Filtering from boil to primary with paint bags.

Having trouble seperating trub from primary. I've read through some forums about people using paint straining bags to boil hops in with mixed reviews of hop utilization. I was wondering about just boiling as normal, putting the bag into the fermenter after the wort has cooled & pouring all of it in with the trub, then slowly lifting it out of the bucket to get all of the gunk out of the primary. This way the boil gets a full hop utilization & I get a high yield of clean finished beer. Also, I know I will lose some liquid so should I top off to 5 gallons after filtering out all of that garbage? Any thoughts?

I've heard of people doing this with success. I've long since found other ways of leaving the 'gunk' in the pot (whirlpool). But, when I first started I tried several different ways to filter out my wort pre-fermenter. From paint bags to colanders, none of them were really successful for me and usually ended up making a big mess on the kitchen floor. Course, I was working by myself then. Maybe with an extra pair of hands you'll have a happy ending. Just my 2 cents... Oh, and welcome to the forum!

Hammy71 said:

I've heard of people doing this with success. I've long since found other ways of leaving the 'gunk' in the pot (whirlpool). But, when I first started I tried several different ways to filter out my wort pre-fermenter. From paint bags to colanders, none of them were really successful for me and usually ended up making a big mess on the kitchen floor. Course, I was working by myself then. Maybe with an extra pair of hands you'll have a happy ending. Just my 2 cents... Oh, and welcome to the forum!

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My biggest reason for wanting to try it this way is timing. I've heard whirlpooling is great but to get the best results you have to let it sit for about an hour. I'm doing a Pliny extract clone tomorrow so I'll take some pictures & post them back up here when I have time & let you know how it works out. Thanks for the kind words! Can't wait to get more involved in the community!

I use a BIAB bag, which is a slightly larger version of a paint strainer bag. I insert the bag into my brew pot and then use binder clips to drape and attach it to the side edges of the brew pot. Everything goes into the bag. I use a plastic spoon to stir the mash so it doesn't rip open the bag and it works just fine.

unionrdr said:

Well,if you're topping off with cold water anyway,than yes this would be a good way to handle it. I use a large,dual layer fine mesh strainer on top of my plastic FV's to strain out the gunk from the wort. Then pour the top off water through it. I pour both through the strainer in a circular motion that makes it come out the strainer like rain,aerating all a bit better. But some here do use the paint strainer bags in the way you mentioned. Seems to work well for them. Either way,less trub equals more clear beer for us!

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Home Depot has a 2 pack of 5 gallon bags for $4. I'm going to use both at once. Thanks for the great suggestions! :rockin:

I use a fine mesh hop bag and there is very little trub in the BK. I do whirlpool also but those fine mesh hop bags work great. I use a carabiner clipped to the BK handle to hold the draw string, that way I just pull it out for additions.

Just wanted to give an update. I ended up using a single bag instead of doubling up & I must say that it worked great! After I pulled the bag & let it drip I then started twisting it off to wring out as much wort as possible. It didn't get rid of everything. There is a very thin layer of sediment at the bottom of the carboy (about 1/4" thick) but I have no problem with that since it is going to get re-racked in about 2 weeks for dry hopping. Unfortunetly, I didn't take any pictures because my hands were full but I am very happy with the results.

I tried using paint strainer bags on two different occasions, and both times the bag broke and everything I was trying to strain out ended up in my fermenter anyway. So I just went back to dumping everything into the fermenter........it all settles to the bottom anyway.

TryNotToFockThisUp said:

Just wanted to give an update. I ended up using a single bag instead of doubling up & I must say that it worked great! After I pulled the bag & let it drip I then started twisting it off to wring out as much wort as possible. It didn't get rid of everything. There is a very thin layer of sediment at the bottom of the carboy (about 1/4" thick) but I have no problem with that since it is going to get re-racked in about 2 weeks for dry hopping. Unfortunetly, I didn't take any pictures because my hands were full but I am very happy with the results.

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That thin layer is yeast that has settled out of the beer. It's impossible to avoid it. You can dry hop right in the primary so you don't have to rack it to another container. One of the other members commented that nearly all the infections reported seem to be in secondary so racking requires better sanitation. Be very careful if you rack so you don't lose the entire batch from doing a process that isn't necessary.

The paint strainer bags in my experience, strain out a large portion of pellet hops, and whatever break material it can. I dont bother wringing it out and never lost that much wort due to that loss. I have a cleaner yeast/trub layer as a result and since it pulls out enough crud (highly technical term I know) to fill half a tennis ball, it seems effective enough. I have not noticed much difference in flavor with or without, but since it is so simple... why not.

Here is what I did just recently.

I got a 4 inch plumbing connection 4 12" lag bolts
5 gallon paint bag.
I drilled 4 holes in the pVC and put the lag bolts in to hold it over the BK
i used clothespins to hold paint bag and did all my hop additions using that bag.

Then after cooling I used another sanitized paint bag attached to my auto siphon with a rubber band to keep all trub out siphon. The result is a very clear fermenter with no whirlpool.

I always use a stainless steel collander with wire handles. Binder clip the handles to the top of the fermenter and open the brew kettle valve to discharge through the strainer into the fermenter. Also great for aeration.

I use re usable nylon hops bags that I got from my lhbs. They are cheap and hop utilization was fine. Clean clear beer and I can't complain. Just wash the bags in the dishwasher.