Getting wort from kettle to carboy!

[archibeckmj]

I recently went to BIAB and have done about 6 batches. I feel comfortable with most of the process, but continue to struggle with getting the wort from kettle after cooling into carboy. I have a 15 gallon Blickman kettle with spout. I find the process quickly slows to a stop despite trying Hopblocker, Hop Stopper, funnel with strainer, raising kettle up on high stand for more siphon effect. I am considering a hop bag, but have tried it once and it seemed to just float around the boil - I was worried the hops weren't doing there job.

Any advice?

 

[bleme]

I would try a hop spider. You can make you own for cheap with a 5-gallon paint strainer bag from Lowe's and a wire coat hanger (the wire never touches the wort).

 

[Homercidal]

A lot of people use a hop bag. I personally have not done that, but am considering it. I currently use a Stainless Mesh basket which, in theory, would allow the wort and hops to co-mingle freely. (In actual practice, I'm not convinced. The reason is the last time I used it I found the "boil" only happening around the outside of the basket, and when removed, the bottom had become plugged with hop material to the point where is seemed the boiling wort was forced to the outside.)

I seem to recall that people either don't notice a difference when using a hop bag, or they simply offset the difference with a small amount of additional hops.

Now I can tell you that I often don't use a basket for pellet hops (unless I'm brewing an IPA or other highly hopped beer) and the hops have no problem draining out through the 1/2" outlet and through the 3/8" CounterFlow Chiller, as long as I keep the hops suspended evenly to prevent a large amount, or if I allow them to settle first and siphon from the top of the kettle.

 

[archibeckmj]

Thanks! I saw those, In my 15 gallon kettle boiling a 6.5 or so gallon volume I was worried the bag may not hang down low enough to get into the liquid - am I way off. What bag do you use?

 

[archibeckmj]

Thanks very much. Ill look into that.

 

[Stauffbier]

Another vote for hop bag!

I also use 5 gallon paint strainer bags from Lowe's. I just clip it to the side of the kettle, as I haven't taken the time to make a hop spider. I still get a good amount of hop debris at the bottom of the kettle, but not enough to stop the flow of the valve.

 

[cluckk]

I use pellet hops without a bag, and transfer with my autosiphon after cooling. I never have any problems, but I don't try to filter or strain anything that comes through. I just get all I can out of the kettle and when it either stops or turns into nothing but trub in the hose, I stop the transfer.

 

[billl]

None of the hop strainers that attach to the kettle seem to work worth a darn for pellet hops.

The 3 options that do seem to work are

1) Using whole hops
2) Using a bag or very fine stainless screen to contain the pellets in the boil
3) Using a bag or fin screen to strain after the boil.

If you've tried 1 and 2 without success, you could always just stick a 5 gallon paint bag on a sanitized bucket fermenter/bottling bucket. Drain into there, pull the bag of hop gunk out, and pour into your carboy.

 

[archibeckmj]

Thanks! I just ordered 5 gallon pain strainer bags off Amazon - 12 of them for $20. I really appreciate the advice.

 

[srice]

I just completed my 3rd all grain batch over the weekend. I have been using a homemade hop stopper and had problems with draining on the first 2 batches. I would loose siphon and have to grab my auto-siphon to finish the kettle drain. At first I thought it was hop material clogging up my screen but I had brewed extract based IPAs with plenty of hops without a problem. I was wondering if it was hot break causing my issue. The latest batch I brewed was a very lightly hopped porter (only 1.25oz of bittering hops). I watched the drain like a hawk and as soon the top corner of my hop stopper was exposed to air, I started to loose siphon. I quickly closed the valve on my pump outlet until I refilled my hoses. After playing with the pump outlet valve, I eventually found a balanced setting where output wasn't outpacing the fluid input. It took as long (or maybe a little longer) to drain the final gallon as it did to drain the first 4.25 gallons. My lesson learned was to drain even slower than I thought was necessary.

 

[Newsman]

I had a problem with a Rhubarb Wit I made awhile back. I used frozen rhubarb that tended to fall apart in the carboys and, consequently made it into the keg when I kegged. Ended up having to use a siphon with a hop-bag tied around the end of the siphon output hose to filter out the rhubarb fibers as I transferred to a new keg because the fibers were plugging the poppet.

 

[Seven]

My advice for using a hop bag is to stir the contents of the bag a few times throughout the boil. If you don't stir the contents then the hops act like a sponge and fail to release all of the hoppy goodness.

I rarely use a hop bag but when I do I stir the contents every few mins during the boil.

 

[houndsbreath]

I use a hop spider and put a spare stainless nut into the the bag to weigh it down. During the boil I'll bump / stir the bag occasionally to get the hops to float. Never had any problems and I don't think it's changed my hop profiles.

I use a bazooka screen also because I'm paranoid about junk getting into my plate chiller.

 

[apshaffer]

I have a bunch of big stainless tea balls. They're about the size of a softball. They keep probably 75% of the pellet hops inside. I also have a bazooka tube as well, and with pellet hops it still clogs a little when I get to the last gallon or so. I always plan some loss into my recipes as well. If I want 10 gallons, I will shoot for 11 assuming the last gallon is a loss.

