Hop back options

[ziggy13]

Hey everyone, we've got a 7 bbl brewhouse and are looking to add a hop back. I've found a 1 bbl one at GW Kent for $1,500.00. I was wondering if there were any other options available to me? Is 1 bbl a good size for a 7bbl brewhouse? They also offer a 3 bbl version for $3,000.00 but this size seems like overkill for our small 7 bbl brewhouse. Thoughts?

Instead of buying we were also thinking about building one as we have access to a couple of sanitary welders. Has anyone attempted this and do you have any information available to me on what to do or how to do it?

Approximately how many lbs of leaf hops would fit in a 1 bbl hop back? Finally, let's say I purchase the 1 bbl hop back, does it need to be filled completely every time, or could I fill it like 1/2 way or 1/4 of the way filled for a beer where I wasn't looking for as much aroma?

[ziggy13]

So I've been doing a lot of research and it doesn't look like I'm going to find a 1 bbl hop back for less than $1,500.

One of the questions a lot of the companies have been asking me is if I need it pressurized or pressure rated. I am thinking yes, since we'll be pumping from the kettle through the hop back and into the heat exchanger. It seems to me there's going to be some decent pressure building up especially when we've got the pump cranking fast enough to chill a full 7 bbl batch in 20-25 minutes.

I guess my question is when would a hop back NOT need to be pressurized?

[Mike Elliott]

We use open top hop jacks at both our facilities. Wort inlet from kettle just above the screen, outlet below. Works great, no pressure build up, gravity feed from kettle is very gentle. Just cover the screen with water and knock out!

[TiminOz]

I would set up the hop back between the kettle/whirlpool and the HEX with valves do by pass it easily when not in use. You might find it useful to add an inline strainer at the same time. Have it piped to always run through the strainer prior to the HEX with valves to include the hop back in the loop. If you have a decent stainless steel welder it would not be that difficult to fabricate as an non-pressurized vessel. Google hop back designs.

[uptown brothers]

We use open top hop jacks at both our facilities. Wort inlet from kettle just above the screen, outlet below. Works great, no pressure build up, gravity feed from kettle is very gentle. Just cover the screen with water and knock out!

Do you not worry about aerating the hot wort, or has hot side aeration been debunked now by the academics (or in your empiric observations of your beer) as a concern for staling and shelf life? That- HSA-would be the only reason I would want a closed, purge-able, and pressure-rated hop back. I could build an open one from a keg, so it would be nice not to have that worry....

[jbell71464]

We bought a 40 gallon pressure rated hopback from Stout Tanks. We really like it. I wish we would have purchased a 60 gallon. Still works great for hops, but we would then be able to make it into a mini brite tank to carbonate single barrel beers. Most barrels are 52-59 gallons and having a vessel which can carbonate is really handy for us. Right now we carbonate our 40 gallon hop back and one keg. We have also used it for small batch infusions of fruits, honey, etc..

Our 40 gallon was around $1500

[Mike Elliott]

Do you not worry about aerating the hot wort, or has hot side aeration been debunked now by the academics (or in your empiric observations of your beer) as a concern for staling and shelf life? That- HSA-would be the only reason I would want a closed, purge-able, and pressure-rated hop back. I could build an open one from a keg, so it would be nice not to have that worry....

I don't worry about HSA because we take steps to minimize splashing and oxygen exposure. I don't know what the scientists are saying, but we see very good shelf stability.

I think a keg might be a little small. Our 10-bbl system uses a 75-gallon jack to great effect. Our 50-bbl brewhouse has an interim 4-bbl jack that is much too small and will be replaced when the checkbook allows.

I'm interested to hear what others think. Background: we only use whole hops throughout the brewery.

Cheers.

[ziggy13]

I believe we are going to get a 40-50 gallon hop back for our 7bbl system. An operational question: let's say we don't have a way to bypass the hop back, would it be possible to only fill the hop back say half way or even 1/3 of the way full for beers such as our porter, where we are not looking for much if any added hop aroma and character? Of course for IPA's we'd want it as full as possible, but I'm just trying to figure out how it's going to work for those beers where hop aroma is not wanted?

[ziggy13]

We bought a 40 gallon pressure rated hopback from Stout Tanks. We really like it. I wish we would have purchased a 60 gallon. Still works great for hops, but we would then be able to make it into a mini brite tank to carbonate single barrel beers. Most barrels are 52-59 gallons and having a vessel which can carbonate is really handy for us. Right now we carbonate our 40 gallon hop back and one keg. We have also used it for small batch infusions of fruits, honey, etc..

Our 40 gallon was around $1500

What size is your brewhouse?

[ziggy13]

I don't worry about HSA because we take steps to minimize splashing and oxygen exposure. I don't know what the scientists are saying, but we see very good shelf stability.

I think a keg might be a little small. Our 10-bbl system uses a 75-gallon jack to great effect. Our 50-bbl brewhouse has an interim 4-bbl jack that is much too small and will be replaced when the checkbook allows.

I'm interested to hear what others think. Background: we only use whole hops throughout the brewery.

Cheers.

Maybe you should put the 4bbl hop back on your 10bbl system and sell us the 75 gallon hop back for our 7bbl system, and use the money to put towards a larger hop back for your 50bbl brewhouse? Just a thought

[jbell71464]

What size is your brewhouse?

7 BBL Direct Fire.

[Matt Dog]

With the small size of your hop back I dont see why you couldnt just pull it out when you have a beer that doesnt need it? Just bridge the gap with a small length of brewers hose. A manifold to bypass with valves would be nice as mentioned above but for cheap and easy just use some hose.

[TJC]

If you go the non-pressure route I'd look into nano mash tuns. Something like this

http://www.bubbasbarrels.com/kettles/55-gallon-mash-tun

[ziggy13]

With the small size of your hop back I dont see why you couldnt just pull it out when you have a beer that doesnt need it? Just bridge the gap with a small length of brewers hose. A manifold to bypass with valves would be nice as mentioned above but for cheap and easy just use some hose.

Yeah I was considering this option as well. The only reason I was thinking of using it for all brews was for the inline filtration aspect of it, to help filter out anything that may have made it past the whirlpool stage.

[ziggy13]

If you go the non-pressure route I'd look into nano mash tuns. Something like this

http://www.bubbasbarrels.com/kettles/55-gallon-mash-tun

Those look pretty nice. Still not sure if I need pressure rated or not. What are the major pro's and con's of going pressure rated vs. non pressure rated?