The Advantages Of Working With A Hop Spider The fragrant hops flower has been among the four primary ingredients in beer since approximately 822. Originally introduced to beer as a preservative, hops are becoming essential to the flavor profiles of numerous popular beer styles these days. Whether they prefer to work with pellet hops or fresh hops, the overwhelming majority of home brewers will encounter hops and must decide how best to manage the schedule in a selected recipe without harming the beer or making too much of a mess. A hop spider makes adding hops to a batch of home brewed beer easy and effective. Adding Hops Hops are incorporated at different times and for different durations while boiling the wort. A home brew recipe will specify which kind of hops to work with, when to add them, and for just how long. Hops added earlier on in the boil will add bitterness to a beer, while those added at the end of a boil mostly affect aroma. With regards to adding then, hop brewers have various methods. Throwing hops directly into the boil is liked by some. It can be hard to extract them at the correct time when using this technique though it may seem straightforward. Hop bags are another popular technique. These mesh bags make it easier to introduce hops during the specified interval as they work much like a big tea bag. Having said that, they have to often be discarded after just a few uses because they can be hard to clean. What Is a Hop Spider? During brewing a stainless steel spider is used. Hops can be put in the filter and the filter placed in a brew pot during the boil. So that the filter can rest easily on the pot in which a brewer does their boiling, many stainless steel legs extend from the top. The filter got its name because these long skinny legs make the filter resemble a spider. The legs also make it easy to remove the filter from the boil at the proper time. Stainless Steel Benefits It's easy to use stainless steel spiders. Because they are suspended above the water line during a boil, they can be added and taken out of the boil with less chance of injury than other methods. They keep hops contained, allowing for more precise flavors and less trub than direct hopping methods. Because they are crafted from stainless steel, spiders are a whole lot easier to clean than mesh bags. This means they can be reused again and again without risk of cross contamination. They are made with different levels of fine mesh to accommodate pellets and fresh hops, respectively and they are made in a range of sizes to match any brewing set up. A casual home brewer probably won't feel the need to get a hop spider. They aren't generally included in an initial home brew setup and they take up more space than mesh bags. However, as a brewer’s skills grow they may find that this simple piece of equipment is just what they need to make exactly what they want safely, efficiently, and without having to worry about an extended cleanup period afterwards. You really should look at trying this technique if you are a hophead. The difference between achieving the delicate floral and citrus notes that define a well-crafted IPA and creating an oafish, overly bitter brew can be made with this technique. Utah Biodiesel Supply
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The Advantages Of Working With A Hop Spider
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Document Tags: hop spider, stainless hop spider, beer hopper, dry hopper http://www.utahbiodieselsupply.com/
Utah Biodiesel Supply
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