Filter to bottling bucket? (200um mesh)

[dvizard]

Hi,

I have a 200um mesh filter bag (http://www.brauundrauchshop.ch/100/...Search=&nCurPage=&sStartPageNext=&caller=list). Since during my first batch I probably had problems from suspended hop particles from dry hopping (I still have to find out, not tasted it yet), I wonder if I could try filtering through this thing next time? Will the 200um mesh let enough yeast through so I can still bottle ferment without problems? Other potential benefits/problems?

 

[vincentAlpha]

I'd think unless you had some way to filter it in a closed manner (a pump and tubing) you're just going to wind up oxygenating the daylights out of your beer. I'd suggest you try some sort of fining agent and cold crashing(really more for proteans but could help bring down hop material as well). Should also consider dryhopping in a mesh bag to keep most of the hop gunk in one place.

 

[TheHappyHopper]

'Yes' to everything vincentAlpha said. Do not try to pour or siphon your beer through the straining bag, it will oxygenate your beer and end up tasting like cardboard. If you are really worried about it, then cold crash your beer as mentioned above. Just get the temperature down on the fermenter as much as possible (without freezing), and leave for a few days before bottling. Everything will settle out to the bottom.

Any yeast or hop particles that make it into the bottles will then settle out over a few days in the fridge and you will end up with a nice clear beer.

 

[mcartt11]

I use a paint strainer bag on the end of my siphon and it works great to filter out any hop, trub, or other junk in the fermenter. I just started doing this within the last year or so when I stopped using secondaries and didn't like all the extra stuff in my finished beer. Using the paint strainer has not caused my beer to oxidize or get any off flavors as if it did oxidize.

 

[pwnshop]

When I use fruit in secondary i put a hop bag on the bottom end of my racking cane (the end that goes into the fermenter) when transferring to the bottling bucket. This keeps little bits of fruit and seeds or whatever else from getting sucked up when siphoning.

I have only done it a few times but it worked perfectly.

I imagine you could do the same thing to deal with bits of hops, but I agree don't filter between the racking cane/tube and the bottling bucket. I imagine that would introduce oxygen.

dry hopping in a bag next time would probably eliminate this issue for you.

 

[flars]

CO2 coming out of solution can keep hop particles suspended. I don't dry hop until an SG sample is almost 100% free of CO2 bubbles and clear of particulates. This is usually three weeks after the fermentation became active.

I also use a one inch diameter by six inch long bag on the outflow end of the siphon tube, inside the bottling bucket, just in case I screw up handling the siphon. Made the small bag from a fine mesh grain bag.

 

[dvizard]

Thanks for the answers! Today bottle carb period was over and I could try the beer for the first time, no problems at all from suspended whatever, everything bottomed out nicely. So I was worrying too much. I had bad suspicions from taking a sip of the near-trub after bottling but that will have impacted maybe the last 1 or 2 bottles, the others will be fine.

(The one thing is the yeast layer at the bottom was quite high on one of the two bottles, so one has to take care while pouring and leave 2-3 cm in the bottle. But I guess that's normal with bottle conditioned homebrew...)