Filtering wort from pot to fermenter

What are you guys using to filter the wort during the transfer from the boil pot to the primary fermenter? With big/hoppy beers I'm left with up to a half gallon of trub at the bottom of the fermenter, taking up precious space that could be beer instead.

Since I started using whirlfloc, nothing settles to the bottom of the pot during the cooling process. It does clump together but staying suspended, even after waiting 15-20 mins.
Tried whirlpooling, didn't do anything.
Tried using a paint strainer bag, but it clogged after about 1/2 gallon.
Tried siphoning to avoid the crap in the pot and it just got clogged instantly.

Then I get fed up and pour everything into the fermenter. Did this on my last three batches. I'm only doing 5 gal batches and 2.5 gal boils.

What products are out there to filter the wort during the transfer that won't clog but will catch most of the solids? I know I cant avoid all of the trub, but maybe if I can avoid half I would be happy.

I have run into the same problem. This past weekend I found a kitchen strainer that had super small holes in it. I pour the wort through the strainer into a sanitized bucket then siphon into the fermenter. Or just pour into the fermenter if I'm using one of the bucket types. I found that it strains out way more then trying with the racking cane


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Feeny said:

I have run into the same problem. This past weekend I found a kitchen strainer that had super small holes in it. I pour the wort through the strainer into a sanitized bucket then siphon into the fermenter. Or just pour into the fermenter if I'm using one of the bucket types. I found that it strains out way more then trying with the racking cane


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Click to expand...

This is what I do as well. Except I use a bottling bucket with a spigot and transfer it through a sanitized plastic hose. To get the last little bit below the spigot I pour it into a funnel and into the carboy

If you use a bucket it's easy. Line the bucket with a sanitized grain bag, secure it somehow, dump the wort in and pull the bag out. Cheers.

I just use a big stainless steel kitchen strainer. If I'm using pellet hops it ends up about half full. Whole leaf hops and its almost completely full. Still end up with the finer stuff in the bottom of the fermenter but I don't know that there's much that can be done about that. Maybe someone else will weigh in with some other ideas.

Cheers!

Puddlethumper said:

I just use a big stainless steel kitchen strainer. If I'm using pellet hops it ends up about half full. Whole leaf hops and its almost completely full. Still end up with the finer stuff in the bottom of the fermenter but I don't know that there's much that can be done about that. Maybe someone else will weigh in with some other ideas.

Cheers!

Click to expand...

You have a link to what you're using?

I was thinking something like this might work, but I'm not sure if it's fine enough to catch pellet hop material.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004RDE1/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

petrolSpice said:

You have a link to what you're using?

Click to expand...

I checked Amazon and after several pages didn't see anything exactly like mine. They did have one big one but it had a wooden handle. That may not be a real big deal but I would be concerned about getting the pores in the wood sanitized.

Mine is about 11" in diameter (see pix below) and is really easy to clean and sanitize. I think I got it at a local chain called Smart & Final. There may be a similar restaurant supply chain in your area. I don't think I paid much over 10 bucks for it but can't remember for sure.

I let as much settle as I can and then run the wort through a 5 gallon strainer bag that has been sanitized and lines my fermenting bucket. I usually have to pull the bag out and mush it around to get the last bit of wort out of the spent hops gunk. I know that some people let it settle for like 40 minutes and use their auto siphon to pull wort from the top. That is an option.

I put my hops in a 5 gallon paint strainer bag clipped to the lip of the kettle. As each addition comes up, open the bag, dump them in swirl around to soak them. After the boil I put them in a colander over the pot and squeeze all the wort out.

Then NO straining when transferring to the fermenter.

Thats a good idea. OP could always invest in, or build a hops spider too. That would do the trick.

I use Irish moss now, and have no complaints. I chill my wort down as cold as possible, and let it settle. I have found out the hard way if I don't get the hot break completely boiled off, my wort won't clear no matter what. Anyway, I use three paint strainers stacked on top of each other to filter from the BK to the fermenter. There is always a little "silt" that goes through in the beginning, and the closer to the bottom of the pot I go, the faster the strainers slow passing thru the "flock". I usually get to less than one quart of loss, and if I have time, I lose none at all. I scoop the wort out with a big bowl, as my BK doesn't have a valve yet. When I cold crash the fermenter, I get all but maybe a cup or a cup and a half at bottling time.

