betacrash

Recipes 

I am on my third batch and I feel like things are getting away from me. I have a couple of questions.

1) My last two batches I have added irish moss the last 15 minutes of the boil. Do I need to filter that out while pouring into the primary fermenter?

2) Also in the last two batches the instructions required that I throw the flavor and aroma hops directly into the pot. Do these also need to be filtered out?

3) When transferring from the primary to the bottling bucket how do you maximize the amount of beer that you transfer? When I just transfered my last batch I missed out on about a half gallon or more since the yeast on the bottom was so thick (about 3 inches) and I had so many floaters from the hops and irish moss.

When transfering from the pot to the primary I tried using a large funnel with a screen but the screen gets clogged instantly. So I used a slotted collandar on top of a small holed collandar. Some irish moss and trub got through. HOW CAN I GET THESE FLOATERS OUT!?!?!?

0202

Recipes 

1 - Irish moss should coagulate with proteins in the pot and help form the break, which you can strain out

2 - I would strain it, but some people leave it all in. It will probably help you with #3 to strain it out.

3 - Move your carboy to where you will rack into the bucket a day ahead of time and let it sit until bottling.
Allow as much sediment to settle as possible. Rack carefully. Leaving beer in primary for 3 weeks helped me
get a very clear beer into my bottling bucket

You can always just swirl the wort around in the brewpot until it whirlpools and let
the sediment collect in a little mountain, then siphon the wort out from the edge
into your fermenter getting less gunk. I had the same funnel problem. You can use
a strainer with smaller holes, and a little patience to catch more gunk.

__________________
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Edcculus

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1 & 2 - No need to strain. It will compact at the bottom of the fermenter. If you are adamant about getting it out, strain it through a sanitized paint strainer into your sanitized bottling bucket. Then transfer to your carboy. This obviously introduces more chances for infection. You can also put the hops in a hop bag if you are worried about them going into the primary.

3- You are going to loose some beer. Thats the nature of the game. Some people purposely brew 5.5 gallons to account for loss due to racking and readings. Obviously, the more you rack, the more you will loose. I think moving the carboy a day ahead of time is a little much. I move it and wait 10-15 min. You want a little yeast in suspension to help carbonate the bottles anyway.

0202

Recipes 

True, it did compact for me, but I like the feeling of not having it in my carboy. I
use a regular handheld kitchen strainer and my carboy is much much cleaner on
the bottom which I can only expect to allow me to get more beer. I don't see any
reason to strain into a bucket then rack to fermenter.

I guess it's a lot of preference, I just like to get it in the fermenter with as little
extra stuff as possible.

__________________
Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the world!
- Kaiser Wilhelm

CBBaron

Recipes 

All of my hops float freely in the pot.
You can just dump the entire load into the fermenter, however that is alot of trub when doing most IPAs or pale ales. What I do is use a large strain bag to line the primary bucket. Once I pour the wort into the bucket I pull out the strain bag and remove the hops matter.

You will loose beer when transferring. If you tip the fermenter and siphon from the low side you will leave considerably less.

Craig

fabe

Recipes 

I have a simple question and didn't want to start a new thread and it fits this topic. I have done 3 batches so far and have found all my questions answered on here by searching. Only question I have right now is-- Does it make a difference if the lid is on the brewpot during the boil. I have left it on but have heard from someone local that you shouldn't leave it on if you don't need to.

zanemoseley

Recipes 

Leave the lid off during the boil however it can be left on while warming water. If you leave it on during the boil it can trap DMS causing off flavors.

Edcculus

Recipes 

Its not as critical with extract as with all grain. In general though, you should leave it off during the boil.

JPicasso

Recipes 

If you want to filter from the kettle to the primary, Home depot or Lowes, has 5 gallon paint strainer bags. Soak in Starsan and put over the opening of your primary Bucket with a bungie cord(s). (if you use a carboy, I dunno) that will help filter out the stuff.

It won't hurt to leave stuff in there. You will have to leave some stuff behind. It helps to let your primary fermentation go at least 3 weeks. It will compact better.

When going to bottle bucket, I start with autosiphon about 1/2 way down,and just follow the water level. I usually suck up a handful of yeast (not a lot) to ensure there will be enough for carbonation. (not sure if it's necessary, but don't fret if you get some in your bottle bucket.)

Brew on