Transfer to primary method

I just got my 4th batch of beer into primary. Even though this is my 4th, I have changed a little of my process each time. It was my second time using a funnel with a strainer in it for transfering from brew pot to primary. First time I had no problems, but this time the screen kept getting clogged with trub(not for sure if its the right term). I had to keep re-rinsing it to keep it flowing.
My question is is there a better way to filter? Or should I siphon?

You could use a hop bag to keep some of it out of your beer. I use a a nylon mesh tide laundry bag. It was three bucks and is large enough to hold anything I could ever want to put in the boil. I just clip it to the side of my kettle with a clothes pin.

Using a fine mesh bag is a great way of keeping solids out of your wort. I would recommend a bag designed for brewing. As far as racking goes... siphoning is likely superior to pouring through a filter. Best bet is a filter, but its a bit much. I would recommend boiling a fine mesh bag, then clipping it to the side of your fermenter, and siphoning into and through it. It will provide much more surface area than a funnel screen and wont clog. Other methods to combine would be to whirlpool before racking. You could also up your final vol to allow you to leave some wort/trub behind.

Don't filter.

I use the dip method with a sanitized quart sauce pan to transfer to the bucket, and if fermenting in a carboy, I also use a large funnel. I BIAB and use a hop bag/sock, and I don’t bother filtering.

Filter on the end of an auto siphon.

looks like I will just place my hops, grain, etc is a bag just to keep them out completely. Sounds the easiest.
Thanks guys!

phoenixs4r said:

Don't filter.

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This. hardly a reason to. Beer will drop out clear with time, cold, and if you want, finings.

I use paint strainer bags for the hops which keeps a lot of sediment out of the wort.

I also, do not strain when transferring to the fermenter because the strainer gets clogged.

I've had the same issue using one of those strainer inserts that you can put in your funnel- the mesh is just too fine and gets clogged with hops. I've stopped using it when pouring my wort into primary. Instead, I just pour it through a wire-wesh kitchen strainer like the one in the attached pic. It catches almost all the hop bits, and those that make it through will just settle out. My strainer will even nest inside my large funnel so I can use them together.

tre9er said:

This. hardly a reason to. Beer will drop out clear with time, cold, and if you want, finings.

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I wasn't for sure if the hops staying in the fermemter would create a more hoppy beer. But I will use a bag for my hops. And will just pour straight in.

steven said:

I wasn't for sure if the hops staying in the fermemter would create a more hoppy beer. But I will use a bag for my hops. And will just pour straight in.

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It's not a bad idea to siphon or use a valve and try to limit the last bits of junk in the kettle...but any kind of fine straining isn't really necessary. The only thing those hops may impart is some aroma...but it's not much.

You could use nylon kneehighs or a fine hop or grain bag for some of thr trub

I will use a bag and not worry about the rest. Thanks again! Next time should be a bit faster

I used to just dump it all in and rack as carefully as possible. Then I did my first smaller, lightly hopped AG (centennial blonde) and was amazed at the tiny amount of trub, since then, I just stretch a 5 gal paint strainer bag over my bucket and pour through it. Lift the bag out, manipulate it a bit to get the rest all of the wort out, turn it inside out and rinse.

I primary in plastic buckets, so transferring is pretty easy for me. I have a restaurant sized strainer that is the same size as the opening of the bucket. sanitize the strainer and sit it on top of the bucket then pick up the kettle and dump the wort through the strainer and into the bucket. transferring into primary takes me all of about 5-10 seconds

I use one of the metal mesh strainers pictured in an earlier post, and that's only when I plan on reharvesting the yeast slurry from that batch, otherwise I never strain anything out and dump it all in the primary, knowing it will settle out after fermentation.

duckmanco said:

I use one of the metal mesh strainers pictured in an earlier post, and that's only when I plan on reharvesting the yeast slurry from that batch, otherwise I never strain anything out and dump it all in the primary, knowing it will settle out after fermentation.

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Yep me too. Unless I have a TON of hops debris, I don't bother straining. I try to leave the biggest heaviest gloop behind in the kettle, but usually it all goes in the fermenter.

I have a dip tube with a screen at a 45 degree angle.

I just used an auto siphon to transfer once the wort is around 80 degrees. To reduce the amount of junk just stir the wort to create a nice whirl pool affect which gets everything in the center of your pot, so you can siphon on the edge and minimize what you get in your carboy.

Give this a try with your strainer - it works like a charm for me every time: I have an OXO strainer that rests firmly on a 6 gallon ale pale. I try to cool down to 70 degrees before I start my transfer process - this gets most of the hops to the bottom of my kettle but when the strainer does clog up I've found that I can remove the strainer, lightly thump the edge of the strainer against my thenar eminence (the meaty part of your hand adjacent to your thumb) causing all the hop particles to conglomerate together into a big clump which I then dump into a conveniently placed dumping vessel, replace the strainer and repeat as necessary.