The Arm Plunge Method.

[Inge]

Got a little bit over zealous just then with the pellets and ended up with a blocked hop stopper. No matter what i did, it just wouldn't clear. So, after a thorough iodophor bath, I sent in the hand to undo the stopper.

After a bit of a hassle, I netted 25 litres of break + debris filled beer into the fermenter. At least my efficiency was good, first time I hit over 75%.

I'm praying to the beer gods that this doesn't get infected, so I ask, has anyone ever resorted to these drastic measures before? What was the result?

 

[kram]

Tony's started a new trend.

 

[Inge]

Tony's started a new trend.

It's the coolest.

 

[Bribie G]

Have just moved house and now have a dedicated beer-den single lock up garage all to myself. No water supply to the garage so my methodology is: prepare and sterilise everything in the laundry while the kit, dex, LDME etc are heating up in the stockpot on the stove (next to laundry, very handy). Pour stockpot into fermenter plus 10L of water out of a 10L ex-woolies spring water cube (filled from cold tap in laundry). Cover fermenter and wheel it on a hand trolley round to the garage and lift onto table. Return with a further 10L of cold water in the cube.

Now these Woolies cubes, when you originally open them there is a 'tamper proof' cap that needs to be removed first and chucked. Great, I'll keep that as a cover-seal to prevent anything crawling or flying into cube in between brews.
Mate of mine was helping me last brew and he said "you wheel and I'll follow with the cube+water".

Later I couldn't find the cap to the cube.

Swore under my breath at the mate for next ten days. Guess what was lying at the bottom of the fermenter after bottling!

Brew turned out perfect.

 

[winkle]

Got a little bit over zealous just then with the pellets and ended up with a blocked hop stopper. No matter what i did, it just wouldn't clear. So, after a thorough iodophor bath, I sent in the hand to undo the stopper.

After a bit of a hassle, I netted 25 litres of break + debris filled beer into the fermenter. At least my efficiency was good, first time I hit over 75%.

I'm praying to the beer gods that this doesn't get infected, so I ask, has anyone ever resorted to these drastic measures before? What was the result?

Ask Lobsta - I think his effort is in our case swap :unsure:

 

[devo]

I had a similar thing occur to me some months ago with a weizen that reVox can attest to. The beer itself turned out great but then again the yeast starter was pretty active and any nasties would have to be pretty committed to overthrow WB-06 i pitched.

 

[Inge]

I had a similar thing occur to me some months ago with a weizen that reVox can attest to. The beer itself turned out great but then again the yeast starter was pretty active and any nasties would have to be pretty committed to overthrow WB-06 i pitched.

Yeah, I used a starter so I'm pretty confident all will be fine.

 

[warrenlw63]

blocked hop stopper.

What was the result?

Well you've answered your own question for the next batch. Dump the hop stopper. If you use pellets only a pickup tube is most adequate.

Whirlpool, wait 15-20 minutes. Even longer if you don't no chill.

Run the wort to your fermenter or cubes and all is good. Even if a bit of pellet muck makes it though you'll be fine.

Unless you're using whole hops or plugs most of those stoppers/blockers/braids are just plain risky for pellets. If there's some whole hops or plugs in the equation and they make up a larger percentage than the pellets then your stopper should be fine then too because the whole hops create a filter bed.

Warren -

 

[devo]

Yeah, I used a starter so I'm pretty confident all will be fine.

although I was using whole flowers my problem came from the cones sneaking under the mesh/false bottom screen and plugged the ball valve. I have since adjusted the screen to sit flush with the kettle base.

 

[Inge]

Well you've answered your own question for the next batch. Dump the hop stopper. If you use pellets only a pickup tube is most adequate.

Whirlpool, wait 15-20 minutes. Even longer if you don't no chill.

Run the wort to your fermenter or cubes and all is good. Even if a bit of pellet muck makes it though you'll be fine.

Unless you're using whole hops or plugs most of those stoppers/blockers/braids are just plain risky for pellets. If there's some whole hops or plugs in the equation and they make up a larger percentage than the pellets then your stopper should be fine then too because the whole hops create a filter bed.

Warren -

Exactly right - there were 45g of plugs in the kettle, but it just wasn't enough to filter out the break and pellet crud. Like I said, I got a little overzealous with the pellets, with about 80g all up. I've used the screen with a rough 70g plugs /30g pellets ratio with no problems whatsoever in the past. I will be maintaining this ratio from now on. I recently did an all plug batch and the runoff was fast and clear.

I might pick up a bag of high alpha NZ flowers for bittering rather than use northern brewer pellets. Ideally, I'd like to be able to use about 30g of pellets in any given brew.

 

[vchead]

My then 4 year old was helping Dad brew and had the job of tipping the strained hops liquid from a plastic jug into the wort after everything else had gone in. Left with instructions something like 'Just chuck that in' as I turned to find the yeast, my boy took the instructions literally and threw the hops liquid and the jug into the fermenter. When I returned and couldn't find the jug, I asked him where it was. Before I could react, he plunged his little arm into 23 litres of wort and swished around until he found it, presenting the dripping jug with dripping arm to a somewhat stunned daddy.

With nothing else to do but pitch the yeast and hope for the best, it all turned out fine and amazingly no infection was had. Both father and son agreed to team up again next batch, after a little tutorial on germs and nasties living on little boys arms.

VC

 

[Lobsta]

Ask Lobsta - I think his effort is in our case swap :unsure:

no, it WAS gonna be in the case swap till i tried the arm plunge method. apparantly a good spray of starsan isnt as good as a soak in iodine...

 

[sav]

You not alone,first Ag I done the same thing, braid on my boiler with pellets, live and learn,,no infection ,I remember the day so clear lol.