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Hop Stopper 2.0
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kal
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Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 5:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote


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TTodd wrote:
Thanks for getting back to me Kal. I thought that the 1 gal per minute rate was for during whirlpooling only. I think that I read on a paper that was included with the packaging.

It's any flow through the Hop Stopper. The Hop Stopper can't know if you're returning the wort to the kettle for another pass, or dumping into a fermenter. I'll make sure the manufacturer makes this clear.

Cheers and thanks for the feedback!

Kal

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ihomebrewsolutions




Joined: 09 Apr 2015
Posts: 19
Location: Knoxville, TN


PostLink    Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2019 6:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dennis Collins here from Innovative Homebrew Solutions, manufacturer of the Hop Stopper 2.0 line of products. I hope everyone is enjoying the completely redesigned Hop Stopper 2.0. I put a lot of thought and effort into the design but there has been a good amount of discussion on the issue of recirculation/whirlpooling. I thought it might be a good idea to clear some things up.

High flow rates do pose a problem for the Hop Stopper. High flow rates pull all of the debris to the screen and compact it onto the surface. Lower flow rates, while still drawing debris to the screen still allow flow through the debris and into the screen cavity. The higher the flow, the more compaction takes place and the more flow is restricted. The other issue is negative pressure. With a pump, it is possible to flow wort through the screen much faster than the wort can flow naturally. This can cause a negative pressure inside the screen cavity. If the flow rate on the pump is high enough, the negative pressure can actually collapse the screen. For any system, the recommendation on flow rate through the screen is 1 GPM or less. When draining by gravity, this should not be a problems since a typical gravity flow rate is much less than this. However, when using a pump, it is very easy to exceed 1 gallons per minute (GPM). For this reason, any time you use a pump, meter the flow to achieve 1 GPM or less. Keep in mind that 1 GPM is a fast flow rate, faster than most brewers would use when draining so keeping your flow rate below 1 GPM will not affect your chill time. For example, at 1 GPM a 10 gallon batch would be drained from the kettle in 10 minutes.

In general, I discourage recirculation in all forms. There are basically 3 reasons to recirculate and I'll address them one at a time.

1) Recirculation to Sanitize.
This is a pretty popular practice. I personally don't do this and rely on chemical sanitizers for all my downstream equipment. I would recommend chemical sanitizers instead of hot wort recirculation for a couple of reasons. First, I think it's easier since you don't have to rig lines and do the actual pumping step. Second, I think chemical sanitizers are more reliable. However, I realize that there are other considerations and for brewers who like to do this process, I won't fuss too much about it.

My recommendation if you decide to use recirculation for sanitizing is to go very slow. You are only concerned about heat and flow does not really play into it. As long as the equipment gets hot and stays hot for the prescribed period of time, that is all the matters. Keeping the flow rate very slow assures that we avoid the issues of compaction and negative pressure.

2) Recirculation for Whirlpooling and Hop Stands.
This process does two things but does them both simultaneously so I'll lump them together but address them separately.

Whirpooling in general is something big breweries do and we as homebrewers have copied them when we really don't have to. We have the benefit of our small batches to take advantage of some things that the big boys just can't do. Whirlpooling is used to collect hops and trub in a pile in the center of the kettle so we can siphon clear wort from the sides. That's what the big breweries do. However, since we are using the Hop Stopper, we don't need to do this at all. The screen takes care of the debris so worrying about forming a trub pile is moot. Let the screen do the work. Turn off the burner and drain away.

Hop Stands are built into some modern recipes like NEIPA where you have massive late addition hops. A whirlpool is often used in conjunction with late addition hops. In the experience at Innovative Homebrew Solutions and The Electric Brewery, hop extraction is a function of contact time with hot wort rather than wort movement. The hops are already allowed to float freely in the boil and the natural convection currents after the boil is over. The addition of the whirlpool does not help hop oil extraction on a homebrew scale. In addition, any perceived increase in hop character due to wort movement is actually achieved when the hot wort flows through the hops that collect on the screen surface during the draining step - much like an old fashioned hop back. My recommendation is to rely on a hop steep rather than a whirlpool.

3) Recirculation for Chilling.
This is a very popular practice as well. There are a two scenarios and I'll address them separately.

