filtering, or bagging?

I just brewed my first batch in like 11yrs.

-48 oz. of pale LME

-16 oz. adjunct extract LME

-Boiled 60 min in my home made Copper brew-pot

-2 ounces Cascade pellets for 60 min.

-1.5 oz of hallertauten pelltes for 15 min.

-10 grams of nottington yeast + 2 grams of nutrient

When i went to pour the batch into the fermentor, I realized that I needed to filter out all those pellets flying all over my wort pot. So I used a paint filter thingy(made of paper and Mesh). Sucked real bad, would only filter 3/4 of a pint before clogging. What should i do next time? should a person BAG the pellets? Do those BAGs really work? Can a person just throw those hops right in the fermentor with no filtration at all? Or can a person use some kind of a nylon streched over the circumference of the top of the pail? Or can someone give me some better suggestions.

From what I have read and learned here, the pellets should dissolve and sink to the bottom. Someone with more experience could tell you for sure.

The pellets don't dissolve, they break down into a mushy, (wet)powder-like goo...and fall out to the bottom.

I use a nylon net on my primary and sparge the hops with cold water after I pour the wort into the primary.

If you get one of these bucket nets you'll have to use about 6 spring loaded cloths pins (I do) to hold the weight of the hops and water as the hops do tend to clog the pores of the net. Simply take your spoon and lightly scrape the bottom of the net. The water will fall out (into the primary) and the hops become relatively dry. At this point I pour another gal of cold water inthe net and repeat the scraping. Let drain and remove.

Sorry... "break down" is a better description then dissolve.

Just use a large screen strainer from Wal-Mart

If you can find fine mesh nylon bags, you can bag pellets. They are crushed, so you don't have the circulation problems you might have with whole hops. Even though I have a bazooka filter in my kettle, I'll bag the bittering hops, if they are pellets.

I use the muslin bags that my brew shop sells for steeping the grains in. The fine particals for the pettles filter through it, but on the whole I haven't had a problem so far. It makes straining the wort after the boil alot easier.

I use one of those reusable grain bags for mine. Have one for the grains, and one for the hops. I just open it and add the hops at the appropriate time during the boiling cycle. It keeps most of the hops out of the wort.

Another thing you can do, other than using a bag, is to do a whirlpool. After you have cooled your wort, stir it to get a whirlpool going. Cover it and let it sit untill it stops "spinning". The hops and any other particles will settle out to the bottom center of the pot. Use a racking cane to transfer to your primary. The "stuff" will stay in the pot. I personally haven't tried this because I use the bag method, but I have heard many people talking about it.
Cheers,

There is also the alternative of simply leaving them there. They won't really hurt anything.

So I guess the most popular method is to use the BAG method. Although i do like the Racking cane and Nylon idears. Anyway Thanks for the good tips guys.

P.S. the air lock is taking off turbo mode!!

One thing I've learned since I started brewing is that you just keep learning.
I never fail to read something that makes me go "What? I didn't know that" after I've done something a different way.

When I did my brew I added the hops to muslin bags and just sunk them into my kettle at the appropriate times. I had both pellets and leaves (or whatever they are). I used Cascade, Perle and Tettnang totaling about 6 oz.
When the boil was done I removed the bags, cooled my wort and then poured into my fermenter, no straining and no problems. As a matter of fact my beer had no sediment in the bottles and I was able to pour each completely into my glass. I was planning on doing my next batch the same.

Now I see from the majority of this thread that most are straining?
How come no one ever mentioned this before

Tommy

I tried something new today and the results were great. After cooling I siphoned out most of the sweet wort and for the last 1 gallon or so I used a nylon 5 gallon paint strainer in a 2.5 gallon bucket. I poured in the remaining wort in the bag lined container then removed the bag with all the pellet and hot break. It worked really well.

Sounds interesting. Wouldn't it work just as well to put the paint strainer bag in a large funnel and just drain your wort through it from the ball valve directly into your carboy?

