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I’ve tried various methods of adding hops to my boil kettle during the course of the last several years.  When I first started brewing, I was brewing extract beers.  With this process,  I used lots of  hop pellets. With the pellets came the hop bag. Some of the beers required two or three separate hops bags depending on the style and additions.

Soon after switching to all grain brewing I faced a new challenge. I really enjoy using leaf hops for brewing. I also enjoy letting them float in the boil unrestricted.  The problem comes when it is time to transfer the cooled wort into the fermentor.   I don’t want the hop debris making there way into the fermentor.  I found several solutions to work around this issue but I was still faced with lots of loose hops to clean out of my boil kettle at the end of the brew day.

I finally found the answer after reading one of my favorite home brew magazines. It is called the hop spider. For whatever reason(s) you have decided to try the hop spider, you will find this build very simple and inexpensive.  The hop spider allows you to make whatever additions you want to make at whatever time you want to make them. You can do all of this by using only one strainer bag. This is a very simple process. Once the boil is over and its time to remove the hops, You simply remove the hop spider and attached strainer bag. This is incredibly easy to use.

Parts List

- One 4 inch to 3 inch PVC reducing coupling
- One nylon paint staining bag or other hop bag
- Three  1/4″ All Thread” with 6 each 1/4″ x 20 nuts and 3 each 1/4″ wing nuts
- One stainless steel hose clamp that will fit the 3 inch end of the coupling
- Power drill with a 1/4″ drill bit

Start by drilling three 1/4″  evenly spaced holes into the top (4″ side) of the reducer coupling

Thread one of the 1/4″ nuts approximately 1/2″  onto the “all thread”. Repeat this for all three threads.

Place the all thread into the coupling as shown. Thread a 1/4″ x 20 nut onto the all thread on the inside of the coupling to hold the all thread securely in place. Complete this process for all three threads.

You should now have something that looks like the picture above.

Gently place the strainer bag over the outer edges of the coupling. Once in place, secure the strainer by using the stainless steel hose clamp.

The wing nuts are used to keep the hop spider in place. Simply thread the wing nuts onto the all thread until they line up with the edge of your kettle.

You should now have a completed hop spider. Enjoy!

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My new beer brewing stand is getting so close I can almost taste the home brew.

All of the hard plumbing of the gas lines has been completed and tested. The gas valve and pilot light works as expected. After I tightened the pilot light compression fitting the brewing stand seems leak free!

I have completed the based for the top tier and secured it in place.

So… What’s left?  I need to complete the design for the easy dump top tier.  I am developing something a bit different than the tipsy dump. If all goes well, it will function a bit smoother.

I need to mount the pump and also intend on adding a longer propane “in” hose.

The propane banjo burner and propane jet burner have been plumbed. The main vertical tube is assembled using 1/2″ steel black pipe.  The Banjo burner has a 1/4″ ball valve assembled in-line.

This system is designed for 10 (or less) psi propane to enter the main black pipe assembly. From there, the propane will flow to the Banjo Burner and the Jet Burner. The Jet Burner has a 1/2 psi regulator prior to propane entering the gas valve. (Since the gas valve functions at 1/2 psi) The gas valve is part of the automation system.

It’s getting really close to being completed.

A friend of mine wanted me to assemble a temperature control box for his gas valve. He chose the Johnson Control A419 to be the heart of his system. The controller has a digital display with adjustable differential. It can be used to heat or cool and features a wide setpoint temperature range (-30° F to 220° F) and differential adjustment (1° F to 3° F). The temperature sensor is a 1.94 inch thermistor on an 8 foot cable. The purpose of this build is to control the gas valve which fires the burner for the hot liquor tank.

The challenges I faced building this control box was different voltages. The A419 he purchased runs on 120 or 240 volts but the gas valve functions on 24 volts. This means that I needed to power the A419 with 120 volts and power the switched side with 24 volts.

This system was also designed for future additions. The goal was to make any future upgrades as easy to complete as possible. The plan for this box will be to add an additional controller, switches, and LED lights to the front of the panel. The lower portion of the control box will someday house two separate outlets which will run brewing pumps.

This control box consists of the box, a 24 volt transformer, a Johnson Controls A419 120/240 volt controller, two terminal blocks, and wire. Cost of materials is estimated at around $120.

One of the main components of my mash process is the Tri Clover RIMS tube which I purchased from Brewers Hardware. The RIMS tube contains an electric water heater element and temperature sensor.  Liquid wort will be circulated through the RIMS tube. The BCS 460 will turn the heating element on and off based on input from the temperature sensor.

I have now completed the mounting of the RIMS Tube on my new brewing stand. The RIMS tube is mounted vertically using two electrical pipe clamps. Removal of RIMS Tube for cleaning only requires turning two wing nuts.

The water heater element will be mounted at the bottom of the RIMS Tube.

I also completed the brackets for the Hot Liquor Tank gas valve. The burner and gas valve have their own individual brackets to support their weight. The gas valve is protected by a heat and liquid drip shield.

Stay tuned for the results of the gas line and component plumbing.

With summer here, I have not had as much time to work on this brewing stand as I would have like. One thing I realize is that all the custom made brackets are taking up serious time. Thank goodness most are now completed.

As of this update, I have added the pump mount to the stand. The mount includes tapped threads. I have also completed the mounting of the high pressure banjo burner.