For immersion chilling, recirculation provides wort movement which definitely speeds the chilling process. It is the movement of wort relative to the chiller that accomplishes this effect. You can do the same thing by gently moving the chiller itself. Modern immersion chillers have become very efficient (but not as efficient as in-line chillers, sorry) and it takes a very short time moving the chiller to chill the wort. However, you do generate cold break in the kettle when you use an immersion chiller. Cold break forms a film on the Hop Stopper screen that can impede wort flow and recirculation only compounds the problem.

For in-line chillers, the recirculation allows chilling with higher ground water temperatures first, then the final chill can be done with a pre-chiller on the high temperature ground water. Since we are homebrewers, we aren't chilling that much wort. A well designed in-line chiller should be able to chill within 5 degrees of your chill water with a flow rate of 2-3 minutes per gallon. A pre-chiller only has to bring your ground water to 60 F or so. My recommendation is to make a single pass with the help of some ice on the pre-chiller. This will save time and effort. In the late fall, winter, and early spring in most of the country, the ground water temps are in a range to allow chilling without a pre-chiller.

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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2019 9:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Black Friday Hop Stopper sale now on!

See: https://shop.theelectricbrewery.com/collections/hop-stopper

Kal

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itsnotrequired




Joined: 15 Sep 2015
Posts: 177
Location: central wi


PostLink    Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2020 2:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

been fiddling with the 2.0 version and i think i finally have it dialed in. my last several batches, i noticed i was leaving a decent amount of liquid behind. and this was for relatively lightly boil hopped beers (4 oz or so in a 10 gal batch). i use a plate chiller and have had decent success recirculating through the plate chiller for 10 seconds near the end of the boil, withing a minute or so and hitting it again for 10 seconds. this is with no water running through the chiller. there is some cooling effect that is likely dropping out proteins and what not but seems minimal.

i was attributing the large amount of remaining liquid to perhaps a buildup of proteins clogging the hopstopper so next batch, i recirculated through a mesh strainer as the liquid flowed back into the top of the boil kettle. there was a little bit of material caught by the strainer but not very much so this didn't seem to be the reason for excess liquid left behind. so at the end of the boil, i started cooling per usual and noticed air bubbles in the hose on the boil kettle exit. i slowed the flow down until this disappeared. took about 15 minutes until a large amount of air was pulled through the boil hose, implying the kettle was empty so i throttled way back.

in the past, the hose would fill back up and i would slowly pump until the liquid level reached the pump inlet, shut the pump outlet valve, let the hse fil back up and repeat. usually did this 5 or 10 times until the hose stopped filling up. i popped the lid and was dismayed to find a decent amount of liquid left in the kettle. but this time, when the hose started pulling air at the end, i couldn't suck anything more out with the stop-fill method. this was an ipa and i had about 9 ounces of hops in this 10 gallon batch. expecting to be disappointing, i popped the lid on the boil kettle and was amazed to see it bone dry!



i believe the slower flow rate resulted in less compaction of all the material and better flow through the hopstopper. i used to go full-tilt and after 10 minutes, due the stop-fill method. this time, took about 15 minutes, didn't have to do stop-fill at all and got everything out that i could.

lesson: go slow! Very Happy
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2020 2:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's nice and dry!

Going full tilt is not recommended as it can compact the Hop Stopper 2.0. The manual and usage instructions recommend keeping flow below 1 GPM (gallon per minute). That's still pretty darned fast as that would chill 10 gallons in in 10 minutes.

This is very timely as yesterday I brewed 10 gallons of Firestone Walker Wookey Jack Black Rye IPA ( https://shop.theelectricbrewery.com/pages/firestone-walker-wookey-jack-black-rye-ipa ) and did a test to see how much wort was left behind. Only got 200ml.

Check out this video and picture: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8FZ9_DnYot/

Kal

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My basement/bar/brewery build 2.0


Last edited by kal on Mon Feb 03, 2020 3:16 pm; edited 1 time in total
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itsnotrequired




Joined: 15 Sep 2015
Posts: 177
Location: central wi


PostLink    Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2020 3:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i used to go 1 gal per minute but now i'm going to stick more with a 0.75 gal/min. i'll report back how future batches go!
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SD Endorf




Joined: 24 Apr 2015
Posts: 88



PostLink    Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 1:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Feeling kinda dumb...
Took the hardware off the tube for cleaning. Can't remember how it goes back together.
I "think" it goes like this. Can you confirm?



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ihomebrewsolutions




Joined: 09 Apr 2015
Posts: 19
Location: Knoxville, TN


PostLink    Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dennis Collins here from Innovative Homebrew Solutions, manufacturer of the Hop Stopper 2.0 line of products. The photo below shows the correct orientation of the compression fitting.