 

[Phyrst]

I have yet to find a good way of filtering the wort and transferring it to the carboy. The best method I've found is using leaf hops and using a two quart pitcher to transfer from the kettle through a funnel with a filter in it. I have tried hop sacks with pellets but that doesn't help with the hot and cold break material.

I'm thinking about making a hop spider, but I hear people say they get poor hop utilization with it.

 

[rgauthier20420]

Just like the guy that stirs his hop spider, I do the same. Maybe not every few minutes, but enough to satisfy me. I haven't seen any changes in my IPA's either. If you were really concerned about utilization, you could always account for that. Once the boil is done, I pull the bag out and run right through the plate chiller with zero issues.

 

[Yooper]

Dumb question, but you're using some tubing from the ball valve down to the fermenter? I've found that putting the tubing at the very bottom of the fermenter really "pulls" the wort though once the wort covers it. It really works as a siphon, and it helps a lot.

 

[12pmmike]

Hey all. I use to use a spider, but have switched to the whirlpool method. After cooling I whirlpool and let it sit for 20 min. I sanitize my HLT and slowly gravity drain the wort to it, letting it splash. My way of aeration. I then allow it to settle for another 20 min. while I am cleaning up. When ready I allow the wort to gravity drain to my primary, again letting it splash. This method gives me pretty clean wort in the primary. A lot of people I know don't worry about it and just transfer everything by dumping.

 

[chezhed]

Yooper makes a good point. The lower point pulls better.....you can also poke a bunch of holes in that tube as well for a venturi effect to help aerate that wort.

I use bags all the time. I add a few marbles for weight and stir frequently. The later in the boil, the more marbles....the more hops, the more marbles in the bag... I whirlpool by hand after boil and leave the bags in...they help with the whirlpooling and they tend to settle near the drain as my boil kettle is always about 2 degrees tilted to the valve anyway. (It's just the nature of my brew stand and ground.) I also have a 90 elbow inside my pot so the suction tends to pick all the wort off the break that settled after the whirlpool and I can see it to stop if I want. The hop bags actually form a little "break" dam.

 

[Foosier]

Here is another vote for using the paint strainer bag clipped to the side of your kettle. I can assure you that I get plenty of Hops bitterness and aroma when I use mine. I am Currently drinking Yoopers Cali Common brewed this way and it is nicely hoppy.

I think the worries about hops utilization are WAY overblown. I won't say it is not possible that some of the hops oils stick to the mesh, but I can say without a doubt that the hops gets in the wort and clearly ends up in the finished product in the amounts I was expecting. I would bet we are talking about very minor levels of impact which only a lab could measure. (I'd certainly be interested in seeing an actual lab study of the results.) Till then, I know my palette can not tell the difference between 34 and 35 IBU's and I bet that is the case for the rest of us as well. Using the bag solves a lot of the problems the OP mentioned and while YMMV, using the bag does do a great job of keeping much of the hops gunk out of the fermentor.

 

[blaster_54738]

I use a hop spider and put a spare stainless nut into the the bag to weigh it down. During the boil I'll bump / stir the bag occasionally to get the hops to float. Never had any problems and I don't think it's changed my hop profiles.

I use a bazooka screen also because I'm paranoid about junk getting into my plate chiller.

I second the paint strainer bag and using stainless hardware to keep it submerged. I clip it to my keggle, drop in a couple nuts and bolts and it stays down. never had an issue

 

[archibeckmj]

Thanks, so you are saying by draining slowly it is less likely to get stuck? That may be the issue as I just opened the valve all the way and it started well but came to a sudden stop. Ill give it a try.

Thanks.

 

[12pmmike]

Yea, if you open the valve all the way the hot break and gunk in the whirlpool cone tends to get pulled out of the center and goes out. I also have a baffle welded to the bottom of my kettle that is a half inch in front of the drain. Helps to lesson the suction of center cone.

 

[archibeckmj]

Great idea. Thanks for the input.

 

[srice]

Thanks, so you are saying by draining slowly it is less likely to get stuck? That may be the issue as I just opened the valve all the way and it started well but came to a sudden stop. Ill give it a try.

Thanks.

That is what has worked for me

 

[govner1]

I recently went to BIAB and have done about 6 batches. I feel comfortable with most of the process, but continue to struggle with getting the wort from kettle after cooling into carboy. I have a 15 gallon Blickman kettle with spout. I find the process quickly slows to a stop despite trying Hopblocker, Hop Stopper, funnel with strainer, raising kettle up on high stand for more siphon effect. I am considering a hop bag, but have tried it once and it seemed to just float around the boil - I was worried the hops weren't doing there job. Any advice?

I use a 300 micron SS tube from Arbor Fabricating for both pellet & whole hops. After the boil I remove the tube & recirculate/whirlpool through my CFC. Once I get my wort to 66-70 (about 15-20 min) I transfer through my kettle valve via silicone tubing directly into my fermentor.