people who use no hop bag, how do transfer from kettle to primary?

for people who dont use hop bags, how do you usually transfer from the boil pot to the primary without it getting clogged?

Well I use a immersian chiller and when it is cool I use my sanitized auto shipon and rack it....before that, EIther I just dumped everything in, without straining, just pour it in the bucket or in the funnel....Or I would use a big strainer that fit in the funnel for a carboy, or a sanitized 5 gallon nylon paint strainer bag in the bucket...

Many people don't bother straining at all..sometimes I don't bother....It really doesn't matter...anything will settle.

bkov said:

for people who dont use hop bags, how do you usually transfer from the boil pot to the primary without it getting clogged?

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I pour the cooled wort from the boil kettle into the primary fermenter. If I've used a ton of hops, sometimes I pour through a sanitized strainer, but not usually. I usually just pour it all in.

I use a funnel with a filter. Both of these sanitized

I did exactly as Revvy posted.

I just today used the immersion chiller I built for the first time; I whirlpooled, then when the wort was cool enough, I used my sanitized Autosiphon (with the little guard on the end of the tube, to keep it a bit off the bottom of the kettle) and racked into my primary.

Just dump it all, the hops will settle in the trub while in primary.

+1 A big funnel with a strainer that fits in the top. The strainer also helps aerate the wort as it passes through.

I ferment in a bucket and I just dump it all in. It's just a bunch of spent hop particles and proteins, none of which will affect the final outcome of the beer.

bkov, I think if you look at all the answers, you can see, that this is one of those occasions (like so many in our hobby) that come down to brewer's choice....all the options listed, make beer....There's no wrong answer....

Right now, I am making 5 gallon batches. I just pour it all in.

I'll have to rethink this with 10 gallon batches.

I made a rather flat "sock" from 16 odd sg. inches of stainless mesh that fits over the opening of my dip tube. I drain as usual, no clogs.

I have a false bottom in my boil kettle, I just open the valve and the hops lay in a nice bed on top of that, straining out break material.

immersion chiller & whirlpool (have a spigot on my kettle though)

-OCD

Currently I use a stainless steel hose braid just like in my mash tun cooler. It works pretty well except for the last half gallon of wort when the braid clogs. I think I will get a false bottom for my kettle soon

Whirlpool and simple dip tube for me!

No hop bag, that's easy. Please don't flame. Here is how I do it on occasion for a quick light ale.

Boil in kettle w/ pelllet hops, chill wort in kettle, pitch healthy yeast on wort in kettle, cover, seal and ferment for a fortnight, crash cool and rack to keg and age as long as temptation permits.

So simple a cave man could do it!

so most of you are saying you lift the cooled boil pot then lift and pour it into the primary, without or withour a funnel w/ strainer?

dont you guys find it a little tough to lift and pour a pot with 5-6gallons in it? i have a saucepot which makes it very difficult. i tried autosiphon, gets clogged a lot. i tried adding spigot, still gets clogged

what about those who use converted kegs? those must be a bear to lift and pour into primary

Ok...rather than pouring your stockpot...just sanitize a plastic 2-4 quart pitcher. Dip pitcher in chilled wort in kettle, pour into fermenter. repeat 6-8-10 times?

Crude but very effective...yet principally sound.

I used to have a side-spigot on my kettle, with SS dip tube inside. I just put one of these stainless steel "Chorboy" scrubbies over the end of the dip tube and that would filter out most of the hops.

Now adays I have a bottom drain in the middle of the keg, I set a SS domed screen over the drain hole, this catches most of the hops.

Biermuncher has a technique where he has a paint strainer bag wrapped around his immersion chiller & siphons from inside of that. I thought that was a great idea.

I always let my cooled wort sit in the boil kettle about 20-30 min. before going to the fermenter. By then the heavy stuff has fallen to the bottom. You just rack off it like any other time. I do try whirlpooling it before letting it sit. Not sure it makes much of a diff.

bkov said:

so most of you are saying you lift the cooled boil pot then lift and pour it into the primary, without or withour a funnel w/ strainer?

dont you guys find it a little tough to lift and pour a pot with 5-6gallons in it? i have a saucepot which makes it very difficult. i tried autosiphon, gets clogged a lot. i tried adding spigot, still gets clogged

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Make your brewday an occaision. Invite some friends over and share past brews with them, fire up the grill and do up some brats. Someone will help you pour the wort from your pot. It's much easier with two people. Just make sure it's before too many beers are drank.

