# Show Us Your Drained Boiler



## warrenlw63

Okay folks. There have been stupider threads started. Just for a change from What's in the Glass.

Those wonderful pics of MikeM and Bugman's showing us 450g of Saaz flowers in the bottom of the boiler has prompted me.

*Show us your hop flowers and plugs in the drained boiler. No pellet only shots!*

I love those pics!!  

I'll open the topic. Styrian Goldings NZ Flowers and Slovenian Plugs.

Warren -


----------



## tangent

damn! i just threw out a crapload of 2.2saaz sludge!

nice idea Warren


----------



## Adamt

After I figured out that wasn't horse manure I got a horn.


----------



## warrenlw63

More horns. :lol: 

B Saaz & Pacific Hallertau Flowers. 

Warren -


----------



## mikem108

you're a sick man Warren.......but I love it


----------



## tangent

where's the pure stuff Warren, not the adulterated NZ hops!?

can't afford 100% CZ hops?


----------



## warrenlw63

tangent said:


> where's the pure stuff Warren, not the adulterated NZ hops!?
> 
> can't afford 100% CZ hops?



Filling the bottom of a 120 litre boiler with Czech Saaz would send me broke.

Care to sponsor? 

Warren -


----------



## randyrob




----------



## oldbugman

randyrob said:


> View attachment 17227




BOOO pellets are for guinea pigs.


----------



## randyrob

whoops, i ment to pick this one! not deliberately defying warren  

Tassie Nugget Hops!


----------



## oldbugman

randyrob said:


> whoops, i ment to pick this one! not deliberately defying warren
> 
> Tassie Nugget Hops!
> View attachment 17228




Not meaning to ride you rob, but what is that shinny stuff at the bottom of your boiler?


----------



## warrenlw63

OldBugman said:


> Not meaning to ride you rob,



Feel free he is after all "Randy Rob"  

Warren -


----------



## randyrob

whip whip!

hmmm not really sure where your talking about newbigman, show us and i'll have a think about it


----------



## Stuster

I think he means that this part of the wort at the bottom of the kettle looks strangely shiny, randyrob. :huh:


----------



## randyrob

hmmm...was a new pot, my first ag? didnt know what the shirt i was doing but boy i shure like buffing stuff


----------



## oldbugman

I was refering to the hop shortage


----------



## domonsura

tangent said:


> where's the pure stuff Warren, not the adulterated NZ hops!?
> 
> can't afford 100% CZ hops?



what the $%[email protected]#%$%#$%$#% are you talking about?!?!? Adulterated?!?!?!? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........i think I might have to 'unbrainwash' you at some point...........

Doing a brew this weekend hopefully..........maybe an all Hallertau/Green Bullet/Southern Cross lager............Something like 200g of flowers going into it, so I'll post a pic up then ....


----------



## randyrob

OldBugman said:


> I was refering to the hop shortage



hehe... i though hops were for bitttering only back then hence only 35grams. now i use 400g in my hopback alone jeeze it sucks up some wort!


----------



## tangent

fine if you like citrus flavours Domonsura 
some people on AHB find the idea of real citrus in beer very wrong, but use Bsaaz like a mofo!


----------



## domonsura

:lol: What like I did at the brewday?


----------



## Tony

OldBugman said:


> BOOO pellets are for guinea pigs.



No Ute.... No Circlework!


----------



## warrenlw63

Tony said:


> No Ute.... No Circlework!



:lol: Fair analogy.

Or in musical terms. Pellets are the bass and drums. Flowers and Plugs are the Lead guitar and singer.  

This one is 50% pellets and 50% plugs. Don't ask me what type. This beer was a cupboard cleaner and actually contained nine (yep) individual hop varieties.

As long as the real stuff is still physically visible I'll permit the circle work. 

Don't laugh I've got to drink the resultant beer.

Warren -


----------



## technocat

Adamt said:


> After I figured out that wasn't horse manure I got a horn.



Very funny I like it :lol:


----------



## reVoxAHB

Cute thread :wub: 

I built this over the weekend: 





Worked a treat:





I reckon I need to rethink the pickup arm positioning





wrapping it back as close to the valve as poss or just installing the ball directly to the valve coupling itself. That way, I could tip the vessle while still drawing off the outside.. probably left a good 2L behind (in addition to what the hops suck up). 

I've been meaning to ask you guys who are using SS false bottoms and drawing from the bottom/center of vessle, are you not concered with break or trub? Or how are you dealing with it?

Cheers,
reVox


----------



## warrenlw63

Revox

Providing the false bottom is securely fastened no real break or trub gets through. Sits on the top of the bed of spent hop cones.

BTW... Love the money shot! B) 

Warren -


----------



## Peter Wadey

Aww, awright Warren. 

Here's a shot from a 23 litre batch of English IPA I did late last year.




Postmortem on the beer? Should have used the Fuggles when I 1st got them.
Will see if I can manage a pic of the beer sometime soon.

Pete

PS: Oops. No boiler in shot. Figured it was the flowers you were interested in anyway.


----------



## Steve

Bloody good idea Revox - nice one!
Cheers
Steve


----------



## warrenlw63

Peter Wadey said:


> Aww, awright Warren.
> 
> Here's a shot from a 23 litre batch of English IPA I did late last year.
> 
> View attachment 17356
> 
> 
> Postmortem on the beer? Should have used the Fuggles when I 1st got them.
> Will see if I can manage a pic of the beer sometime soon.
> 
> Pete
> 
> PS: Oops. No boiler in shot. Figured it was the flowers you were interested in anyway.



Awwrright!! Pete I'm taking that pic to the dunny. Think you're our current winner.  

Warren -


----------



## SJW

Yep Revox I like that idea mate. Although I just have a bit of copper pipe bent 180 deg and pointing down a bit and it leaves about 1 litres behind. But that looks good.

