Need to strain the wort?

Hello everyone,

I have been reading this forum for about two weeks and I have honestly learned as much here as from any homebrew book! Thanks!

I have purchased a basic beginning eqipment package and want to do my first brew this weekend. I thought that I would try to brew an American Cream Ale from Brewers Best to really learn the process.

I am pretty much set to go, but I had a question about straining the wort as I pour it into the primary. I bought a nice " stir paddle" with some holes in it that I think will be able to hold most of the trub back as I pour, but I still wonder if I shoud strain. I am using pellet hops along with Irish Moss and I am going to just try this first brew with single stage fermentation.

Would straining make a difference when I am using pellet hops rather than whole leaf or would it be better to just siphon the beer from the primary to the bottling bucket with some extra care? Any comments on the "whirlpool" method would be helpful as well.

I am sorry of this is such a noob question and that it is all over the place, but I just want to look at each step pretty carefully.

Thanks again for all the great insights!

Mark

i strain mine with a normal kitchen colender thingy, just to keep all the sediments that settle after chilling it before putting it the fermenter. after that, i strain out the hops, spice chunks, and whatever else in the brew kettle that isnt liquid.

Welcome aboard!

I use a nylong paint strainer bag to strain out the sludge....since my cool hops bag to use in the boil melted the first time I used it

That seems to work better than a colender

pellet or whole leaf, I siphon and strain my wort for every batch. It actually has a double benefit of straining out trub and providing some aeration.

Prior to siphoning, I whirlpool the wort to concentrate a majority of the trub into the center of the kettle...where I can leave it behind.

I use an 8" ss strainer on every batch. Works like a champ.

Pellet hops can get nasty; I've got two solutions to dealing with the sludge, depending on when in the process I need to address it.

My first batch was an Irish Red and I just tossed the hops in at the boil... I didn't know they would break apart like that.

I just poured them right into my fermenter and let them sit there while all of the fermentation happend. During this time, the vast majority of the sludge settles to the bottom of the carboy (or bucket or whatever) and I'd then rack to the secondary and let it settle out even more.

That wasn't the prettiest option, so I've since spent $3 and got a nylon hop bag that serves as a tea bag to hold in that sludge so I don't have to deal with it.

Either way, your beer will be pretty clear in the end anyway, so it's 6 one way and half-a-dozen the other.

mrosania said:

...but I still wonder if I shoud strain. I am using pellet hops...
Would straining make a difference when I am using pellet hops rather than whole leaf or would it be better to just siphon the beer from the primary to the bottling bucket with some extra care?

Click to expand...

I just made a beer with pellet hops and my straining attempt was pathetic. Basically I just flushed it all into the carboy and ended up with too much water.

I suppose you can strain the pellet hops out but you need to use a course strainer. I'm hoping a delicate racking will separate the hops out...after the primary fermentation.

It will be tricky not to get oxygen into it though. Thinking about buying those filters and pushing it from one 5gallon corny to another one.