I use a strainer that is used mainly for straining oils. I found it on amazon by searching "dudadeisel". It fits perfectly into a 5 gal bucket. I have the 400 micron, but they go down to 40! I think it was like 5-10 bucks



Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Hop spider/bag during boil and then pour through a strainer to catch any leftovers and to help aerate.

I also use the EZ-Strainer filters from dudadiesel, purchased thru amazon.com. I started with a 600 micron one; that one is a bit too coarse, let too much grain trub through (I BIAB w/ a double crush). Then I bought a 100 micron EZ-Strainer. That one is great as I rack the first 80% or so of the clearest wort, it flows with no problem. The last 20% of the wort has some grain trub and I find that I have to scrape the bottom of the filter w/ a sanitized spoon to keep it from clogging and over-filling. But after about 10 minutes the task is done.

I do not have a valve on my 10-gallon boil kettle, and I found out the hard way that trying to just pour the whole lot into my bucket fermenter through the EZ-Strainer resulted in a lot of spillage. Plus I frequently do 8-9 gallon batches (using 2 fermenter buckets), so lifting/pouring 80+ pounds of wort in a kettle is a bit crazy. So I rack the wort until I have about a gallon left, then easily pour the last gallon (which DOES have a lot of grain/break trub). I use a paint strainer bag for hops during the boil so my hop trub is minimal.

So, I highly recommend the EZ-Strainer filters if you are fermenting in buckets. 100 micron seems to be a good size. Note you can stack them (and I have done this, stacked the 600 micron inside the 100 micron) and that is helpful as well. For less than $10 shipped, they are a good deal.

davekippen said:

I know that some people let it settle for like 40 minutes and use their auto siphon to pull wort from the top. That is an option.

Click to expand...

I tried this technique on a batch of common bitters that I brewed last week. It seemed to work pretty well didn't end up with much trub in the fermenter. I'll be anxious to see how the yeast cake/trub layer look when I rack it off in another week or so.

This works great. It has 3 layers. you may have to tap the hops out of it as your going, but that's how you know it's working.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/stainless-steel-strainer-10-1-4-diameter.html

I sanitize a paint strainer bag from HD. The elastic band fits perfectly around the bucket.

My last batch I used my bottling bucket. I lined the bucket with a sanitized fine mesh bag and dumped everything in from my cooled kettle. After removing the bag, I let it sit for 30 minutes or so for everything to settle to the bottom. Then I open the spigot and let it run into my carboy fermenter. This clears up the wort and aerates it in the process.

I use this:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006NWBG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

The arms extend so they can rest on the rim of the bucket or kettle. It is deep so it can hold a lot of hops and break and still let the wort flow through. After cooling, I pour from the kettle through the strainer into the bucket, then dump the strainer. I go back to the kettle through strainer, dump, and then once more from the kettle through the strainer into the bucket. This gets most of the stuff out of the wort and aerates it at the same time. Then I pitch the yeast.

Whirlpool when chilling and siphon it out is one way. Especially useful if using fining agents. If I use a strainer after using whirlfloc, there really isn't a point. It all ends up in the fermenter and then it blows major chunks during fermentation and I lose more beer to trub. Normally, I use a funnel and strainer dump in until it's empty and skip the fining agents and just try to get good hot/cold break and let time settle/clear it up.

I was thinking about making one of these: http://billybrew.com/hop-filter-build
and using it to transfer from my brew kettle to my bottling bucket and then to my carboy. Haven't tried it yet, but I think it would work well, plus it would give me 2 chances to arerate the wort

Most effective way to remove trub is a settling tank. Just pour the wort into a plastic bucket with spigot and wait a half hour. The spigot is typically placed to leave about 0.5 gal behind, which is pretty darn close for many beers. Easy to tilt the bucket to get every last bit of crystal-clear wort and no trub or hops. Simply close the spigot when you see cloudy muck coming out the hose.

Works quite well, but I'm not going to argue it improves the beer. I have no idea.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

I just took a gravity reading on a basic bitter I made last week and found that, at this point, it is the clearest beer I've made to date. I chilled the wort to pitching temp and let it set for 10-15 minutes. Then siphoned the beer off the trub into the fermenter bucket.

I'm thinking this is also why the technique of whirlpooling then draining off through a ball valve in the side of the boil kettle works so well. I think my old kitchen strainer has just been retired!