Steve


----------



## tangent

DrGonzo uses the same setup but made his strainer out of a bit of splatterguard frypan thing. I think the idea is, if it gets clogged he can knock it off the tube.


----------



## devo

NZ green bullets and goldings.


----------



## Simon W

Hmmm, nice one reVox, maybe it could be improved if you remove the bottom half of the strainer, and push the flat part against the kettle floor, draining from the top with a setup like in Tony's pics?

Could get the pick-up right down near the floor with that.

Edit: rough sketch.


----------



## warrenlw63

devo said:


> NZ green bullets and goldings.
> 
> View attachment 17366




:wub: Thought Coburg smelled great the other day. B) 

Warren -


----------



## geoffi

Here's my drained boiler from last weekend's Schwarzbier, with 120g Tettnanger and Hallertauer. (Pic posted on another thread.)

Had a litre or so of wastage with this one. (Pick-up tube got clogged with hops.) It was a 34 litre batch, so I'm not too worried about it.


----------



## devo

Here is another one for you warren. A nice combination of Chinook and Horizon pellets with US Cascade plugs thrown in for good measure.


----------



## reVoxAHB

Simon W said:


> Hmmm, nice one reVox, maybe it could be improved if you remove the bottom half of the strainer, and push the flat part against the kettle floor, draining from the top with a setup like in Tony's pics?
> 
> Could get the pick-up right down near the floor with that.



Hey, thanks all for the nice feedback on the pickup screen. Cheers Simon on the rough sketch/idea. I've been mulling around which way to modify it, and I reckon that's a great idea! I'll snap a few photos after the next mod/brew day.

Thanks Warren for the feedback re: trub/break. 

reVox


----------



## Peter Wadey

warrenlw63 said:


> Awwrright!! Pete I'm taking that pic to the dunny. Think you're our current winner.
> 
> Warren -




I've been cleaning the cupboard too. 
Yesterday's effort - 11 plugs (and 155g of pellets) for 23 litres of English Style IPA.





Hop shortage? What hop shortage? 

Pete


----------



## devo

_"Yesterday's effort - 11 plugs (and 155g of pellets) for 23 litres of English Style IPA."_

JEBUS that's a lot of hops!!


----------



## Kai

Here's tonight's brew. 3 goldings plugs in an english brown ale. Beerbelly hop stopper is hiding somewhere under that mound to the left, the ugly mug with the phone camera is reflected in around 1-200mL of wort.


----------



## Lukes

Had a Southern Cross smelling neighborhood on Saturday Morning.
90 grams in the bottom of the boiler. No false bottom just a big bit of stainless steel wool clamped around tube.
Did no loose much to the hops and the last couple of liters went into a milk container.
Magic hops and will be using these again.


----------



## warrenlw63

Nice choice of hops Luke. :wub: 

Got the recipe handy? 

Warren -


----------



## Lukes

Was going to do a steam but ended on a pale very similar to your Southern Cross cream ale.
I will have to get more hops for the steam  .

1050 FG to cubes.
90 % BB Pale and or Galaxy.
8% flaked corn and rice.
2% table sugar and a very small amount of flaked oats.
Mashed in low for a bit then infused to get it up to the hot end as I did not want it to dry.
Hops to about 25 IBu with 4 editions 45, 15, 5 and big flame out.
Used tank water, Bit of gypsum, 5.2 in the mash and flocc in the kettle.

>> I am going to get a false bottom or hop stoppa going soon for the Kiwi flowers power brews.
The stainless scrubby worked quite well but as I have been told the S/S is not always passivated so If anyone has a go at this make sure you get the right one.

- Luke


----------



## KHB

A bit of a newbie question but i did my first AG last weekend and lost 6 ltr to the bottom of my boiler. Im using pellets at the moment would a setup like revox work with pellets or any of the others?? I would love to decrease my loss to the trub. I am currently using a piece of copper bent at 180 degrees.

Cheers Ben


----------



## newguy

Ben,

If you can drain from the side of the kettle (at the bottom of course), try whirlpooling the wort. Once the heat is off and the wort has stopped visibly rising up from the middle of the kettle (the trub gives away the convection currents), slowly stir the wort for about 2 minutes. Don't splash. Just make sure that you get a good rotation going, then let it sit for 5-10 minutes. When you open your drain, the wort will be crystal clear. If your tap isn't at the bottom, try rigging a tube (copper or SS or whatever) that goes from your tap to the side of the kettle. The whirlpool will form a cone of trub & hop particulates in the center of the kettle. The only thing to watch out for is to make sure that the heat source is off/cool before you start the whirlpool as a still warm stand/burner/element/stovetop will develop convection currents that will destroy the cone.

You can see a picture of my kettle's drain here. Scroll down a bit and you'll see it. I don't have any strainer or anything like that, just the tap.


----------



## Pumpy

this is with pellets seem to remember posting these pics before somewhere :huh: 

pumpy


----------



## KHB

i whirlpooled straight after turning of the heat i will try waiting till its stopped rising in the middle next time. Also i did a vigorus whirlpool for 1min will try a more gentle one for 2min next time too


----------



## devo

just did a German Pilsner (of sorts) today using NZ green bullets for bittering and Hallertau/tettnang plugs for flavour/aroma.


----------



## warrenlw63

Looverly!! :icon_cheers: 

Warren -


----------



## warrenlw63

Stout and Bullets of the green variety. Though they look more like Brussels Sprouts. :icon_drunk: 

Warren -


----------



## Kai

> Wazza's Dargle



Somewhat off-topic but these two words have been stuck in my head for several days now without remembering where they came from. I'm almost glad I've worked it out.

PS couldn't you drain your kettle a little more, waz?


