Aluminium Mesh Sheets at art shop for hop spiders

[Charst]

Was in Eckersleys Art shop today and spotted this. $22 a sheet so not super cheap but could make a nice hop spider. Mesh was quite fine and could get full of shit but thought id post.

 

[Blackened]

The 1.58mm dimension, is that the void size, material thickness, or "rib" width (not sure how to better explain that one sorry). The picture suggests that the void is larger than 1.58mm but I've been wrong many times before lol

 

[Charst]

Don't know which but it looks like its make a nice hop spider.

 

[billygoat]

I bought some stainless steel mesh off Ebay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/STAINLESS-STEEL-MESH-316-APPROX-50-CMS-X-50-CMS-/171069766099?pt=AU_Building_Materials&hash=item27d48d79d3 to make a hop bag/strainer.
Works well but I also have a nylon hop sock I bought from Craftbrewer which I prefer to use, It drains much better and is easier to clean.
Sorry about the link, not sure how to do them.

 

[Logman]

Billygoat - does that thing leave you with less hop gunk in the pot than a hop sock or much the same?

 

[billygoat]

Much the same Logman. It took me a couple of hours to make and if I was doing it again I probably wouldn't bother and would just use the hop sock I bought from Craftbrewer.

 

[Logman]

I've got a hopsock but a decent bit is coming out of it, might be a bit old as it came with the rig I bought. Pretty sure what has leaked out is bittering the beer while it's left to settle. Might just buy a new one next trip to CB.

:icon_cheers:

 

[Blackened]

So, is there a hop pellet solution that doesn't allow any material to escape into the kettle, but that still allows effective isomerisation? I'm thinking a hop back might be on the cards. Both for aroma and to act as a filter?

 

[billygoat]

I've got a hopsock but a decent bit is coming out of it, might be a bit old as it came with the rig I bought. Pretty sure what has leaked out is bittering the beer while it's left to settle. Might just buy a new one next trip to CB.

:icon_cheers:

I don't think you'll find any hop sock that doesn't let any hop gunk through as they need to be open enough to let the boiling wort through so there will always be some slippage. I started using a hop sock when I changed to a plate chiller. When I use flowers I use a different set up as I don't think the hop sock is suitable.

 

[Blackened]

Billygoat, what do you different with flowers?

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Pellets have finer particals than flowers. Flowers tend to have flakes. The first time I used flowers in a brew it bloked up the outlet of my kettle. A PITA trying to unblock. If anything I would use flowers in a sock with larger holes than one used for pellets

 

[billygoat]

Billygoat, what do you different with flowers?

As Ducatiboy Stu said, hop flowers love to block up pick up tubes in kettles.
I use a copper ring with holes drilled in it, instead of a pick up tube. It sits at the bottom of the kettle and I use an immersion chiller instead of my plate chiller. Works very well.

 

[billygoat]

Here it is in use after the kettle has been drained.

 

[Blackened]

As Ducatiboy Stu said, hop flowers love to block up pick up tubes in kettles.
I use a copper ring with holes drilled in it, instead of a pick up tube. It sits at the bottom of the kettle and I use an immersion chiller instead of my plate chiller. Works very well.

Thanks for that dude. My old setup (200L kettle) I used a perforated copper tube and skewered a series of SS scrubbers to help filter, but I only used pellets. I'm dropping down to a 25L setup now, and can't fit my old dealy in there.

I'll definitely keep in mind the need to approach whole flowers differently to pellets. Looks like you've got a bulletproof method there