oxiclean works wonders on hop oils after turning bags inside out and rinsing.

 

I use a 6x11 filter from utah biodiesel.

http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/brewingfilters.php#6x14hopspider

With a bazooka screen for added insurance I get no hops into the fermenter at all with pellets. I use an immersion chiller and when I put it in the kettle I just put the filter in the middle.

 

Why the hell are these things $50???

I'm considering a needle, thread and a curtain for this project. Everyone who BiAB seems to lean this way. This has to be true of hops too.

 

I use Stainless Brewing's hop spider. With a 20 gallon kettle, the 8 5/8" diameter provides enough room for hop bursting 10 gallons of IPA with leaf hops. I use a plate chiller with a pump and have never had clog. I am very happy with this purchase and would buy again if it ever broke (not that I exect it to). Only downside is that the arms do not "click" into place.

http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/Hop-Spider-with-seam-welds_p_158.html

 

I understand your frustration with the hop bags. I use a paint strainer. When I clean up I give it a good rinse then ring it out and hang up to dry. Once dry you can take outside and shake out what is left.

 

I use a large bag for the hops. It's a pain to clean but not that horrible. After rinsing I soak in pbw for awhile then rinse and hang to dry.

A buddy of mine uses paint strainers once and throws the whole thing away. He says he gets them cheap some where, maybe harbor freight? His claim is it's only 50 cents, so toss it.

 

I'm sure I don't brew with near the capacity or frequency you guys do, but cleaning a hop bag isn't so bad for me. I use a super-fine mesh hop bag, bigger than what I need. I accept that its going to have some stains unless I give it a multi-day soak in some EZ Clean. For my last brew on Saturday I put the whole thing in a salad spinner to spin out as much juice as I could without squeezing it. I just turned it inside-out and sent it down the garbage disposal, then rinsed off as much as I could, then take it outside and give it a good shake. Since it's a synthetic material it doesn't absorb water and the pellet bits just fly off. I also have one of the Utah Biodiesel hop filters but since I've upgraded my kettle it's a little short for a 5 gallon batch.

 

A couple of tips: I use paint strainer bags but never more than 2oz, just add another bag. Some debris gets through, which is tackled by Mr Bazooka... it gets pretty nasty but that's why we have PBW. My experience with Utah diesel filter was not good. For clean up: just bite the bullet, no worse than the mash tun. Oh yeah, hop extract for bittering helps.

 

I use a stainless steel kitchen strainer that fits perfectly into my funnel (maybe it's 10"). It usually get's clogged after about half of the wort has been poured, but this is where my wife comes in handy and she uses my boil spoon to scrape the hops to the side of the strainer, or sometimes to scoop a bunch of them out if I've use a lot of them. Sure, some fine stuff gets thru the strainer into the carboy (and probably some is pushed thru by the spoon), but there's usually only about a cup or so of it, and I siphon off the top of this stuff when I go to bottle.

 

have you tried silk screen? The type used for screen printing?

It is inexpensive and works great for me.

Used in conjunction with my blichmann hop blocker I get close to zero hop particulate in the fermentor; and whatever break material or hop material I do get is allowed to settle and dumped out of my conical prior to oxygenating and pitching.

I make my own silk screen bags for a ho spider, but there are tons of ways to be creative in utilizing the material for your specific needs/methods.

I forget how much it costs as I bought a huge role of it long ago when screen printing shirts for bands I used to play with; ran out of nylon bags one day during a brew and had to get savy with what was around he house and it worked much better than nylon bags, so I just kept using it.

You should be able to find some at a paint shop or hobby shop; or source it online as well.

 

Timely post for me too. I feel like I could have wrote the same thing. I have tried all the same things you have and they have all failed. A bazooka screen is not ideal for an immersion chiller or whirlpooling. Plus it lets a lot of pellet material through, so why bother. I just used paint strainer bags this weekend. Those still let a lot of debris through into the wort. I then tried going through the funnel screen but that clogs almost instantly so you scrape it with a spoon. Took me over 30 minutes to transfer a batch and still a ton of material in the fermentor.

So to recap what does not work: paint strainer bags; hop spider with immersion chiller set-up; bazooka screen with immersion chiller set-up, pellets, and desire to whirlpool; hop taco; large tea balls (tried those too);....what's left? Someone needs to come up with a system that works for pellet hops with an immersion chiller, whirlpool, and a pump...I guess a side pick-up filter that does not clog or inexpensive fine mesh hop sacks that can be disposed of. I'm not up for cleaning those every time either.

 

@jbakajust1 , I've never had a problem with a good whirlpool at flameout with the help of some Irish moss.

 

If devices don't eliminate the waste then change the process.
- Lean / Six Sigma

 

I care and I'll share but I'm not a brew-god.

My point:
Solutions to seemingly intractable problems can come about by simply looking at an existing process from a different perspective. Are there 'constants' getting in the way?

 

Lean is a bunch of BS