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Home of the Hop Stopper 2.0!
http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/hop-stopper
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SD Endorf




Joined: 24 Apr 2015
Posts: 88



PostLink    Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you Dennis!
Been using this 2.0 version for some time now. It is absolutely the best. Nothing but moist hops left in the BK.
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John Mac




Joined: 18 Apr 2019
Posts: 6
Location: West Chester PA


PostLink    Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2022 2:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Any downside to using a hop stopper with a direct fired kettle? I'm still in the process of converting to electric, aka renting and not able to make the jump!
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2022 2:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

John Mac wrote:
Any downside to using a hop stopper with a direct fired kettle? I'm still in the process of converting to electric, aka renting and not able to make the jump!

Nope! Not at all. In fact, the original Hop Stopper was created/used by people who use direct fire kettles. Well before electric brewing was common place.

Cheers!

Kal

_________________
Our new shop with over 150 new products: shop.TheElectricBrewery.com
We ship worldwide and support our products and customers for life.
Purchasing through our affiliate links helps support our site at no extra cost to you. We thank you!
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Glorwinger




Joined: 10 Dec 2014
Posts: 2



PostLink    Posted: Fri Oct 14, 2022 1:45 pm    Post subject: Hop Stopper dip tube question... Reply with quote

I have a 15 Gallon Bayou classic boil kettle that has a 1/2 inch NPT bulk head that I can either mount male inside (preferred) or female inside.  To install / remove the Hop Stopper I need to insert the dip tube in the Hop Stopper then attach the Dip tube to the bulk head for what I can see.

My question - I would assume to use the 1/2 NPT fitting you provide - The female end on the fitting will rotate to allow me to attach the dip tube while the Hop Stopper lays flat in the kettle or do I tighten and loosen the compression fitting on the dip tube itself?

I’m trying to make sure I have or order the correct parts.
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kal
Forum Administrator



Joined: 12 Dec 2010
Posts: 11116
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Drinking: Pub Ale, Electric Creamsicle, Mild, Pliny the Younger, Belgian Dark Strong, Weizen, Russian Imperial Stout, Black Butte Porter


PostLink    Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2022 12:10 pm    Post subject: Re: Hop Stopper dip tube question... Reply with quote

Glorwinger wrote:
I have a 15 Gallon Bayou classic boil kettle that has a 1/2 inch NPT bulk head that I can either mount male inside (preferred) or female inside.  To install / remove the Hop Stopper I need to insert the dip tube in the Hop Stopper then attach the Dip tube to the bulk head for what I can see.

My question - I would assume to use the 1/2 NPT fitting you provide - The female end on the fitting will rotate to allow me to attach the dip tube while the Hop Stopper lays flat in the kettle or do I tighten and loosen the compression fitting on the dip tube itself?

I’m trying to make sure I have or order the correct parts.

Hi! I've asked the Hop Stopper manufacturer to chime in here as well, but if you like you can see page 6-7 of the manual for a step by step of what you want to do:
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2400/0975/files/Hop_Stopper_2.0_Users_Guide.pdf

Cheers!

Kal

_________________
Our new shop with over 150 new products: shop.TheElectricBrewery.com
We ship worldwide and support our products and customers for life.
Purchasing through our affiliate links helps support our site at no extra cost to you. We thank you!
My basement/bar/brewery build 2.0
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View user's photo album (21 photos)
ihomebrewsolutions




Joined: 09 Apr 2015
Posts: 19
Location: Knoxville, TN


PostLink    Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 3:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dennis Collins here from Innovative Homebrew Solutions, manufacturer of the Hop Stopper 2.0 line of products. If you opt for this Hop Stopper 2.0 model

https://shop.theelectricbrewery.com/collections/hop-stopper/products/hop-stopper-2-0-with-1-2-od-custom-dip-tube-and-1-2-npt-connector-for-misc-kettles-up-to-30-gallons

you should have everything you need. If you have male threads in your kettle, select that option in the drop down box on the order page and enter the vertical height of the port above the bottom of the kettle so I can make the dip tube to the right configuration. There is a detailed discussion of the installation in the User’s Guide

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2400/0975/files/Hop_Stopper_2.0_Users_Guide.pdf

starting on Page 6. If you have any additional questions, please let me know.

Prost!

Dennis Collins
Innovative Homebrew Solutions

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Home of the Hop Stopper 2.0!
http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/hop-stopper
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