Hop spider or not?

[DCBC]

I think you will need some kind of prefiltering or separation before that. As a final stage filter it'll work, but don't expect to separate all the pellet and trub out.

Good advice before I try it for the first time. thank you!

 

[DCBC]

My hop spider, which I used once, sits on the defunct shelf with my overflow pipe, top screen and whirlpool arm.
Brewed a Citra Pale Ale without the spider and brewed again with the spider, definitely impedes the hop flavour/aroma.
Throw in loose and they end up stuck in the cone from the whirlpool along with hot break.

How do you dry hop then, Foxy? Chuck em in loose?

 

[Falco]

Interesting thread as I've just bought the Brewzilla all-in-one and it came with the hop spider and just about to start on the first brew. In time I'd like to try it with and without using the same recipe to compare the hop utilisation and taste etc.

I've been using mainly whole hops in my extract brews rather than pellets and using a stainless strainer to pick most of the solids out of the wort as it goes in the FV.

So with an all-in-one system and not using a hop spider, if the pump gets blocked for any reason what's the best way of unblocking it without a major strip down of the unit?

Do whole hops make a better filter when transferring the wort to the FV?

 

[Banbeer]

I use one as well to prevent blockages which happen all the time when I throw in loose. Throughout the boil or hopstand I will stir it up with a stainless spoon, that definitely helps with the hop flavours and aroma.

I also stir mine in the spider throughout the boil

 

[JockyBrewer]

I tried a lot of filtering options, and while it's easy enough to filter out whole hops, pellets are a different beast. These days I don't bother.

Anything less than about 60g of hops in the kettle (end of boil 23 litres) I just throw in loose and then leave to settle for 30 minutes after chilling. More than that or if I'm in a hurry and I tend to use a BIAB sized bag, so the hops are almost free in the liquid.

 

[foxy]

How do you dry hop then, Foxy? Chuck em in loose?

Yes, used to bag them for dry hopping, now just leave them loose in the bottom of the secondary, cold crash to-1 C and the beer clears within a couple of days.

From the kettle.

In the fermentation chamber, with dry hops.

 

[DCBC]

Yes, used to bag them for dry hopping, now just leave them loose in the bottom of the secondary, cold crash to-1 C and the beer clears within a couple of days.

From the kettle.
View attachment 34138

In the fermentation chamber, with dry hops.
View attachment 34139

Very elegant solution. I need to find a way to cold crash now my fermenters have outgrown my fermentation chamber. The simple solution is probably a bigger fermentation chamber!