----------



## warrenlw63

Kai said:


> Somewhat off-topic but these two words have been stuck in my head for several days now without remembering where they came from. I'm almost glad I've worked it out.
> 
> PS couldn't you drain your kettle a little more, waz?



Kai, words are stolen from The Pogue's Waxie's Dargle.  

Would have thought it would drain more. Being a 120 litre kettle it looks worse than it actually is. Really only 2-3 litres sitting in the bottom.

Warren -


----------



## Kleiny

Drained boiler from my first AG
Goldings and Fuggles hops


----------



## Steve

:super:


----------



## Doc

Drained kettle from Aidan's Irish Red.
Not a lot of hops in this beer, but it isn't the same if I don't use Styrian Goldings flowers 




Doc


----------



## THE DRUNK ARAB

My kettle after todays Kiwi Brown. Pacific Gem, Southern Cross and Styrian Goldings, all NZ grown.
I will put the recipe up on the what are you brewing thread.

C&B
TDA


----------



## warrenlw63

TDA

Love it! :icon_cheers: 

I'll take a guess and say all those seeds come from the NZ Styrians ?? They had quite a few when I used them previously too.

Warren -


----------



## THE DRUNK ARAB

warrenlw63 said:


> TDA
> 
> Love it! :icon_cheers:
> 
> I'll take a guess and say all those seeds come from the NZ Styrians ?? They had quite a few when I used them previously too.
> 
> Warren -



Too right Warren, gotta say the aroma of the NZ Styrians doesn't pack the same punch the higher alpha NZ hop flowers do. Should be interesting to see how they come out in this brew however.

C&B
TDA


----------



## kook

Heres a 100L kettle after doing a small batch (23L) of Pliny The Elder.





I normally get a uniform cone forming, and am able to drain the kettle much further down. This time with 300g of kettle hops was a bit harder.


----------



## warrenlw63

Just finished making a rice CAP and almost melting in the process... Stinking hot Public Holiday today.  

Green Bullet and Hallertau Hersbrucker. B) 

Warren -


----------



## devo

warrenlw63 said:


> Just finished making a rice CAP and almost melting in the process... Stinking hot Public Holiday today.
> 
> Green Bullet and Hallertau Hersbrucker. B)
> 
> Warren -




cripes warren, you're keen!  It must have been near 45 c plus with the NASA goin?


----------



## warrenlw63

devo said:


> cripes warren, you're keen!  It must have been near 45 c plus with the NASA goin?



Started pretty early Devo (around 7am) but yah with the height of the burner and the heat it cranks out I kinda felt like the boy who stood on the burning deck. :blink: 

Warren -


----------



## THE DRUNK ARAB

warrenlw63 said:


> Just finished making a rice CAP and almost melting in the process... Stinking hot Public Holiday today.
> 
> Green Bullet and Hallertau Hersbrucker. B)
> 
> Warren -



Sounds and looks delish Warren :icon_drunk: !

C&B
TDA


----------



## JoeG

70% galaxy, 30% munich II and a stack of NZ Willamette flowers.

Hidden underneath that lot is one of Domonsura's Hop Stoppers - they go alright!


----------



## jonw

NZ Goldings and B Saaz in a Belgian Wit.


----------



## Doc

Schwarzbier today.
All plugs, and this is the leftover.




Hallertau, and Hallertau Mittlefreuh.

Doc


----------



## Tony

Geez Doc you leave a lot of perfectly good beer in the kettle?

Make a false bottom to hold the hops up and get every drop when using flowers. They even hold up most of the break if you drain slow.

cheers


----------



## Doc

Tony said:


> Geez Doc you leave a lot of perfectly good beer in the kettle?
> 
> Make a false bottom to hold the hops up and get every drop when using flowers. They even hold up most of the break if you drain slow.
> 
> cheers



Both cubes were full, and that was the leftover. Normally I'd collect the last of the wort for yeast starters, but I didn't realise I had no sanitised bottles. 

Doc


----------



## Tony

Ahhhh no worries...... just looked like a lot to leave behind.

I drain every drop, i hate to waste good beer.

cheers mate


----------



## Gerard_M

This is about 10 litres left as we run another test brew of the Whale Ale into a cube.
Pretty nice colour & so clear that you can see a reflection of the camera. 
(No kettle finnings, Whirfloc etc are used around here)
Cheers
Gerard


----------



## oldbugman

no finnings, but lots of baby poo in the bottom there.


----------



## Ross

Gerard_M said:


> (No kettle finnings, Whirfloc etc are used around here)
> Cheers
> Gerard



Out of interest, what's your problem with kettle finings Gerard?

Cheers Ross


----------



## schooey

:huh:


----------



## Tony

i give that 5 minuites and counting :lol:


----------



## Tony

ricoche sounds fades into the distance as the image is cast into outer ciber space :lol: :lol: 

Classic!!!

baby poo in the bottom :lol: 

that was the best laugh ive had all weekend.

thanks cummins 

cheers


----------



## Cummins

haha no worries mate. Seriously, "Show us your drained boiler"? can anything else possibly come to mind???

Time to do another brew I think!


----------



## Gerard_M

Ross said:


> Out of interest, what's your problem with kettle finings Gerard?
> 
> Cheers Ross



Why bother? I have used them in the past, but not for the past 2 years, I can't see much point at the moment. I also don't like filtering beers & will never use that PolyClar stuff. The result in the glass tells me that I am better off without them. I guess it all gets back to the basics, it is not what you put in the beer, it is what you don't put in the beer that really matters!  
Cheers
Gerard


----------



## T.D.

I couldn't agree more with your theory there Gerard. I have made beers with whirfloc that have been like mud, and others without any finings that have come up crystal clear. Funnily enough, the beers that have turned out clear (without help) have been by far the better ones in a technical sense. I'm am of the belief that if you make the beer well in the first place there is no real need for finings - everything seems to have a strange habit of slipping into place...

