'Paug Homebrewers

[roggae]

i know yo uare out there!  anyone use the hopstopper or anything similar?  looking to build one at home...any help appreciated.

will also purchase a used hop stopper or smiliar device.

[ucusty]

http://www.ebrew.com/

[jedifunk]

talk to jeph.... i think he's growing his own hops these days

[jephrey]

Haven't used the hopstopper.

Some prefer to boil the hops loose, others use the little bags.  I boil in a converted keg and have decided to use a false bottom covered with a screen for my next batch just to try.  The "dip tube" holds the false bottom against the bottom of the keg, and also dips all the way to the bottom.  I have used that setup without a screen, with both pellet and whole hops in and out of the bags.  If you can spot the pennies for the bags, I personally think that's the best.  It may cost a dollar more per batch, but it saves in cleanup time.  There's still trub when you're done, but you won't have to scoop at least.  Also, if you don't use a pump and just gravity, you might be asking for trouble as that screen will fill up fast with trub.  I've also just gone with no bags and no false bottom and filtered on the way into the carboy with one of those funnels with a built in (actually, I always use that).  but without taking some trub out in the kettle, that is difficult. 

My opinion.  put the hops in the little hop bags.  Anything that ends up in primary will settle.  Trub won't hurt your beer.  If you want to take out a little more, use a funnel/filter going into the carboy.

And to put your mind at ease...

1.  Putting the hops in the hops bags does not affect their effectiveness (unless you pack them real tight obviously).  Just pack them real loose, they expand.  Even do pellet hops in the bags.

2.  Trub won't affect your beer's flavor (again, unless it's like half the carboy).  Many people (myself included) have used the leftovers from primary (trub and all), and poured our next batch right on top of the old trub to use the yeast.  It works better than a new pack of yeast, and there's no affect on that batch.

what kind of setup do you have?  Here's mine



Here's my bro in the fermentation basement



and here's our final product (Imperial Stout).  I'm glad I saw this thread, I'll have one tonight.

[phatyphil]

my not-at-all-as-professional method is just to boil the hops loose, then pour the wort through a colander on  top of a funnel on its way into the carboy.  not as pretty, but it works.  =)

ps-  rocks

[roggae]

jephry, you are a demi-jedi.  please teach me.

[rowjimmy]

I bag whole hops (my aromatic hops are always whole-hops) but if I use plugs or pellets (prefer plugs to pellets) for the flavoring hops, I'll just chuck 'em in. Flavoring hops need to spend time getting all kinds of mixed up throughout the boil and no bag will contain pellets, anyway.

I use a simple strainer on my funnel as I transfer to the carboy, it takes two for the transfer (one to pour, one to keep the strainer clear) but I haven't invested in a false-bottomed pot with a spigot on it yet.

If i ever get that, I'll probably look into a counterflow chiller to replace my immersion chiller.

[jephrey]

Ah, RJ, try again.  I've found bagging pellets works nicely.  I thought that it wouldn't at first, but I tried it and those things expand a ton.  The CFC works awesome, but I've had great success with the immersion as well.  Since we also use the strainer, it takes two of us to keep it clear also. 

One thing about after your boil might be to give your wort a tiny hot break and wait for the hops to settle.  They're quick to form channels for wort to flow so your screen-cleaning is only at the beginning and end of pulling out your wort.  If you pour, you might actually want to look into siphoning instead. 

Do you guys mash or extract?  Partial/Full boils?  Kegs/bottles?   Saving yeast?  Growing hops?   I'm all out, do all that stuff.  As you can see from the setup, I've put some money and time into it.  It helps to have a brew-mate.

J

ps. roggae, I'll give you my opinion on anything, just ask.  Also, I personally like the Northern Brewer forums.  Look up Denny's Rye IPA.  This is a favorite beer of mine and I'll make it again.  I think there's an extract recipe out there if you do that.  I used a special yeast the first time I did it, and will use it again.  I can look up what I used, but seriously, make this beer.  Forget trying to clone something when you can buy it at the store.

[jephrey]

Just some insight...

I made that mini-brewery with my brother.  It is our second iteration.  In hindsight, there are few things I would change.  I plan to put a slightly larger brewery in my basement when I finish it (20-50 gallons, but 50 gallon stainless drums can be very expensive, the 20-30 gallon pots aren't too bad).  I think I should be able to do it for about $2K.  I'll have to piece it together because that's a lot of dough, but to be able to brew that much indoors is priceless.  I'll gladly share my plans and ideas if you're interested.  I can also help you come up with something that will work with what you have and can afford.  The cool thing is that you can make stellar beer at EVERY level.

J

[roggae]

Just some insight...

I made that mini-brewery with my brother.  It is our second iteration.  In hindsight, there are few things I would change.  I plan to put a slightly larger brewery in my basement when I finish it (20-50 gallons, but 50 gallon stainless drums can be very expensive, the 20-30 gallon pots aren't too bad).  I think I should be able to do it for about $2K.  I'll have to piece it together because that's a lot of dough, but to be able to brew that much indoors is priceless.  I'll gladly share my plans and ideas if you're interested.  I can also help you come up with something that will work with what you have and can afford.  The cool thing is that you can make stellar beer at EVERY level.

J

i will buy your equipment.  also i am strictly all grain.  although extract's are getting more appealing...i'll check out the northern brewer forums!

thanks

[whyweigh5.0]

Im thinking of trying my luck with homebrewing this year.  Any suggestions on equipment that is quality

[roggae]

http://www.northernbrewer.com/starterkits.html

[jephrey]

There's nothing wrong with a good starter kit.  You might even be able to do it for REALLY cheap.  Ferment in buckets.  Then all you'd need are a few small items.  Kits are nice because they usually come with a batch, have all the stuff you need, and cost only a bit more than the ingredients would.

If you want to start full force, it's a matter of how much $ you have to start with.  I can get you going for anywhere between $50 and $5,000 dollars for a home system.  It's just based on how much you want to do yourself.  My setup, over time, has probably run about $1000, but I pieced it together and went through a lot of other beginner stuff that I now use very infrequently, and went in with my bro so it was easy to sport.

Get a brew-mate.  definitely.

J

[roggae]

Get a brew-mate.  definitely.

J

this is essential.  tet is my brewmate.  he knows little, but is coming along well.

[whyweigh5.0]

well this is something that I have a lot of interest in so I intend to stick through with it.  So when I do start I will probably be ready to drop at least a couple hundred into a setup