Dryhop Filter

[MarkA]

I have only dryhopped a couple of times in the past, due to clogging problems when siphoning and bottling. I have tried leaf hops, covering the end of the siphon tube with a mesh straining bag, and this worked ok but was a bit of a faff and took ages for the beer to flow through. I also tried pellet hops, which again went ok but left the beer cloudy as the siphon disturbed the dissolved hop matter at the bottom of the fermenter.

Bottling day is easier now as I siphon the beer into a secondary fermenter, which I have fitted with a little bottler tap, and bottle straight from there. This has made me re-think dryhopping, and after searching for 'hop filters', I came across these;

The attachment IMG_2769.JPG is no longer available

[MarkA]

They arrived today, and fit in the back of the Little Bottler tap nicely (3/4" BSP)

[MarkA]

I also ordered a new 25mm back nut for the tap, as I assumed the original wouldn't fit with the filter in place (I was right)


So now I will rack off into the secondary, dryhop for a few days, and bottle from there.

It looks good in theory, I guess I'll have to get a brew on now and test it properly

[guypettigrew]

These are the hop filters used in real ale casks in pubs. They are excellent. I use them in my kegs as I often chuck a load of hops in when I drop the beer from the fermenter to the keg.

But, and it's an important but, you need to use them the other way round. With the way it is in your photo the hops will quickly clog the concave filter and you'll get no more beer through. They are designed to present a convex surface to the beer so any hops which pull onto the filter will drop off when the handpump stops pulling beer through.

Turning them round presents some challenges, but it's worth getting it right. I use an additional back nut to hold the filters in place. This may or may not be possible in your set up.

Guy

[MarkA]

Thanks for the advice Guy, that makes perfect sense! I should be able to use the original tap nut to hold the filter in place. Cheers