I wish I could have a screen on my boiler! Unfortunately the bottom is a bit uneven so it'd never sit flat. I used a bazooka screen for a while which worked fairly well. These days I'm using pellets 99% of the time anyway so I gust give it a quick whirlpool and its done!


----------



## Gerard_M

T.D. said:


> I wish I could have a screen on my boiler! Unfortunately the bottom is a bit uneven so it'd never sit flat. I used a bazooka screen for a while which worked fairly well. These days I'm using pellets 99% of the time anyway so I gust give it a quick whirlpool and its done!



TD
I read an article in Zymurgy that told of a small German brewery that used it's Lauter Tun instead of a whirlpool. The hop flowers form a filter bed on the false bottom. I guess empty your tun & give it a quick clean during the boil & away you go. Now I can just hear the "Doomsday crowd" getting ready to pull that apart, but it can't be too hard to do. I only ever use pellets, & have a hop-back sitting hear that never gets a run either so not on my to do list.
Cheers
Gerard


----------



## reVoxAHB

Gerard_M said:


> I read an article in Zymurgy that told of a small German brewery that used it's Lauter Tun instead of a whirlpool. The hop flowers form a filter bed on the false bottom. I guess empty your tun & give it a quick clean during the boil & away you go. Now I can just hear the "Doomsday crowd" getting ready to pull that apart, but it can't be too hard to do.



Oh, no. This is actually referred to as "The Warren" method and has been adopted by many a brewer. No doomsday'ers. Warren talks about it on page 1 of this thread, and elsewhere in the forums. 

reVox


----------



## schooey

Did someone say baby poo?.... :unsure:


----------



## warrenlw63

reVox said:


> Oh, no. This is actually referred to as "The Warren" method and has been adopted by many a brewer. No doomsday'ers. Warren talks about it on page 1 of this thread, and elsewhere in the forums.
> 
> reVox



:lol: I've no right to lay the original claim there reVox... I shamelessly swiped it off an American forum like most other original methods here. h34r: 

The genesis for my idea was from the Sabco kettles.

Warren -


----------



## THE DRUNK ARAB

22 grams of Southern Cross used yesterday in a CAP!

C&B
TDA


----------



## devo

The Stout I did on the weekend using only NZ Southern Cross flowers.


----------



## THE DRUNK ARAB

devo said:


> The Stout I did on the weekend using only NZ Southern Cross flowers.
> 
> View attachment 18472



Red Stout devo? :blink:


----------



## warrenlw63

THE DRUNK ARAB said:


> Red Stout devo? :blink:



I think that's the blood from Devo's knuckles from punching his badly-behaving FB. :lol: 

Warren -


----------



## devo

yes, something like that 

...or a failed to enable the red eye reduction on the camera.


----------



## schooey

60g Williamette and 45g of EKG flowers in 30L of Chocolate Porter. I didn't spill this one... <_<


----------



## Lukes

08 Harvest Ale with 300 odd grams for 50 ltrs
Nugget cones for bittering and backyard Cluster cones for FWH & the late editions.

- Luke


----------



## Prawned

Used flowers for the first time tonight, decided to give Devo's GB ale a crack  







Had a little accided at the start (its hard work brewing alone with a fridge full of piss)


----------



## schooey

Break forming around the chiller coil @ ~23C




.. and filtered perfectly by 180g NS flowers.


----------



## Peter Wadey

Schooey,
Those chiller snap fittings in the boiler are a disaster waiting to happen.

Rgds,
Peter


----------



## devo

One drawback that I have found with using hop flowers is that they tend to hold and retain more wort in the kettle resulting in less wort going into the fermenter/cube.


----------



## schooey

Peter Wadey said:


> Schooey,
> Those chiller snap fittings in the boiler are a disaster waiting to happen.
> 
> Rgds,
> Peter



Yeah Pete, I've had one blow off the outlet side due to the hot water, but I hang them over the side when using it. When I took the pic, it was turned off and I'd moved it a bit.

Eventually when i get my rig built, I will plumb the chiller coil in hard by welding two nipples through the kettle wall, with a QD on the outside.


----------



## Goose




----------



## razz

That's a decent mesh basket there Goose, even has clips on the side. What's it from ?


----------



## pokolbinguy

That mesh basket is a great idea!!!


----------



## Tony

Bulk Buy ?

:super:


----------



## Goose

G'day chaps.

here's a couple of extra pics. Its a s/s basket with perforations pretty much the same diameter as you find in most commercially available false bottoms. It has a lid that clips on, and I suppose that could be useful if you wanted to immerse the whole thing during the boil. But I find it sits nicely on the bottom of the boiler, so that later additions of hops are very easy. Its actually used for commercial soup making..called a "soup basket" accordingly ...

with lid ajar:






with lid on:






and in action (apologies for pic quality, flash unit stuffed...)


----------



## devo

I made a similar but smaller variant out of a billy tin that I picked up from an army disposals and drilled with small holes. I tend to only use it for dry hopping rather than in the boil.


----------



## pokolbinguy

Any idea what they are worth to buy Goose?


----------



## warrenlw63

Pretty nifty in the fact you could remove and press or sparge the remaining liquid from your hops. As devo stated earlier. A fair belt of whole hops can hold a litre or two of yer precious.  

I like it Goose. Can't see it being overly cheap though.

Warren -


----------



## T.D.

Anybody seen these available at catering places? Any idea on price?

I reckon its a great idea!


----------



## Goose

T.D. said:


> Anybody seen these available at catering places? Any idea on price?
> 
> I reckon its a great idea!



Its probably not alot of use, but I picked this up in a catering shop overseas, in Singapore, Temple St to be exact. Cost was very reasonable , around AUD $60 if I recall, and comes in several different sizes as well.

