Stainless hop spider

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SimoB said:
hey guys, just used the the stainless steel hop spider from Keg King.

35 $ - The construction is fairly flimsy however it does the trick, way better than using the bag. Heaps happy with it.
Pics in action?
 
Im the opposite. I got heaps more trub with the KegKing hop spider than the bags i was using previously.
It coudl have been the ~140g of hops in the boil though. Going to give it a go again for a less hoppy brew.
 
takai said:
Im the opposite. I got heaps more trub with the KegKing hop spider than the bags i was using previously.
It coudl have been the ~140g of hops in the boil though. Going to give it a go again for a less hoppy brew.
I still get trub but that is normally break material and other stuff that happens in the boil, I did about the same amount of hops and I had no Hop material, a lot more effective than the normal sock

dave81 said:
Pics in action?
I'll take a photo and post it up
 
Hi Guys,

Thought I would post my hop spider from keg king (no affiliation)

Kept the majority of the hop in, still had a small amount of hop gather around the filter in the grain father.

Mesh is nice and fine, as SimoB commented, it feels a little delicate, but first brew went fairly well. I needed to clamp it to the side of the GF in first brew, didn't realise before I started the brew how long it was and at 28L in the boil, the lip of the hop spider was below the water level.

Photo%2B21-01-2015%2B18%2B55%2B10.jpg


Modified the hop spider so it sat on the lip of the GF a bit better. For anyone interested, the fold is 40mm down from the original fold.

Photo%2B2-02-2015%2B19%2B05%2B47.jpg


Photo%2B2-02-2015%2B19%2B06%2B05.jpg
 
Can anyone share their experiences with the keg king hop spider after a few boils?

Given the comments about flimsiness I'm a little apprehensive about shelling out for something that isn't going to withstand the rigours of fortnightly brewing :)
 
Well mine has been going for about 12 brews now. No major issues with it. Does tend to get a bit of hop residue caked on, but that is resolvable.
 
Thanks for the quick response, what's your usual method for removing the hop residue? Soak in pbw?
 
Found a use for my plastic hop bag/spider - a filter for when I siphon my wort into the fermenter. And that way the hops can freely move around the wort during the boil as they want to do. Will try it out tonight but I can't see how it could fail! Hopefully this might be the first beer I'm not chewing on bits of hop.
 
I have a keg king spider that I modified to fit the BM and have used it approx 8 times.

It works great with no hop material going into the boil.
I clean it with a hose on the tap and when it gets a bit dirty looking a soak in PBW fixed it.

image.jpg
 
Thanks all. Looks like keg king probably have another customer here...
 
We have sold many with no issues!

I just brought one home tonight for testing, hopefully, Sunday... inspired by seeing Camo's rig pix.
 
Purchased one from Cheeky Peak last week as their postage was much cheaper than KegKing. Amazingly Fastway even delivered it on time!

Used in a brew today both to strain into BK from MT, then as a hop spider with 200g of pellets. Seemed very effective for each of these purposes so I think it was quite a worthwhile purchase.
 
Almost a year on, how are peoples hop spiders going? Mine has clogged up a fair bit and even long soaks and scrubs with PBW isnt getting the residue out. Any other solutions?
 
i've got the same spider as on hoppy days site - didn't get it there, but seems fairly common around the traps

http://www.hoppydaysbrewingsupplies.com.au/product-category/accessories/

have found mine (around $35 from most sources) generally perhaps a bit micron too fine on pellets, and it tends to clog up on wheat brews.

i now see a coarser (and by the look of it, sturdier) spider on the gf site, spider from mangrove jack.
that one is $59nz. only found it last night and now looking around to see if i can get one in oz.

http://www.grainfather.co.nz/#!online-store/c8k/!/Accessories/c/10695014/offset=9&sort=nameAsc

thinking seriously to get one. i may use both - the coarser one for wheat and undecided on barley.
 
butisitart said:
i've got the same spider as on hoppy days site - didn't get it there, but seems fairly common around the traps

http://www.hoppydaysbrewingsupplies.com.au/product-category/accessories/

have found mine (around $35 from most sources) generally perhaps a bit micron too fine on pellets, and it tends to clog up on wheat brews.

i now see a coarser (and by the look of it, sturdier) spider on the gf site, spider from mangrove jack.
that one is $59nz. only found it last night and now looking around to see if i can get one in oz.

http://www.grainfather.co.nz/#!online-store/c8k/!/Accessories/c/10695014/offset=9&sort=nameAsc

thinking seriously to get one. i may use both - the coarser one for wheat and undecided on barley.
FullPint (sponsor here) are getting in the MJ one. Will be keen to try it when it comes in.
 
takai said:
Almost a year on, how are peoples hop spiders going? Mine has clogged up a fair bit and even long soaks and scrubs with PBW isnt getting the residue out. Any other solutions?
we seem to be on the same page. i find the spider a good alternative to socks, free-balling or whatever else in the price range, but it has its shortcomings.
cleaning along the main body strut is a bugger and it all seems a bit pbw resistent.
and i think the micron is a tad too fine - once the hops expand, not much circulation gets in or out of the spider. especially when wheat gum chokes it.

happy?? to a point. would i buy it again?? i'd have to think about it. (that's not a flat no).
could it be better designed?? yep - bigger micron and easier cleaning in corner areas
 
I just blast mine every brew with high pressure garden hose after soaking in nappy San.

I have then occasional used a light gerney pressure blast which seems to clear it.

But I find during the boil I do stir the hops regularly , so a slightly higher micron one will be better.
 
welly2 said:
Found a use for my plastic hop bag/spider - a filter for when I siphon my wort into the fermenter. And that way the hops can freely move around the wort during the boil as they want to do. Will try it out tonight but I can't see how it could fail! Hopefully this might be the first beer I'm not chewing on bits of hop.
How did this go? I've been thinking about trying the same thing. It gets blocked during the boil on hoppier beers and I usually end up chucking my flame out hops in loose to save them being wasted.
 
On my last pale Ale brew day I got a bit hop mad and threw in about 200g of hops and it formed a green plug in my spider and was wondering if anyone has removed the 60min addition before adding late hops? You would loose some IBUs but would allow the late hops to float around.
 

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