Back Hop? Hop Back?

[mitch]

Ive had a search. Cant really find out what this is or its meaning. Any assistance appreciated.

 

[An Ankoù]

Do you mean "hop back"?

 

[mitch]

Do you mean "hop back"?

Yes I believe I do. Apologies

 

[An Ankoù]

Yes I believe I do. Apologies

Check out section 5.3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewing

 

[mitch]

Check out section 5.3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewing

too technical for the kitchen work top scale im operating....

 

[An Ankoù]

too technical for the kitchen work top scale im operating....

I don't think many home brewers use a hopback. It's more for the commercial scale. We tend to rely on whirlpool hopping (which I can't help you with) and dry hopping.

 

[smcc]

If you are homebrewing I would say forget it unless money is no issue.

I bought a Blichmann Hop Rocket which I intended to use when transferring from kettle via plate chiller to fermenter. I used it twice and it was such a pain to get the hoses sorted and my pump sometimes wasnt strong enough to get through it all so Its gathering dust now. The brews I did use it were actually really nice but it requires leaf hops and the varieties you can get in full leaf are limited compared with pellets

 

[Northern Brewer]

I just bought a Blichmann hop rocket and a pair of camlocks with 1/2" NPT fittings to go with it. They are expensive, especially when almost everywhere seems out of stock, including the almost identical Aussie Kegland Hop Missile, so no chance of shopping around. The Blichmann has US NPT threads whereas the Kegland is BSP, apart from that, not seeing them side by side I can't see a difference.

I intend to go copper -> pump -> hop rocket -> plater chiller -> FV. I'm using Blichmann Riptide pumps that have a bit of oomph compared to my old solar pumps so I'm hoping it all goes well. I've always used leaf hops, I grow some of my own, so don't find that a limitation. I'm brewing tomorrow but its unlikely to get here for then so I'll be using it on the next brew which should be some kind of new world IPA in 2 to 3 weeks time.

Cheers
Andy

 

[smcc]

I just bought a Blichmann hop rocket and a pair of camlocks with 1/2" NPT fittings to go with it. They are expensive, especially when almost everywhere seems out of stock, including the almost identical Aussie Kegland Hop Missile, so no chance of shopping around. The Blichmann has US NPT threads whereas the Kegland is BSP, apart from that, not seeing them side by side I can't see a difference.

I intend to go copper -> pump -> hop rocket -> plater chiller -> FV. I'm using Blichmann Riptide pumps that have a bit of oomph compared to my old solar pumps so I'm hoping it all goes well. I've always used leaf hops, I grow some of my own, so don't find that a limitation. I'm brewing tomorrow but its unlikely to get here for then so I'll be using it on the next brew which should be some kind of new world IPA in 2 to 3 weeks time.

Cheers
Andy

I did similar and what I found is that out of the hop rocket you lose pressure from the pump just simply due to the nature that its a vacuum chamber filled with hop leaves. I hope your pump is better than mine because I ended up just not doing it anymore

 

[Northern Brewer]

I have two pumps so maybe I will put one either side if I have issues.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

too technical for the kitchen work top scale im operating....

The easiest approach might be a simple hopstand. At the end of the boil, reduce the temperature of the wort to 165F (74C) and drop in a bag of hops, remove it after 30 minutes and chill down the wort to go in your fermenter.

 

[smcc]

I have two pumps so maybe I will put one either side if I have issues.

I would definitely put one out of the hop rocket as you need some pressure into the plate chiller otherwise you will be holding hoses to get some kind of flow

 

[Wynne]

I have two pumps so maybe I will put one either side if I have issues.

I’m planning to try a similar configuration using a Hop Rocket. Please let us know how you get on. If used with wort immediately post-boil the hops in the Hop Rocket will add bitterness as well as flavour/aroma compounds. I’m hoping to retain the volatile flavour/aroma compounds without having to cool the wort for a post-boil hop steep and to save 30minutes or so steep time.

 

[Northern Brewer]

I’m planning to try a similar configuration using a Hop Rocket. Please let us know how you get on. If used with wort immediately post-boil the hops in the Hop Rocket will add bitterness as well as flavour/aroma compounds. I’m hoping to retain the volatile flavour/aroma compounds without having to cool the wort for a post-boil hop steep and to save 30minutes or so steep time.

I have just received a message saying its dispatched, next brew is in approx 2 weeks time so I'll let you know.

 

[mitch]

The easiest approach might be a simple hopstand. At the end of the boil, reduce the temperature of the wort to 165F (74C) and drop in a bag of hops, remove it after 30 minutes and chill down the wort to go in your fermenter.

Is that not just 'dry hopping'...? I did that with a citra clone ive made. In fact just about to rack it.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Is that not just 'dry hopping'...? I did that with a citra clone ive made. In fact just about to rack it.

No. At this stage in the process you have just finished the boil and started to cool the wort but stop cooling at 74C to do the hopstand. At this temperature the wort is no longer boiling off all the essential oils that result in flavour and you’re not adding any more bitterness (well, hardly) but the wort is still hot enough to extract those essential oils from the hops.

Dry hopping is done after/during fermentation at much lower temperatures and is much more about extracting aroma than flavour (you do still get some flavour from dry hopping).

 

[mitch]

No. At this stage in the process you have just finished the boil and started to cool the wort but stop cooling at 74C to do the hopstand. At this temperature the wort is no longer boiling off all the essential oils that result in flavour and you’re not adding any more bitterness (well, hardly) but the wort is still hot enough to extract those essential oils from the hops.

Dry hopping is done after/during fermentation at much lower temperatures and is much more about extracting aroma than flavour (you do still get some flavour from dry hopping).

Brill. Thanks.

 

[Northern Brewer]

I’m planning to try a similar configuration using a Hop Rocket. Please let us know how you get on. If used with wort immediately post-boil the hops in the Hop Rocket will add bitterness as well as flavour/aroma compounds. I’m hoping to retain the volatile flavour/aroma compounds without having to cool the wort for a post-boil hop steep and to save 30minutes or so steep time.

I brewed a bitter today and used the hop rocket. All went well, I put 100g of leaf hops in. I used a blichmann riptide pump before and after the rocket but don't think two were necessary. So it was copper - pump - rocket - pump - plate heat exchanger - FV. I was expecting issues, it took a few seconds to fill the rocket with wort, during that time I feared the worst, but it didn't stall the flow much, I still had to screw the pump controls down quite tight to hit my strike temp of 20c.