My guess is it would have to be available , as you say from industrial kitchen equipment suppliers or the like.

One thing though, I had to remove the copper suction sube from the boiler spigot to ensure that the basket sat on the base neatly, but I find that if I tilt the boiler while draining to the fermenter, the basket sits against the suction of the spigot and the hops bed seems to do a pretty good natural filtration job.

Goose


----------



## agraham

We dont use hops socks any more?


----------



## Pumpy

agraham said:


> We dont use hops socks any more?


----------



## matti

Got the jumbo bag from Ross.
I Remembered your concern regarding hop utilisation in that small bag pumps.


----------



## lobo

is there much of an issue with utilisation? i have just bought one.

Lobo


----------



## matti

linky
A bit about flower and pellets


----------



## AndrewQLD

Here's mine with 60g pellets, I initially assumed pellets would block the screen but I had no problems with draining the boiler.






Andrew


----------



## Doc

From Fridays brewday. The drained boiler after the latest batch of Aidans Irish Red.

Doc


----------



## reVoxAHB

Wednesday's brew day... 





100g Fuggle flower (NZ)
80g Fuggle pellet
60g Willamette pellet


----------



## THE DRUNK ARAB

Todays brewday.
50 grams of Pacific Gem (17.8%AA)


----------



## RobW

Half a dozen Cascade plugs and 80 grams of Amarillo pellets covering my new kettle screen (a 9 inch false bottom).
Beats the hell out of messing about with a pickup tube.
Should have done it years ago.


----------



## gap

RobW said:


> Half a dozen Cascade plugs and 80 grams of Amarillo pellets covering my new kettle screen (a 9 inch false bottom).
> Beats the hell out of messing about with a pickup tube.
> Should have done it years ago.
> View attachment 21165



Do you use a pump to empty the kettle og is it just gravity?

Regards


Graeme


----------



## RobW

gap said:


> Do you use a pump to empty the kettle og is it just gravity?
> 
> Regards
> 
> 
> Graeme



Just gravity


----------



## Doc

Here is the kettle after transfer to three cubes for my Hoppy Red Summer Arvo BBQ Quaffer Lite Ale.
Sauvin and Cascade flowers with some trub also from Columbus pellets.




Doc


----------



## TidalPete

AndrewQLD said:


> Here's mine with 60g pellets, I initially assumed pellets would block the screen but I had no problems with draining the boiler.
> 
> View attachment 19502
> View attachment 19503
> 
> 
> Andrew



Andrew,

Am looking for an alternative to my current method of draining the kettle through my hop sock which works well but is rather time consuming.
Your method seems to be the best that I have found ATM that will suit my needs. Is that the Termimesh that you posted when we compared Termimesh gauge sizes yonks ago?
A little concerned that my immersion chiller may accidentally flatten my to-be-made copy of yours so I am making up a ss wire frame first. I average about 100g pellets per brew & hope this will do the trick?

TP :beer:


----------



## kram

I use those toast gauze wire thingo's which are much similar to that. They work great, and only $2!


----------



## TidalPete

kram said:


> I use those toast gauze wire thingo's which are much similar to that. They work great, and only $2!



You wouldn't have a pic handy would you kram? 
It works well with pellets I presume?
TP :beer:


----------



## kram

This is what I use to use, but they got clogged heaps because I didn't have a tight enough connection over the copper pipe so hops got in alot.






I remade them this way, using one gauze on each bit of copper folded in half (the above is 2 bits of gauze on each copper). I use alot of pelllets, best results are when I whirlpool and let settle for 5 or so then drain. I use a copper boiler, so these guys sit in the centre of the kettle.


----------



## schooey

150g of EKG in my NSW case swap Wee Heavy, all done in my new small batch kettle.... Loving the Termimesh


----------



## Tony

How does it work compared to the other option you had before mate?


----------



## AndrewQLD

TidalPete said:


> Andrew,
> 
> Am looking for an alternative to my current method of draining the kettle through my hop sock which works well but is rather time consuming.
> Your method seems to be the best that I have found ATM that will suit my needs. Is that the Termimesh that you posted when we compared Termimesh gauge sizes yonks ago?
> A little concerned that my immersion chiller may accidentally flatten my to-be-made copy of yours so I am making up a ss wire frame first. I average about 100g pellets per brew & hope this will do the trick?
> 
> TP :beer:



Same stuff Pete, I have just formed it into a box shape that is riveted at the sides. I've had 200g of plugs in there with no ill effect and 100g pellets so far with no ill effect. It's pretty rigid.

Andrew


----------



## schooey

Tony said:


> How does it work compared to the other option you had before mate?



In my 80L kettle, I have a beerbelly hopscreen. Have only ever been able to get down to about the last 2.5 - 3L, and it still sometimes clogs. This is a new 50L kettle for smaller batches. With the fabricated Termimesh screen, I can drain right down to about 500 mL left in the kettle, and clean as a whistle. I'm lovin' it. I reckon I might trial one in my 80L kettle too since the Termimesh dude that lives up the end of my street is willing to trade for tallies...


----------



## Tony

Sounds the goods. I use a FB in my smaller 50 liter kettle as you have seen, and it holds up pellets no worries. I want something sinilar in my bigger 18 gallon tub but the "grand canyon" base is prohibitive.

I have considered cutting the base out of my shorter fatter style 50 liter kettle and welding it into the base of the 18 gallon keg but then im down one kettle.

So i either need a vb type vessel to chop up of another method of screening hops and break from the chilled wort.

I remember people doing the termimesh square years back. I remember thinking it was a great idea but no idea where to get termimesh.

cheers


----------



## razz

How about two 9 inch falsies back to back or front to front, whichever way you call it, it would form a shell. That may sit in your 18G Tony.


