[cheba420]

Has anyone made and used the hop spider yet? Seems like an awesome way to control hops in the boil and after. I'm gonna make one tomorrow for my brew next weekend.

[denny]

I was on the verge of making one.  I even bought the parts.  But then I started thinking about how I'd get my immersion chiller in the kettle with the spider full of boiling hot, wet hops.

[cheba420]

I was on the verge of making one.  I even bought the parts.  But then I started thinking about how I'd get my immersion chiller in the kettle with the spider full of boiling hot, wet hops.

Ive never done it but couldnt you just put your chiller in at the beginning of the boil and then put the spider bag down inside of the chiller coil and let it ride for the whole boil?

[denny]

Seems like that would work.

[tschmidlin]

full of boiling hot, wet hops.

Thanks for the proper usage Denny

[tomsawyer]

If you don't make it super-long, it would seem simple enough to raise it up and slip the IC in then drop it back in.

I don't think I want to boil the whole time with a chiller in place.  I guess I can't give a logical reason why though.

[cheba420]

If you don't make it super-long, it would seem simple enough to raise it up and slip the IC in then drop it back in.

I don't think I want to boil the whole time with a chiller in place.  I guess I can't give a logical reason why though.

I was thinking the same thing. I've never left the chiller in, but cant think of a reason why it would be bad. Lifting the bag out to slip the chiller in seems easy enough.

[denny]

If you don't make it super-long, it would seem simple enough to raise it up and slip the IC in then drop it back in.

I use bags for whole hops.  I suspend them in the kettle by laying a long spoon across the top of the kettle.  It's a total PITA to lift them out when I need to put my chiller in, but since I use a bag for each addition the weight and mess is distributed.  I just don't think I'd want to lift a large bag with all my hops in it.

[Gribble]

I used to do the same thing Denny, but the true PITA is when you have more hoppings than bags and have to lift a bag out, open it up, and add your hops.

[tumarkin]

I wouldn't have a concern with leaving the immersion chiller in place for the full boil.... as long as the hoses were not connected. wouldn't want to expose them to the heat/steam for that period of time. just be very careful when attaching the hoses after the boil.

[denny]

I used to do the same thing Denny, but the true PITA is when you have more hoppings than bags and have to lift a bag out, open it up, and add your hops.

Which is why I have about a dozen bags!  I'd hate to have to open one up to add more hops.

[cheba420]

I used to do the same thing Denny, but the true PITA is when you have more hoppings than bags and have to lift a bag out, open it up, and add your hops.

Which is why I have about a dozen bags!  I'd hate to have to open one up to add more hops.

I have 4 and I've had to untie a hot knot several times during a boil and it sucks. Looking for a better option and the hop spider seems to fit the bill. I'll post some feedback after its in use!

[krustybb]

I used the hop spider the last batch I did. I really liked it and it really was not that big of a pain to lift it and put the chiller in and set it back in. It does make it pretty much impossible to put the lid on if that is something you want to do.

[narcout]

Wouldn't it be easier to just line the fermentor with a large sanitized paint strainer bag and remove it after you transfer from the boil kettle?

It seems like that would catch any hop material you aren't able to leave behind via whirlpooling. 

[brewmichigan]

Wouldn't it be easier to just line the fermentor with a large sanitized paint strainer bag and remove it after you transfer from the boil kettle?

It seems like that would catch any hop material you aren't able to leave behind via whirlpooling. 

This would work except I wouldn't want to take a chance on my pickup tube clogging with all the whole hops.