hop back as trub filter?

[bndooley]

I noticed in the discussion about whirlpooling some mention of hop backs being used to filter out hot break. How effective is this? Can a hop back be used exclusive of a whirlpool or only in combination?

I'm using locally grown whole hops more or less exclusively, and I'd like to take better advantage of their fitering capabilities.

Thanks for your advice.

Best,

Ben

[Michael Murphy]

if you design your hop back correctly it will make a very clear wort without having to whirlpool, maybe at the first it will be a little cloudy but once it all gets soaked and starts to run well, your wort will be very clear. and the flavor and aroma of the hops will be very present in the beer, but they will be easy to lose if you mishandle the beer at packaging.

[dick murton]

Once you have transferred all your boiled wort and hops into the hop back using a spreader plate and large diameter inlet to reduce flow rate and turbulence (sorry - I can't suggest a flow rate) an thus minimising trub break up, leave to settle for a few minutes and then recirculate over the top of the wort using a spreader plate to distribute it as evenly as possible. By drawing off from teh underside of the hop back plates, you then transfer the bulk of the trub above the plates and hop leaf debris. The hops will filter out most of the trub. After recirculating until clear, then start drawing off the wort through your chiller and into FV. Finally, once the hop bed is visible and drying, sparge with a small amount of hot (say 75 Deg C) water to maximise the wort sugar extraction, until the gravity is down to your permitted minimum or about 4 degrees SG though I think you may be able to go a little lower.

Cheers