----------



## schooey

If my neighbour is thirsty, I might manage to get you a coupla feet... h34r:


----------



## AndrewQLD

Tony said:


> Sounds the goods. I use a FB in my smaller 50 liter kettle as you have seen, and it holds up pellets no worries. I want something sinilar in my bigger 18 gallon tub but the "grand canyon" base is prohibitive.
> 
> I have considered cutting the base out of my shorter fatter style 50 liter kettle and welding it into the base of the 18 gallon keg but then im down one kettle.
> 
> So i either need a vb type vessel to chop up of another method of screening hops and break from the chilled wort.
> 
> I remember people doing the termimesh square years back. I remember thinking it was a great idea but no idea where to get termimesh.
> 
> cheers



Tony, the termimesh is great, very rigid, close mesh, and you can box it up to a huge surface area if you want. And as I have discovered it handles pellets very well. I've had the one boxed screen in my boiler for years now and it is still as good and solid as when I made it.

Andrew


----------



## MVZOOM

Had to do it. 310g pellets in 80L boiler.


----------



## TidalPete

AndrewQLD said:


> Same stuff Pete, I have just formed it into a box shape that is riveted at the sides. I've had 200g of plugs in there with no ill effect and 100g pellets so far with no ill effect. It's pretty rigid.
> 
> Andrew



Thanks for your reply Andrew & thanks for the pics & explanation kram. :icon_cheers: 

I want to make something similar to what you have both done that will sit in the centre of my kettle & inside the immersion chiller. The only problem I might have is that my Termimesh may be too fine (If you recall Andrew? ---- Pic below) but I'll give it a go anyway.
So you riveted yours Andrew? I wondered what those black spots were.  




TP :beer:


----------



## Tony

Definatly looks like an option.

I have a small concern though.

I have used a small courser SS mesh FB in the 18 gallon keg that sits in the round part in the center of the base and it works well with flowers but cloggs with pellets (small surpace area) and the break thats formed under the mesh gets trapped and temds to burn on the bottom of the kettle where the burner is heating it. This is not a good thing so i have removed this from the kettle now to stop the burning.

Thinking about it, the terminesh square would not trap anything underneath so should be fine

Schooey.......... i will swap you some mesh of a couple of 2"dia foot long 316 ss rollers


----------



## THE DRUNK ARAB

Here are some flowers for a change :lol: !

Yesterdays brew with combination of Pacific Gem, Southern Cross, Green Bullet and NZ Styrian Goldings.

C&B
TDA

Edit: corrupted bloody picture, will repost tonight!


----------



## Jye

Not the best pic but the FB did a perfect job of filtering out 210g of pellets. It even made a loud pop as I was pumping out the last litre of wort into the fermenter, which Im guessing was from the pellets forming such a good seal that the pump caused a vacuum under the FB and then the seal from the hops broke. It was also nearly impossible to scrape the pellets off the FB, I needed to remove the FB and blast them with the hose from the other side.


----------



## Peter Wadey

Jye said:


> Not the best pic but the FB did a perfect job of filtering out 210g of pellets. It even made a loud pop as I was pumping out the last litre of wort into the fermenter, which Im guessing was from the pellets forming such a good seal that the pump caused a vacuum under the FB and then the seal from the hops broke. It was also nearly impossible to scrape the pellets off the FB, I needed to remove the FB and blast them with the hose from the other side.
> 
> View attachment 21669



Hi Jye,
I give my S/S FB (& kettle) a regular clean with warm caustic & a scrubbing brush.
Amazing how much is hidden inside the perforations.

Pete


----------



## white.grant

I really liked the idea of the termimesh filter but the closest I could get was a couple of tea strainers from Woolworths. Total cost $4.26.

I ripped them apart for the mesh and then pop rivetted them together (fabulous idea) leaving space for the pick up tube and then just slipped it over the tube. It held firm though I could easily hold in place with a hose clamp.




Used in anger on the wit I brewed on the weekend, had a light load of halltertau pellets but it kept out the orange peel, coriander and chammomile, so now I'm going to have very clear wit :angry: .  





cheers

grant


----------



## Jye

Peter Wadey said:


> Hi Jye,
> I give my S/S FB (& kettle) a regular clean with warm caustic & a scrubbing brush.
> Amazing how much is hidden inside the perforations.
> 
> Pete



Yep, I will be doing the same but by recirculating PBW through my kettle.


----------



## Tony

Flavor hops at 15 min






Aroma hops at 5 min. Wanted to give them a bit of a boil to try and clear the beer. last one was hazy from the hops.






End of the boil..... just turning on the cooling water at this point. Hop Soup!






Chilled it and the break that usually settles on the bottom settled on the hops......... 2 inched below the surface of 46 liters






Began draining it......... there is still 35 liters left in there at that point!  






25 liters remaiming






I got 45 liters @ 1.068...... was aimimg for 46 liters so very happy. The hops held a liter back/

here are a couple of pics showing the hops in the bottom of the kettle. 6 to 8 inched deep.......... slightly deeper than a Schooner glass! I got bugger all break in the kettle alse. VEry happy with the brew day!

cheers


----------



## Frank

Nice work Tony,
What was the recipe? and, What was your final IBU?


