Brew Kettle false bottom/filter idea

[Brooklyn-Brewtality]

I am working on a filtering system for my BK. It will basically be a stepped stainless false bottom. The top layer is a standard false bottom, made from perforated steel. The middle layer is a wire mesh, medium-coarse grade. The bottom layer is fine-medium grade. This will mean that in the boil kettle, as i am draining, the largest particles (whole hops, large additions like cinnamon sticks) will get stopped by the false bottom, the middle layer will stop almost everything else (cold break, pellet and plug hops, spices) and the bottom layer will be a the last line of defense.

I think that by building the false bottom this way, I can keep almost all sediment in the keg with no extra work.

I am just curious how fine I can go with the two mesh layers and if anyone has tried this before.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I may be wrong here but, I think you are setting yourself up for some slow kettle drainage and possibly getting "stuck" completely as the media become plugged. Of course, this will be dependant on the protein content of the malts you use.

And lastly, if you don't already know, "some" cold break in the fermenter is actually useful to yeast.

I use a plate chiller and to date the hop bag, taco double header has worked great.

 

[Brooklyn-Brewtality]

i thought about clogging, but people use SureScreens a lot, and they don't clog at all. This would be similar, but a much larger area.

 

[NateKerx]

I doubt slow drains would be a problem, it seems like with the insurance provided by 2 extra layers of sediment screen you'll be able to stir the wort a little if the coarsest filter begins to stick.

I think the trick to this design, which I seems like a good one, will be making disassembly simple enough that you don't add half an hour to your cleanup

 

[Brooklyn-Brewtality]

I doubt slow drains would be a problem, it seems like with the insurance provided by 2 extra layers of sediment screen you'll be able to stir the wort a little if the coarsest filter begins to stick.

I think the trick to this design, which I seems like a good one, will be making disassembly simple enough that you don't add half an hour to your cleanup

yea, i thought that I would assemble the entire unit by putting a few ~2 inch bolts around the whole unit, with acorn nuts at the ends, and then spacers separating each layer. Then, for cleaning, could just take the acorn off of each bolt, pull the layers and spacers off and rinse the whole thing off

 

[Brewinghotdog]

Sorry pilgrim, this thing will clog absolutely, especially if you use hop pellets.

Expect some bad kettle backups for sure.:rockin:

 

[ScubaSteve]

More importantly....you're going to scorch the bottom of your vessel and ruin the beer! Just ask Lil' Sparky!.....He tried to do an ultra-fine false bottom and the lack of circulation burned the batch!