I’ve used hop bags and I don’t like them (hard to clean, not durable, pain to add hops to). I want something that I can put in the kettle that will enable me to just throw both types of hops right in the kettle and not have to worry about clogging the pump.
I’ve tried a fine screen over the pickup, which works good for whole hops but not for pellets. The Blichmann hop blocker looks like it would be pretty good too, except the description says it can be clogged by lots of pellet hops. I’m thinking a stainless bowl or colander cut to fit over the pickup with a few large holes drilled all around. How have you solved the problem? It should be easy to clean.
I’ll give the two obvious responses: “use hop bags”, or “only use pellets”. I’m looking for another approach.
Google ‘hop spider’. It’s basically a paint strainer suspended over/in the kettle. I built one a year ago. Should cost you under $20 to make. I don’t use it often. Only for beers with large amounts of hops and/or beers I know I’m going to want to rinse the yeast.
Awesome product and reasonably priced. There are also DIY plans elsewhere on the web if you are so inclined.
Edit: forgot to add that in Dec I brewed a batch using both leaf and pellet hops, and it worked nicely.[/quote]
Those look nice. I have a hop spider I built but used a 6 inch SS dessert ring rather than PVC. Makes it much easier to add hops (esp leaf) and no pvc steam water dripping into my wort. Less than $20 to make. You can find aluminum and SS dessert rings at specialty cooking stores.
