[ndcube]

I throw the hops directly in.

I siphon wort from the BK to a carboy using a platic screen on my racking cane.

I squeeze out the whole hops into the carboy and let the trub/break settle out before going into the fermentor.

[skyler]

I used something like this recently with my pellet hops (http://www.amazon.com/Jumbo-Stainless-Steel-Infusers-Inches/dp/B00195X59I/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1259725319&sr=8-14), but I just throw the whole hops straight in - and I use a bazooka screen. I don't know how much hop utilization I got from this, though, and wont know for months, as the altbier I did this with will not be consumed for some time.

[tygo]

I've got a kettle screen and I'm thinking of just using one grain bag to progressively dump all of the hop additions in and at the end of the boil and just hold it up or secure it to the side with clothes pins while the kettle drains.  Might have to do a little squeezing to get the wort out but it should keep the screen from getting clogged.

[pjj2ba]

I usually use a plate chiller (pumping wort from boil kettle to chiller to carboy), but I have also tried recirculating the chilled wort back into the boil kettle until the temp in the boil kettle was below 120 or so. Then I would whirlpool, but like I've said, this didn't seem to work well.

This is what I used to do until recently.  I've got a homemade version of the hop stopper that works pretty well, but after 15 min. of recirculating, it starts to get a little plugged.  When I first start recirculating the flow is great.  So I figured, I just need to drain the hot wort quickly out of the boil kettle into a second container.  This would leave the hop debris and hot break behind in the kettle and then I could recirculate without worrying about debris.  I use a modified corny for this purpose.  I took the beer-out post off, removed the poppet, drilled it out a bit and pressed a plastic elbow onto it (needed to use a vise).  I also had a lid with no pressure relief valve on it so I put another fitting there. 

Now I gravity drain from the kettle to the corny via the beer-out post.  I takes about 6 min.  I'm going to replace the dip tube with some tubing of a larger diameter to speed the flow.  Then I take the corny, hook the beer-out to my plate chiller, and the output of my pump to the fitting in the lid.  I seal it up and apply a little bit of CO2 to the gas-in and the wort flows up and out, and down to my plate chiller.  Once it gets to the pump and I turn that on and I can now recirculate to my heart's content.  I put a liquid crystal thermometer strip on the corny so I can monitor the temp.  I keep an tiny bit of CO2 pressure on to compensate for the contraction of the wort as it cools - the system is totally enclosed which also helps to keep out any possible contamination.

This of course can also double as a giant hopback (hops in a large bag), and the next time I do an IPA I'm going to use it to do a hop stand.

Plus, now if I forget to sanitize my fermenter before hand, or my yeast starter hasn't settled enough, etc., I can just let the now cooled wort sit in the corny until everthing else is ready

[rebobbitt]

I usually use a plate chiller (pumping wort from boil kettle to chiller to carboy), but I have also tried recirculating the chilled wort back into the boil kettle until the temp in the boil kettle was below 120 or so. Then I would whirlpool, but like I've said, this didn't seem to work well.

This is what I used to do until recently.  I've got a homemade version of the hop stopper that works pretty well, but after 15 min. of recirculating, it starts to get a little plugged.  When I first start recirculating the flow is great.  So I figured, I just need to drain the hot wort quickly out of the boil kettle into a second container.  This would leave the hop debris and hot break behind in the kettle and then I could recirculate without worrying about debris.  I use a modified corny for this purpose.  I took the beer-out post off, removed the poppet, drilled it out a bit and pressed a plastic elbow onto it (needed to use a vise).  I also had a lid with no pressure relief valve on it so I put another fitting there. 

Now I gravity drain from the kettle to the corny via the beer-out post.  I takes about 6 min.  I'm going to replace the dip tube with some tubing of a larger diameter to speed the flow.  Then I take the corny, hook the beer-out to my plate chiller, and the output of my pump to the fitting in the lid.  I seal it up and apply a little bit of CO2 to the gas-in and the wort flows up and out, and down to my plate chiller.  Once it gets to the pump and I turn that on and I can now recirculate to my heart's content.  I put a liquid crystal thermometer strip on the corny so I can monitor the temp.  I keep an tiny bit of CO2 pressure on to compensate for the contraction of the wort as it cools - the system is totally enclosed which also helps to keep out any possible contamination.

This of course can also double as a giant hopback (hops in a large bag), and the next time I do an IPA I'm going to use it to do a hop stand.

Plus, now if I forget to sanitize my fermenter before hand, or my yeast starter hasn't settled enough, etc., I can just let the now cooled wort sit in the corny until everthing else is ready

Are you saying that trying to drain the boil kettle through the screen and then through the plate chiller took too long?
I have seen the same thing with my system, the last few gallons is when the screen would clog up.

So your new way, do you gravity drain through the screen to the corny, or just use the pick-up tube on the side of the kettle?
Do you try to whirlpool in the boil kettle before you drain into the corny?
Is there any cold-break left in the corny after transferring it to a fermenter?

I might try this using my hot liquor tank instead of a corny (both my boil kettle and hot liquor are 15 gal SS kettles). Do you think if I used a pump, that it would drain faster from the boil kettle?

[pjj2ba]

Are you saying that trying to drain the boil kettle through the screen and then through the plate chiller took too long?
I have seen the same thing with my system, the last few gallons is when the screen would clog up.

Yup, clogging after 15-20 min. of recirculating

So your new way, do you gravity drain through the screen to the corny, or just use the pick-up tube on the side of the kettle?

I use the same homemade hop stopper as before.  It's mesh size is small enough that what might get through won't plug up my plate chiller.

Do you try to whirlpool in the boil kettle before you drain into the corny?

Nope

Is there any cold-break left in the corny after transferring it to a fermenter?

Nope, at least not yet.  Right now it all goes into the fermentor.  I have thought about shortening the dip tube some more and then creating a whirlpool, possibly with a stir plate

I might try this using my hot liquor tank instead of a corny (both my boil kettle and hot liquor are 15 gal SS kettles). Do you think if I used a pump, that it would drain faster from the boil kettle?

I'm sure a pump would speed it up.  I boil outside, but my mashing/chilling station is in the basement, otherwise I'd pump it.  So I might just have to get another pump,

[ambiorix]

I use a stainless steel pot scrubber attached to my auto-siphon with a hose clamp. It works really well, and at $1 for a 2 pack at the Family Dollar store down the street, its a cheap fix.

[euge]

I had a problem with the hop seeds jamming my pump. Coarse mesh hop bags and whole hops made my brew-day a snap. I'll never go back.