The low pressure jet burner has been mounted.  On my old Brutus Ten clone, the jet burner didn’t have any support brackets. They were simply supported by the black gas pipe. On this build, I want to make sure every component is securely fastened.  I will provide more detailed images once the stand goes to paint. This burner will eventually be connected to a propane gas valve. The mounts for the gas valve have been designed but still need to be installed.

It’s time once again for a new build. After all, building for me is as much fun as the brewing of beer. This brew stand has three tiers and is very similar to the Morebeer 1550 or 2050 brew sculptures.The entire stand is crafted out of 1″ x 2″  1/8″ steel. The brew stand features a boil kettle, mash tun, and hot liquor tank.

The mash tun will drain into the boil kettle via gravity. The water from the hot liquor tank is pumped into the mash tun by way of a March brand pump. Once the water is mixed with the grain, the mash will recirculate through a RIMS tube and back into the mash tun.

The boil kettle is heated by a banjo high pressure propane burner. The hot liquor tank is heated by a low pressure propane burner. This burner is controlled by a gas valve.

As with my last brew system, this one will be monitored by the BCS460 brewing controller as well.

This build is in progress. Check back often for more pictures.

How do I connect my BCS-460 wirelessly to the internet? This seems to be one of the more common questions asked about the BCS-460 beer brewing controller.  It can also be one of the more confusing this to do… Until now…

The Universal WIFI Internet Adapter from NETGEAR makes this a simple task. You can plug your BCS460 Ethernet cable directly into the Universal WIFI Internet Adapter and have your BCS460 connect to your home network, wirelessly.  The directions in the box for the Netgear Universal WIFI Internet Adapter were easy to follow and took minimal programming to connect to my home network. I completed mine in less than 5 minutes.

As of 10/2010, I found the NETGEAR Universal Wifi Adapter at Walmart for $59.99.  The package comes with two options for power. You can use the supplied USB Cable connector or the Standard 120v plugin. Velco and an ethernet cable are included.

This stand alone device takes much less room than a concerted router and looks a lot cleaner for installation purposes.

What more could one ask for, a brewery with a view of the Pacific Ocean. Located in beautiful Pacific City, Oregon sits a true “gem” of a brewery. I’m talking about Pelican Pub and Brewery. My wife and I have had an opportunity to visit this brewery twice during the course of  last year while vacationing.

Pelican Pub & Brewery is located in Pacific City at Cape Kiwanda. Cape Kiwanda is part of the three capes scenic route. Kiwanda is the smallest of the three but the best to watch “wave action”. If the scenery isn’t enough to get your palate ready for beer tasting, I don’t know what will.

Pelican Pub & Brewery offers a wide variety of craft beer as well as a complete food menu. They serve breakfast, lunch,  dinner, dessert, and a kids menu.  I can speak highly of the tower of rings, clam chowder, and Mahi-Mahi tacos.  Both visits have provided consistent, quality food at a fair price.

Employees at the Pelican Pub & Brewery are very friendly and knowledgeable.  We were greeted and seated promptly when entering the Brewery with friendly staff. They were attentive to our needs and checked back often. One of the things we were most impressed with was the beer knowledge of the waitress. She knew the beer menu well and was also aware of what beers paired well with various menu items. This was impressive. She  also had a way of suggestion selling without being pushy. This was appreciated.  The worse part of our experience happened when we purchased a 22 oz bottle of IPA to go and left it in our hotel room at checkout. Sad, I know.

Now, for the main story. About the beers….. Pelican Pub & Brewery offers Kiwanda Cream Ale, Mac Pelicans Scottish Style Ale, Indian Pale Ale, Doryman’s Dark Ale, Tsunami Stout, and various other seasonal ales.  Pelican Pub & Brewery has some of the cleanest beers I have tasted.

If I were to pick only one of these beers to be my favorite Pelican flavor, it would be the Kiwanda Cream Ale. Winner of at least 15 various awards, Kiwanda Cream Ale was Inspired by one of America’s traditional 19th century beer styles. Kiwanda Cream Ale is pale gold with a fruity, floral hop aroma. A sweet malty flavor and a smooth dry finish round out this tasty, refreshing brew. This is for sure a “session”  beer.   Look towards the bottom of this article for ingredient list.

If you are a stout fan, be sure to try their Tsunami Stout. It’ll bowl you over with it’s midnight black color and rich dark-roasted aroma. Specially blended hops combine with flaked unmalted barley to give this brew a full body and a dense creamy head. All elements combine in a solid, lingering finish.

You will be pleased with a clean tasting craft beer from Pelican Pub and Brewery.

If you feel you’ve  had a bit too much Pelican Beer to be driving, the Cottages at Cape Kiwanda are located directly across the street. This is an easy walk and these rooms have an amazing view of the ocean and brewery. The picture at right was taken from our room at the Cottages.

Reward yourself with a vacation to Pacific City, Oregon and visit Pelican Pub & Brewery for an experience to remember.

Tsunami Stout Ingrediants -

2-Row Premium Malt Flaked Barley Roasted Barley Black Patent Malt Chocolate Malt

Willamette Hops Magnum Hops Pure Local Water

Kiwanda Cream Ale ingrediants -

Premium Two-Row Malt Flaked Barley Mount Hood Hops

Carapils Malt Pure Local Water Pure Ale Yeast