----------



## Tony

Golden Fleece IPA

A ProMash Recipe Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (L): 46.00 Wort Size (L): 46.00
Total Grain (kg): 12.50
Anticipated OG: 1.068 Plato: 16.54
Anticipated EBC: 17.3
Anticipated IBU: 79.0
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin  Potential EBC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
44.0 5.50 kg. IMC Pilsner Australia 1.038 3
40.0 5.00 kg. TF Maris Otter Pale Ale Malt UK 1.037 5
8.0 1.00 kg. Weyermann Munich II Germany 1.038 26
4.0 0.50 kg. TF Pale Crystal UK 1.034 100
4.0 0.50 kg. Weyermann Carared Germany 1.036 48

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
50.00 g. Sothern Cross Whole 15.90 34.3 40 min.
30.00 g. B-Saaz Whole 6.80 5.0 15 min.
30.00 g. Nelson Sauvin Whole 11.90 8.7 15 min.
30.00 g. Pacific Hallertau Whole 6.90 5.1 15 min.
20.00 g. Sothern Cross Whole 15.90 7.8 15 min.
60.00 g. B-Saaz Whole 6.80 4.0 5 min.
60.00 g. Nelson Sauvin Whole 11.90 7.0 5 min.
60.00 g. Pacific Hallertau Whole 6.90 4.1 5 min.
20.00 g. Sothern Cross Whole 15.90 3.1 5 min.


Yeast
-----

US-05


----------



## Jye

Tony said:


> Aroma hops at 5 min. Wanted to give them a bit of a boil to try and clear the beer. last one was hazy from the hops.



Tony Ive got a feeling its still going to have a haze with all those hops... dont fear the hop haze :icon_drool2:


----------



## Tony

Yeah it wont really have a choice will it 

I dont mind hop haze. It adds a character to the beer and the head on the beer is always creamier, dense even!

I could filter it out but i wont......... would steal the beers character in this case i think

Like i said..... noone complained last time i entered it in a case swap. 

cheers


----------



## Lukes

Was probably the only one at home over the weekend brewing.  
Mix of Kiwi Hall, Southern Cross and home grown Cluster for a summer ale.


----------



## Lachlan

This was from Saturday. Summit EPA Clone

Horizon, fuggles and Cascade


----------



## Batz

Double batch of Batz Summer Pilsner






Batz


----------



## afromaiko

Lachlan said:


> This was from Saturday. Summit EPA Clone
> 
> Horizon, fuggles and Cascade
> 
> View attachment 22042



Good to see someone else using a 90 degree elbow too, such a simple solution. I cut my all-thread shorter and the height is just right that I don't need to use any additional tube, just the elbow pointing down and it does the job very well.


----------



## TidalPete

Batz said:


> Double batch of Batz Summer Pilsner
> 
> 
> 
> View attachment 22677
> 
> 
> Batz



Batz,

Any chance of a pic of the ball valve & fittings?

TP :beer:


----------



## Kai

Here's a photo of my kettle drained and refilled... my fridge just went off on a journey to the east. Very useful things, insulated kettles.


----------



## Rob C

Fuggles, EKG and Styrian Goldings.


Cheers
Rob


----------



## Asher

finally got round to taking a pic of my slotted SS manifold....


Makes whirlpooling a breeze

Asher


----------



## THE DRUNK ARAB

Styrian Goldings and Hersbrucker :icon_cheers: 

C&B
TDA


----------



## kabooby

First contribution to this thread

POR and NZ hallertaur from todays Vienna Pils

Kabooby


----------



## barls

heres mine after a double batch of trios pistole clone
its almost 100g of stry goldings flowers.


----------



## Batz

Your kettles are way to clean,don't you guys ever brew?

Batz


----------



## Batz

TidalPete said:


> Batz,
> 
> Any chance of a pic of the ball valve & fittings?
> 
> TP :beer:




Sorry Pete just noticed your post,I take it you know the answer now or perhaps don't need to anymore?
The fittings I used, I may have a few spares if you need them  
Batz


----------



## kabooby

Batz said:


> Your kettles are way to clean,don't you guys ever brew?
> 
> Batz



Not as much as I would like too  Besides, Stainless loves caustic

Kabooby


----------



## RobW

APA. 100g of Cascade and some Horizon pellets atop a ss falsie.


----------



## warrenlw63

RobW said:


> APA. 100g of Cascade and some Horizon pellets atop a ss falsie.
> 
> View attachment 24546



B) Noice! Rob... This also probably means I'm the last one to get my Arse into gear and do my APA. :lol: 

Best I get crackin'

Warren -


----------



## RobW

warrenlw63 said:


> B) Noice! Rob... This also probably means I'm the last one to get my Arse into gear and do my APA. :lol:
> 
> Best I get crackin'
> 
> Warren -



Thought I'd be the last for sure - onyerbike then (but maybe not tomorrow, 43 is a tad warm for brewing!)


----------



## Tony

Made a pale ale a while back with 100% TF MO and used a single 90g pack of NZ Styrian Goldings for bittering and flavour/aroma.

Smelt great.

cheers


----------



## warrenlw63

Tony said:


> Smelt great.



Will taste even better. :wub: 

Warren -


----------



## Tony

If it doesnt get infected.

It tasted ok the other day so i have it at 2.5 deg till i can get to it to bottle .

fingers crossed.

cheers


----------



## Jakechan

Tony said:


> It tasted ok the other day so i have it at 2.5 deg till i can get to it to bottle .



I trust by other day Tony you mean January, not dry old Feb.


----------



## Tony

YEah mate....... January.

Just cause im not drinkin doesnt mean i wont be brewin though.

I have a LCBA clone chilling to be filtered to a keg and carbed up for march 1

Going to put a Wheat beer in when i have my brewing fridge back too.

cheers


----------



## keat

Brewed a Kolsch with about 100g of Hallertauer plugs.


----------



## jayse

Some NZ cascade flowers


----------



## Goose

keat said:


> Brewed a Kolsch with about 100g of Hallertauer plugs.




Hey Keat, what is that strange looking thing in your boil kettle... looks like some kind of hop filter ?
Does it work with pellets ?


