How do I use a Hop Basket?

[-Bezza-]

"There are no stupid questions" and all that, so here goes...

I have recently acquired a Grainfather and decided to get a hop basket at the same time, to avoid any blockages in the interstices. As I'm getting some receipes together to start brewing, a few questions, and potentially dumb ones, have crept into my doubting mind.

1) I assume I'm not mistaken in thinking you can use a hop basket for pellets and it's not just limited to whole leaf hops?

2) Would one normally remove the hop basket before or after chilling? And does that change if you're adding flameout hops?

And always worth asking... are there any best-practice tips I should think about when using?

Thanks as ever!

 

[keat64]

Pellets tend to disintegrate in to mush, so a hop basket would be of no use there.
If it were me, i'd remove the basket before chilling as this is what I do with a hop bag.

The tricky part with a bag is adding flameout hops and the bag is red hot.

 

[rank_frank]

if the mesh of the hop basket is fine enough then you can use one for pellets no problem. In fact that's exactly what I do when using pellets with my Grainfather. I find that I don't need to use it when using whole leaf hops as the built in filter is good enough for them. The only thing is that, as keat64 says, pellets do turn to mush so cleaning the thing afterwards is a pain. Better that than a blocked pump though, which has happened to me twice.

My hop spider is this one https://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.u...p spider&PN=Stainless-Hop-Spider.html#SID=283 So if yours has a similar fine mesh then you should be fine with pellets.

I leave my hop spider in the Grainfather until I've run all the wort out through the chiller.

 

[Mungri]

I bought the Mangrove Jacks hop spider to go with my Grainfather. 800 mic mesh keeps the pellets in for the most part.
I usually take it out after the boil unless I'm using flameout hops. Then I put the chiller on for a bit to get the temp down quickly to 80c, add the flameout hops and leave for
20-25 mins, take the hop spider out and chill as normal. I don't supose it would make any difference leaving it in whilst chilling.
Same as @rank_frank if I'm using any leaf hops I put some straight into the boiler to create a natural filter.
One other thing is to give the hops a stir every now and then to make sure you're getting the max from them.
Cleaning the spider is easy if you have a garden hose. Just turn it upside down and blast water through it and into the grid. Only takes a few minutes.

 

[-Bezza-]

Hop spider, that's the one.

Thanks all and sounds like I'm broadly on the right track. Just need to get a bit hands-on with the Grainfather now and get my head round what it's like to use in practice. I have the Grainfather 800 micron spider - useful to have expectations managed on how well it will perform.

Definitely keen to use some whole leaf hops in the boil in the future. Something wonderfully hippy about the hops forming a "natural filter" when transferring to the FV.

 

[Ghillie]

@-Bezza-,

I had a hop spider but sold it because we never got on...

Using hop pellets, they turn to mush as previously stated and block the fine mesh screen. When I say block, I mean to the point that when you lift the spider out the wort, the wort barely drains from the spider. This tells me that the hops inevitably have poor contact with the beer. I did notice a huge difference when changing from the spider to an old nylon BIAB I had. Maybe I just had a ***** spider with too fine a screen...

If your hop spider is anything like mine; and I were you; I'd keep it unused and send it back. Honestly. But obviously you will make your own mind up about it.

1) Yes but with poor results if using pellet hops.

2) Remove the spider immediately after flameout, if you leave it in during chilling, you'll extract more bitterness rendering your hop addition timings (relative to your desired bitterness) useless. If adding flameout hops: flameout > remove hop spider > dump used hops and give it a quick run under the tap > back in the wort and flameout hops into spider.

 

[Oneflewover]

Tend to agree with Ghillie, I don't really get on with my hop spider. Pellets block it almost entirely and there isn't room for leaf in any quantity in them. Ideally I would just use leaf loose in the kettle and pellet in the fermenter I think. Nylon bag, a large one, is a better bet in my view for pellet in the kettle

 

[chthon]

Isn't 800 micron rather large? That is 0,8 mm, which seems rather coarse. Works probably well for hop flowers. Does anyone have an idea how large hop pellet particles are and how much they swell when absorbing wort?

 

[skulltat280]

I was thinking of using muslin/cheese cloth tied with string for my hops (pellets) but I've no experience with that yet

 

[uDicko]

I was thinking of using muslin/cheese cloth tied with string for my hops (pellets) but I've no experience with that yet

It'll work perfectly fine

 

[-Bezza-]

Too late for sending it back. Will use it and see what happens I guess. I think I have a hop bag knocking around if it all goes wrong.

 

[Mungri]

Too late for sending it back. Will use it and see what happens I guess. I think I have a hop bag knocking around if it all goes wrong.

As long as you give the hops a regular stir, I don't think you'll have a problem.
The first time I used the spider I didn't stir them and ended up with what @Ghillie mentions i.e the wort not draining from the spider.
I've made the same Simcoe & Citra brew with 200g of pellets, once before I got the spider and once after. Can't taste any difference between the two.