Filtering after Fermentation

I'm working on my 8th, or so batch. This time I tried cheese cloth in the funnel while sparging to the fermenter. It was a fiasco, so I yanked out the cloth. So now, I've got chunks of orange and ginger gratings, along with everything else in the carboy of this Holiday Brew. Too, this time I'd like to have fairly clear, or even better than that bottles of beer.
Any suggestions for filtering after fermentation?

 

More time in the fermenter will help clear the beer.

Did you use Irish Moss in the kettle?

Gelatin in the fermenter will halp.

If you have any large items that could get into the bottle (such as dry pellet hops), you can strain it going into the bottling bucket. I use a 5 gallon paint straining bag over the inlet of the transfer tube. You can buy them from hardware stores, and they are reusable.

 

I recently filtered for the first time, although the not at the bottling stage. I laid cheesecloth over my fermentation pail and poured the wort through that to filter out the leftover hop/grain pieces. I also used Irish moss so I'm anxious to see the clarity on this batch.

 

I dump 90% of my kettle into the fermenter.

Give it enough time to clear in the fermenter before you do anything.

Use a flocculant yeast. Cold crash. Siphon with care.

 

I've heard you can create a whirlpool and then siphon out of the middle to reduce the amount of sediment making its way into the fermenter, but recently had a brew with way to much leftover trub (probably due to trying to siphon everything in that tasted a little harsh, so I wants to try something different.

 

I think the OP's main problem is with all the floating fruit and vegetable matter, not with the yeast and hop debris. I've never found filtering at any stage to be very useful. There's just too much junk and it always clogs whatever it is you're trying to use as a filter. I don't like extra fruit or vegetables in my beer, so I'm not familiar with their behavior in beer, but I've used some fruit in my ciders and mead. I'm guessing some of it is floating on the top, while the yeast and hops are on the bottom. I would recommend siphoning from the middle. You can try putting a hop bag over the end of your autosiphon, but I'll bet a dime to doughnuts it clogs, too.

 

The whirlpool trick works really well, but you siphon out of the side, not the middle. The way I do it is to tilt the boil kettle very, very slightly using a folded towel or something after chilling. Stir vigorously for a bit to get a serious whirlpool going, then put the lid on the kettle and wait 15-20 minutes. This will create a "cone of trub" in the middle of the kettle. Then you want to siphon out of the kettle from the "high side". As the level of the wort lowers the cone will tend to slump towards the low side of the kettle.

As I say, it work really well, but I've found it not worth the effort. Lately I've just been dumping the kettle into the fermenter and being judicious while siphoning from the fermenter into the bottling bucket. It reduces trub loss, the break material nourishes the yeast, it saves time and effort. and my beer winds up just as clear.

 

When I use additions like that in the boil, I use paint strainer bags to contain the debris. Whatever gets into the boil stays there. I then transfer most of the wort to the fermenter. What gets in there settles during fermentation. I then carefully siphon the beer off the trub. I tried to strain into the fermenter the first couple of brews, then I gave up that nonsense. I now do no straining or filtering at all. My beers end up quite clear. Time alone works well for me. I use Irish Moss or Super Moss. I have not used any other clearing agents.

 

if you mess up and don't have a filtering system or co2 set up you can always use time and gravity, let it settle then pull off into another vessel if possible cold crash that second vessel and let it set another week , you'll be happy with the results

 

I found time is a great filter. Eventually, things settle either on top or on the bottom, and careful racking to a bottling bucket or secondary will deliver clear beer. Filtering fully fermented beer sounds like too much of an oxidation risk to me, if at all, I would only do it under CO2 pressure.

 

Thanks folks. I really like the paint strainer idea. It seems every time I brew, I use different fine procedures. The basics stay the same, of course.
Cheers!

 

I've not used Irish moss. What does it do?

 

I place the paint strainer in the empty bucket. Pour everything in. Lift the bag and the solids come out with it. Cold crash after ferment is complete. Clean Beer, cheap!

Oldrtucker

 

Irish moss supposedly clears the beer when added the last 15 minutes of the boil. I used to use it, but time and temperature clears it good enough.

 

I'll have to try that. I rubber banded cheese cloth to the top of the bucket so strain on my last batch, but that sounds much easier!

 

I'll haven't to try that. I rubber banded cheese cloth to the top of the bucket so strain on my last batch, but that sounds much easier!