instant debate (hopefully) your technique

[shaggy727]

I would like to your idea on straining wort. Should you or should you not strain your wort before it goes into your fermenter to get the hops and other material out. Some people have stated there is no need, definitely need to, or should leave it in for flavors. Please list your pros and cons. Any other comments?

 

[Yooper]

I think it depends on your system, and your preferences. For example, I have a CFC, so cold hot break ends up in the fermenter. Even if I was inclined to try to strain it out, that would be difficult. I do bag leaf hops usually, or use a bazooka tube in my boil kettle, because they clog up my pump while pellet hops do not.

I have no real way to strain out the hot break, so that ends up in the fermenter as well.

I could probably go to extraneous measure to strain the wort, but since my last 300+ batches taste ok, I am not inclined to do that.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Only reason I strained my wort is because I went with a plate chiller and did not want to deal with having it choke mid transfer. Ended up using a grant filled with rice hulls to act as my filter media. Worked really well. I'd gravity feed from the kettle to the grant, and then pump out of the grant through the PC to the fermenter. Always hit my desired pitch temp in a single pass.

 

[Beernik]

I never thought much about it until I did my first IIPA with six ounces of pellets in the boil and another two ounces for dry hop.

I siphon from the BK to the fermenter. The wort was vaguely green. After fermentation, I racked and tossed the dry hop pellets in. It turned vaguely green again.

So I may consider upgrading with something like a HopBlocker screen I can hang in the BK. But right now it's a low priority.

 

[C-Rider]

I strain mine in this:
[url=https://www.homebrewtalk.com/photo/paint-strainer-60936.html] [/URL]

Because I ferment in a 2 gallon bucket and try to get as much wort into it as I can so I try to limit the amount of trub in the fermenter.

 

[dyqik]

I recirculate through my CFC back into my kettle, fed through a false bottom. I then switch the return line to the fermenter once the cold break has formed in the kettle. It's not perfect yet (only used pellet hops so far), but it does leave a good amount of trub behind.

No real reason for doing it this way, I just do it because it's not much harder than going direct through the CFC to fermenter, and doesn't really take any longer (to go direct, I'd need a lower flow rate through the CFC).

 

[roastquake]

I don't strain if I'm only using an ounce or less of pellet hops or if I plan on reusing my yeast.

I always strain IPAs or anything with whole hops.

 

[Homercidal]

I do it either way, depending on how easy it is for me at that time. My process tends to change a lot as I'm upgrading something almost every time I brew. Still working on the kettle/chill combination.

I don't think it hurts anything for a normal ferment, but if I were to want to do a LONG ferment, I'd probably want to rack to secondary, just to get the beer off the yeast and trub. Having more trub only makes that desire stronger. I don't have any data to say that this is a valid reason, but for bulk aging for 6 weeks or more, it's a small step.

Maybe I'll bust out the sewing machine tonight and make a filter cone with some mesh I got. Usually straining clogs the strainer really quick, but a good sized cone should do the job and allow the wort to drain down the center, instead of off to the edges, like my current strainers do.

 

[AnOldUR]

 

[feinbera]

I prefer to strain when it's practical... if it's not good to dry hop for more than a week, it can't be good to have hop gunk in your beer for the whole primary, right?

I've also got a hangup about clear beer -- I know, I know, break drops out of suspension anyway, but leaving all that gunk behind in the kettle just feels better.

My last batch, I tried attaching a fine mesh bag to the end of my auto-siphon tube. It worked a little too well; the insides of the bag became completely coated in break material, to the point where I had to pick between squeezing a quarter-gallon of wort out unfiltered where the bag attached to the hose or just leaving that quarter-gallon behind. Which is to say, the technique needs some work, but nobody's motivated like a homebrewer with a mild case of OCD...

 

[fuzzy2133]

I started using a grain bag to strain the wort going into the fermenter after I had a APA where the pellet hops never dropped out of suspension. It was annoying finding pellet bits in bottles and from the keg. Afterward I found that one of the people here cover their auto siphon with the grain bag (or BIAB fabric) to help filter out the floating bits.

 

[CA_Mouse]

I started using a grain bag to strain the wort going into the fermenter after I had a APA where the pellet hops never dropped out of suspension. It was annoying finding pellet bits in bottles and from the keg. Afterward I found that one of the people here cover their auto siphon with the grain bag (or BIAB fabric) to help filter out the floating bits.

Ladies' knee high nylons also work wonderfully. If I have a very light (color and ABV) beer, I will actually siphon from my brew kettle through a sanitized knee high to ensure that there is as little trub and break material as possible going into my fermenter. As said by someone else... I'm OCD about having my beer as clear as possible without resorting to filtering. My last blonde ale was beautifully clean coming out of my keg, that someone actually thought I had filtered it.

 

[shelly_belly]

I use it all. I do primary to bright tank to keg. My beer comes out crystal clear and delicious. I even quit using finings.

 

[d3track]

I started putting my mesh strainer on my funnel to get as much gunk as possible. I don't know how much difference it makes, but I feel better seeing less trub in my fermenter after primary, and am left with what looks like a cleaner yeast cake.

 

[GarageDweller]

recirculating the mash and using a bazooka screen has helped me with leaving some of the trub behind, but it usually clears up very nicely after a couple weeks in the keg at any rate (before I had a pump and bazooka screen). good luck to everyone working towards crystal clear beer

 

[glick]

I syphon all of my beers from kettle to fermenter. I also reuse my yeast and typically don't have any trub with it in the fermenter.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Dip tube on the keggle valve goes to the bottom...almost. Under and around the dip tube a Stainless Steel scrubbie/coreboy. I use an immersion chiller so once the wort hits about 80 f all the break gets filtered out IF I use predominantly leaf hops. I leave maybe 8 oz of liquid behind.

If I use pellet hops, and lots of them, it can clog the filter solid and CO2 blown threw the valve is required to clear it. Obviously, I like leaf hops.

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Drip tube on the keggle valve goes to the bottom...almost. Under and around the dip tube a Stainless Steel scrubbie/coreboy. I use an immersion chiller so once the wort hits about 80 f all the break gets filtered out IF I use predominantly leaf hops.

If I use pellet hops, and lots of them, it can clog the filter solid and CO2 blown threw the valve is required to clear it. Obviously, I like leaf hops.

 

[Epimetheus]

Go with Brew-in-a-bag!

There is a good chance of getting slapped when you ask a blonde for her knee-highs. Trust me on this.