Orion from the popular homebrewing site of the same name has come up with a simple and inexpensive solution for the hop back. Here is some of what he had to say about it, along with a link to his original article.
"A hopback is a device that is airtight in which hops are soaked with very hot wort from a brew kettle post boil. This extracts flavor and aroma compounds and prevents them from leaving the wort since it is in a closed airtight system. At the output end of this system is a cooling feature used to reduce the temperature and thereby lessen the escape of the volatile oils from the hops and keep them in the wort.
After much research as to how to create a hopback, I have decided to go with the quart mason jar option instead of using a stainless steel canister from a large store such as "Bed Bath and Beyond". The reason behind this is simple, I have little money to spend on brewing stuff, so a mason jar which was $1.99 beat out a $21.99 set of four stainless steel canisters. I also like the fact that you can look inside it as the hops steep, I dunno, the 7 year old mad scientist in me likes watching his projects unfold..." [Read More]
"A hopback is a device that is airtight in which hops are soaked with very hot wort from a brew kettle post boil. This extracts flavor and aroma compounds and prevents them from leaving the wort since it is in a closed airtight system. At the output end of this system is a cooling feature used to reduce the temperature and thereby lessen the escape of the volatile oils from the hops and keep them in the wort.
After much research as to how to create a hopback, I have decided to go with the quart mason jar option instead of using a stainless steel canister from a large store such as "Bed Bath and Beyond". The reason behind this is simple, I have little money to spend on brewing stuff, so a mason jar which was $1.99 beat out a $21.99 set of four stainless steel canisters. I also like the fact that you can look inside it as the hops steep, I dunno, the 7 year old mad scientist in me likes watching his projects unfold..." [Read More]
