We built our own ‘Hop Spider‘ out of stainless mesh last summer, and since it’s worked really well, we yesterday decided to build a new version, that would fit precisely into a Cornelius keg. The idea would be to be able to dry hop directly in the keg with pellet hops, or why not use it to contain oak cubes, coffee beans, cacao nibs, etc. We’ve previously used muslin bags for keg hopping, but they are a hassle to clean and sanitize. Also, they tend to let through some smaller particles. Hopefully this will work better. I’ve also recently made a keg-to-keg jumper, so that beer can be transferred anaerobically to another keg using CO2 (e.g. away from keg hops). I’ve tested it with the recent UJ IPA (which was tasting fantastic by the way), and it worked exactly as intended. Here are some pictures:
Very nice idea, i was looking for simple design and yours is perfect! I have a few questions:
1- Is it a stainless cup that you use at the bottom? If so, do you have a link to purchase it online?
2- Did you use a 300 micron 316 stainless mesh and where did you get it?
3- Did you use a stainless collar to hold both pieces together at the bottom? Thanks a lot!
Jean
Thanks for the comment!
1. The stainless cup at the bottom is just a 1-dl stainless steel measuring cup, purchased from my local supermarket.
2. I’m actually not 100% certain what the mesh size is, but I believe it is around 300 micron yes. My friend got several meters of the mesh for free from his work.
3. No collar, the mesh and the cup are spot-welded together.
Hopefully my answers were at least some help!
Great idea! What did you use to weld the mesh together?
Thanks! We welded it together with a homemade spot welder my friend had built (google ‘diy spot welder’).