Advice please: using hop pellets

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Tomorrow I am planning to do my first brew using pelleted hops (they are NZ ones, so I guess they are easier to transport like that).
My Burco has a smooth base (integrated element) and has a sort of false bottom made out of a SS drum sieve (see DIY false bottom for Burco) about 30cm across:

I also have a small (A5 size?) nylon bag kindly chucked in by CML who supplied the hop pellets.
With leaf hops I normally just chuck them in during the boil and the sieve takes them out nicely; but I’ve heard the pellets tend to go to sludge.

Will the pellets (a) block the sieve; (b) burn on the bottom; or (c) go straight thru the sieve and come out the tap?

The little bag I’ve got seems a bit on the small size for my pellets (120g tot) to properly mix in with the wort, but I was thinking of securing it over the end of the outlet pipe to catch any debris that goes thru the sieve.

Thanks in advance for any advice :-)

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

Will the pellets (a) block the sieve; (b) burn on the bottom; or (c) go straight thru the sieve and come out the tap?

Hi TETB

I have used pellet hops often

The answer to a, b, and c is NO

Can't think of what else to say apart from hope the weather in St Albans is cooling down a bit

Best wishes

OB

 

[cushyno]

Your false bottom will trap most of the pellet debris, those bits that get through won't do much harm. If you recirculate then the hop debris will eventually mostly sit on top of the false bottom.

Don't fret. I always use pellet hops, recirculate and have a kettle style element. No false bottom, no bazooka fitter, nothing. It still works. I filter my wort on exit from the FV, which is an option to you if you find that there too much hop debris when you're finished the boil. Just sanitise the small hop bag and drain your wort through it as you're pouring into the FV.

 

[The Baron]

you will be ok but just as a suggestion get yourself some of those re-usable vegetable bags that are sold at Aldi's etc for 25P they will keep the hops together and are bigger than the free hop bags that CML throw in

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Thanks as always for the words of wisdom, chaps

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I’ll be interested to hear how this goes. I have a suspicion there might be some blockage of the sieve. I use a hop bag for pellet hops because they do block my bazooka if not contained.

No harm in just a little panic!

 

[An Ankoù]

Hop pellets are are pain in the Jackson Brown. But they do store better. I put my first charge in one of those produce bags you can buy in Sainsbury's. There's plenty of space in there for them to circulate. Late charges go in the cut off legs of a pair of big girl's tights (get the girl out first to make room for the hops). The CML sacks are only big enough for dry hopping.
This will contain all of the larger bits of hop dross and you can just lift them out and squeeze them before running off the beer. The finest stuff will still run through and you can either let it settle in a fermenter and then decant off the clear wort, or just pitch and let the first fall of yeast drag it down before racking into secondary. I did the former this time as there was so much dross and I reckon I wasted a good litre and a half of beer. There is a bit of technique that needs to be refined here.
As for whirlpools. Don't talk to me about whirlpools.

Tights work really well. Get the biggest size you can find, neutral colour, and boil them up a few times to get rid of the colour and any ghastly perfume. You can then use them over and over again. Really easy to clean too. Just turn inside out and rinse.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Hop pellets are are pain in the Jackson Brown. But they do store better. I put my first charge in one of those produce bags you can buy in Sainsbury's. There's plenty of space in there for them to circulate. Late charges go in the cut off legs of a pair of big girl's tights (get the girl out first to make room for the hops). The CML sacks are only big enough for dry hopping.
This will contain all of the larger bits of hop dross and you can just lift them out and squeeze them before running off the beer. The finest stuff will still run through and you can either let it settle in a fermenter and then decant off the clear wort, or just pitch and let the first fall of yeast drag it down before racking into secondary. I did the former this time as there was so much dross and I reckon I wasted a good litre and a half of beer. There is a bit of technique that needs to be refined here.
As for whirlpools. Don't talk to me about whirlpools.

Tights work really well. Get the biggest size you can find, neutral colour, and boil them up a few times to get rid of the colour and any ghastly perfume. You can then use them over and over again. Really easy to clean too. Just turn inside out and rinse.

I use the same Sainsbury’s produce bag for pellet hops. I bought a new one yesterday as it happens, shown with a box of eggs for scale.

 

[user 18729]

My advice would be to remove your false bottom if you’re using lots of them. Pellet hops are great if you can get a whirlpool going, either with a pump or by manually stirring. They will collect near the centre of your kettle. Then when you transfer into the FV just stop transferring when the sludge starts being drawn off

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

My advise would be to remove your false bottom if you’re using lots of them. Pellet hops are great if you can get a whirlpool going, either with a pump or by manually stirring. They will collect near the centre of your kettle. Then when you transfer into the FV just stop transferring when the sludge starts being drawn off

Thanks! Hmmm, yes... I imagine I could get a whirlpool going using a pump and a tube running down and around the base - presumably just start that at flame out and let it run for ten mins?

 

[user 18729]

Thanks! Hmmm, yes... I imagine I could get a whirlpool going using a pump and a tube running down and around the base - presumably just start that at flame out and let it run for ten mins?

That would work, ten minutes then leave it to settle for a good five minutes before draining into your FV

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

That would work, ten minutes then leave it to settle for a good five minutes before draining into your FV

Just finished a 42ºc rest (beta glucanase to guard against stuck mash) and currently winding up to 63ºc for some beta amylase action :-)