The micro I worked at, used pellets as well. Our brew kettle had a whirlpool arrangement, and the hop stuff, as well as the hot break stacked up in the middle of the brew kettle. (Well, most of it did.) I vacuumed it out, after the kettle cooled down, right before I CLIMBED IN the kettle, and scrubbed it out. (Yes, I hoisted my smelly body INTO the brrew kettle, with a green pad and the other things I needed to clean out the kettle.)

What I'm trying to say, we got out about 75% of the hops and hot break, and didn't worry about the rest. When we harvested yeast, we didn't take the first stuff that came out, but let the line run until it was coming out clean. (Good yeast is basically the color of a beige computer keyboard. Maybe a bit darker.)

Don't sweat getting everything out. It isn't going to hurt anything.

Oh, if you are doing a whirlpool stir, do it while the wort is still hot, and don't aerate, if you can prevent areation. The oxygen on hot wort is going to do more damage than any hop residue or hot break. You want to oxygenize cold wort, not hot wort.

steve

I'd consider whole leaf hops as they mostly get trapped in the Bazooka screen. What say you? You have no Bazooka screen?




Well then, get one! Especially if you have a brew pot with a spigot!


er...

beer4breakfast said:

Sounds interesting. Wouldn't it work just as well to put the paint strainer bag in a large funnel and just drain your wort through it from the ball valve directly into your carboy?

Click to expand...

My funnel is not large enough to hold a gallon of wort. This way I was able to pour all the wort in at one time then pull the bag and let it drain a bit then use the funnel to fill the carboy. I'll take a picture next time.

Oh, if you are doing a whirlpool stir, do it while the wort is still hot, and don't aerate, if you can prevent areation. The oxygen on hot wort is going to do more damage than any hop residue or hot break. You want to oxygenize cold wort, not hot wort.



Thanks for that SKOU...


I'd consider whole leaf hops as they mostly get trapped in the Bazooka screen. What say you? You have no Bazooka screen?

And I'm gonna get me a bozzoka screen.

Ok, I went back and re-read Palmer's advice on this. He gives a few methods of removing the break from the wort and why it may be a good idea. He also mentions that the hops aren't a problem.

After reading on it seems that if you are using a secondary then straining isn't necessary as a secondary is listed as one way to achieve the same thing.

Tommy

Jason Halter said:

Oh, if you are doing a whirlpool stir, do it while the wort is still hot, and don't aerate, if you can prevent areation. The oxygen on hot wort is going to do more damage than any hop residue or hot break. You want to oxygenize cold wort, not hot wort.

Click to expand...

No no no... Whirlpool AFTER it has cooled down. Have the chiller and spoon in for the last 15 min of the boil, cool, remove chiller, use spoon to whirlpool.

Hot-side aeration is BAD NEWS.

My last batch I didnt strain my wort but the hops settled to the bottom of my primary. I just racked to secondary a few days ago, and I dont see any hops in it any more. Next time I am going to make one of these.

Check out The Hop Hanger at the bottom of this page http://onebeer.net/beergadgets.shtml

I can't remember who I stole this idea from (someone on this forum), but it's just a big PVC pipe coupler with some 1/4" rod and a hose clamp to hold a nylon mesh bag. Works like a charm!

I have used the disposable muslin bags, and allowed the hops to simply settle-out into the primary. Both work with good results. Straining pellets hops seems a bit over kill. Whole hops, however, should be strained.

Hey David 42:

I heard once that guys from oregon can't handle thier liquior....and that they pretty much always hack up what ever they drink if it is alcoholic at all...Even Neer Beer!! Just joking! Thought i'd pick on a westy tonight. NE Canada....And YES I am loaded right now!!

Ok....my 2 cents. I took a class at my LHBS , and the guy showing us how to home brew just put the hop pelllets in the pot during the boil. I do a full boil and then immersion chiller. Most of the hop pellets settle out on the bottom of the brew pot and don't even make it to the primary. Even if it did....it just settles out and doesn't affect my brew at all.


So, do what it is that you feel comfortable doing!

I've never filtered my hops in any way. Some don't make it to the primary from the pot, the rest get left behind when I rack to the secondary.