Goose


----------



## keat

Goose said:


> Hey Keat, what is that strange looking thing in your boil kettle... looks like some kind of hop filter ?
> Does it work with pellets ?
> 
> Goose



That's a Hop Taco, home made version of the Hop Stopper. Take an oil-splatter screen, fold into half, crimp the sides and mount it onto your pickup tube. Works a treat even with pellets, wort comes out clear. Might help with your clarity issue even :icon_cheers:


----------



## newguy

Friedensfeld Alt[/url].


----------



## chappo1970

Are you using copper NG?


----------



## newguy

Nope, the kettle is aluminum. It has built up a good, tea-like layer of who knows what that I can't get off without abrading the metal. No off flavours from it though as my brews keep collecting medals.


----------



## chappo1970

mmmmmmmm.... brew build up :icon_drool2: 
No doubt about it worth NG, didn't mean to offend :icon_cheers:


----------



## KHB

newguy said:


> Nope, the kettle is aluminum. It has built up a good, tea-like layer of who knows what that I can't get off without abrading the metal. No off flavours from it though as my brews keep collecting medals.



Try boiling a caustic solution should wipe off easy as then. Hit with some citric acid afterwards to get rid of caustic. I do this at work on our alloy pots works a treat.

Cheers

scotsman


----------



## Doc

The drained boiler from Aidans Irish Red a couple of weeks back.
All flowers in this brew.

Doc


----------



## newguy

Chappo said:


> mmmmmmmm.... brew build up :icon_drool2:
> No doubt about it worth NG, didn't mean to offend :icon_cheers:



Absolutely no offence taken!

Thanks Scotsman for the tip to get rid of it. I may try it one day. :beer:


----------



## Batz

newguy said:


> Absolutely no offence taken!
> 
> Thanks Scotsman for the tip to get rid of it. I may try it one day. :beer:




Leave it there NG,best thing for an ally kettle.
Clean sparkly kettle are for Nancy boy brewers  

Batz


----------



## KHB

Batz said:


> Leave it there NG,best thing for an ally kettle.
> Clean sparkly kettle are for Nancy boy brewers
> 
> Batz




Are you calling me a nancy boy brewer batz <_< 

:icon_cheers: 

Scotsman


----------



## drsmurto

60g of home grown chinook flowers. :icon_drool2: 

Decided i should double check the OG so took a 2nd hydro sample.. Yum!






EDIT - fixed link


----------



## eric8

Dr S,
do you tip your kettle up on it's side to get all the wort out?


----------



## drsmurto

eric8 said:


> Dr S,
> do you tip your kettle up on it's side to get all the wort out?



Damn straight! Why leave any of the precious wort in the kettle :icon_drunk: 

when its almost finished draining by itself i wedge a brick under the opposite side to the hop screen. When its almost drained again i lower the kettle even further by hand.

Only go to that extreme when using flowers/plugs. pellets turn to dust so i adjust losses and leave 2L behind


----------



## Doc

What does the boiler look like after transferring, when you have used a shit load of 100% Cocoa powder ?
A chocolate sludge fest.

Doc


----------



## Batz

Doc said:


> What does the boiler look like after transferring, when you have used a shit load of 100% Cocoa powder ?
> A chocolate sludge fest.
> 
> Doc




Reminds me of a curry ,chillies and home brew night we had here once.

Batz


----------



## newguy

Doc said:


> What does the boiler look like after transferring, when you have used a shit load of 100% Cocoa powder ?
> A chocolate sludge fest.



I'm reminded of a colonoscopy video I saw on TV. :blink:


----------



## warrenlw63

Doc said:


> a shit load



Indeed! :icon_vomit: 

Warren -


----------



## T.D.

Cripes Doc, now I know what you were talking about! That's serious stuff. I will definitely be keen to hear how this one turns out. Gotta get through the other 15 cubes first though I suppose!


----------



## The7

here is my last brew, I tried numerous things to filter the trub but two piece of S/S gauze from a camping shop formed around the pick up gave excellent flow. best $3 Ive ever spent!


----------



## warra48

My latest brew from yesterday. 
It's a sort of an English Old or ESB, don't really know or care about the style.

EKG plugs and Styrian pellets.


----------



## hatchor

The first time I ever used my old cheap arsed system it was a great success! No flowers tho, was scared of blockages! Pics of full and empty boiler, using a single element I ratted out of an old kettle, did the job but took around 40 mins to bring wort to the boil...


----------



## schooey

Really loving the Termimesh screen... pellets or flowers, it works really well. I even have a 12" circle of it under my 9" false bottom in my mash tun... I'm getting exceptionally clear wort into the kettle now


----------



## bradsbrew

Must have had a couple too many while brewing yesterday. drained the kettle and had 162g of hops staring back at me.


----------



## Screwtop

bradsbrew said:


> Must have had a couple too many while brewing yesterday. drained the kettle and had 162g of hops staring back at me.




The Green Man!! :lol:


----------



## jiesu

Looks a little like the virgin mary, Sell it!


----------



## kirem

bradsbrew said:


> Must have had a couple too many while brewing yesterday. drained the kettle and had 162g of hops staring back at me.



like reading tea leaves in the bottom of a tea cup


----------



## raven19

3 Hits of Chinook (30 grams home grown x 3 late additions)



Into the brown ale on Sat... :icon_drool2:


----------



## matho

brewed today and used my homegrown POR and cluster (30g of POR and 24g of cluster)




its in the fermenter now and is tasting sooooo good, its only the second time i have brewed with flowers only, with the scrubby in place i drained the kettle completly with all the debris left behind

cheers matho


----------



## sim

matho said:


> brewed today and used my homegrown POR and cluster (30g of POR and 24g of cluster)
> 
> View attachment 47666



am i seeing seeds in there from your homegrown hops matho??


sim


----------



## matho

sim said:


> am i seeing seeds in there from your homegrown hops matho??
> 
> 
> sim


 yeah i saw them too, i put about 10 g of bought POR in there too i think they are for that


----------