Current setup is plastic buckets for fermenting, and a 7ish gallon pot (5gal batches), so I bought a large triple weave strainer from Midwest. It's great, it sits solidly across the bucket and catches an absurd percentage of the particulate from hops/spices.

bkov,

Are you using primarily pellet or whole hops? If you are draining from a ball-valve in the kettle, you need to have some sort of filter (SS mesh or scrubby works a peach) at the diptube; otherwise, it'll clog almost immediately. I prefer whole hops in the kettle because they form an excellent filter bed.

I have the Blichmann kettle with the strainer built onto the diptube. This only works for whole hops unfortunately. I use mostly pellet hops and if I've done a beer with a lot of hops then I end up filtering the end of my auto siphon. I put a drop-in stainless sink screen at the tip and then a hop/grain bag over that. The screen is circular and keeps the siphon from sucking in the bag with the break material. Don't remember where I read about this but it works great for me.

+1 on letting it sit for at least 20 minutes after cooling. That helps tremendously.

Whirlpooling is supposed to work great too and makes sense. I'd like to set mine up like Jamil's whirlpooling IC but haven't wanted to spend the money on one of those expensive food grade pumps. Whirlpool Chiller

Aluminum insect screen around my diptube.

Evan! said:

Aluminum insect screen around my diptube.

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Sounds like that could hurt!

I have a 10 gallon boil pot, but I found a way that isn't too difficult for pouring it into a bucket: Lift the pot with the heels of your hands under the handles and lower it onto one of your knees, and then tip it forward to dump into the bucket. Didn't lose a drop last time (although the time before I probably lost a cup or so).

I don't have a large enough funnel to go straight from the kettle to the carboy, so I pour into a bottling bucket and then use the spigot to drain into the carboy. Here's how I did it last time to strain out the pellet hops:

Why not just use a bag, is it better to have the hops moving around in the pot though out the boil?

If you're using a bucket as your primary you can use a paint strainer bag from Lowes/HD. They stretch over the bucket opening and you can pour straight from the kettle into the bucket and just lift out the filter bag. Good for aeration too.

I place a stainless steel colander on top of the kettle when it starts to boil and add my hops into it. I started doing this after my auto siphon got plugged full of hop.

I use this Amazon.com: King Kooker 30PKSP 30-Quart Aluminum Stock Pot: Home & Garden and just open the spicket and drain it into my carboy.

I like the big funnel with strainer method to keep at least some of the larger pieces out of the primary.

Nobody has mentioned bobby_M's hop strainer? I have a 15gal kettle and I transfer through a CFC. I just dump my hops in, put the strainer in for the last 5mins to sanitize it, then put the pickup tube to my CFC inside the strainer.

humann_brewing said:

I like the big funnel with strainer method to keep at least some of the larger pieces out of the primary.

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That's my step two. I first filter into a bucket through a filter bag and use the marks on the bucket to top off to 5 gallons. I then use a funnel with a filter into a carboy and get great foam like yours.

I dont mess with strainers. I whirlpool then let sit for 10 minutes covered. Then gravity drain to CFC to carboy - my 15 gal keggle has a side drain just off the bottom. Never clogs. I also use pellet hops. All the sediment settles at the bottom after whirlpooling. There is usually very little if any sediment or trub carried to the carboy.

Let it settle then rack from the top down.

humann_brewing said:

I like the big funnel with strainer method to keep at least some of the larger pieces out of the primary.

Click to expand...

Hey Human.
Is that the OXO 8" double mesh SS strainer? I've been looking to upgrade from a cheaper strainer and that looks like the OXO I got my eye on. How is it for catching finer particles?

I did something similar to bobbym but didnt sew the edges i just rolled or folded them over several times and crimped with my pliers. i made it into a triangle and it has an envelope inside were their is head space. it looks something like this.

it is not flat, but creates almost an elongated U that catches most of the hops above the pickup tube. if i have a chance i will post a pic if you are interested

Soperbrew said:

Biermuncher has a technique where he has a paint strainer bag wrapped around his immersion chiller & siphons from inside of that. I thought that was a great idea.

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This is what I do now.... unbelievably simple and effective and no extra equipment that may fail melt or generally screw up LOL just soak your strainer bag in sanitizer while boiling, chill the wort with the IC, pull IC and put IC into bag, return to kettle and siphon from the pretty pool thats left in the middle....

johnnyc said:

If you're using a bucket as your primary you can use a paint strainer bag from Lowes/HD. They stretch over the bucket opening and you can pour straight from the kettle into the bucket and just lift out the filter bag. Good for aeration too.

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When I run outta carboys and use a bucket this is what I do....