How do you prevent hop muck from getting into bottles?

[BikerMatt]

I BIAB and use these little disposable bags made for wine brewing to put my hop pellets in. The problem is apparentlt the bags let quite a lot of the hop material through. When I poured my wort into the primary I managed to get a lot of the muck to stay in the pot but the beer currently fermenting in my primary still looks like I scooped it up from the ganges river. I've read a lot of brewers just toss the pellets into your boiling pot without any bags or anything, how do you keep the muck from getting into your bottles? I'm already fermenting so whirlpooling isn't an option anymore but I was thinking about trying out gelatine. I know letting it sit will clarify it -eventually, but on the other hand I don't want half an inch of mud on the bottom of every 0,33L bottle. I don't have a secondary nor will I be getting one either.

What would you recommend in the future? I have three big tea infusion balls inbound from ebay but if the hops get through the bag they surely will escape the balls as well.

 

[RPh_Guy]

When racking beer out of the primary into my bottling bucket I use an fermtech auto-siphon, which is amazing at sucking up just the beer and leaving the trub behind. I also run this through a funnel with a fine filter that I attach inside my bottling bucket so if solids do get siphoned up, they are removed.
I can link to the equipment I use if that will help.

This part is pretty easy in my experience but I am however looking for a way to keep hops out of my primary.

Cheers

 

[PADave]

You are not bottling directly from your fermenter, right? If so, that's your problem right there. Allow enough time in the primary. Use a bottling bucket. Try to get as little of the trub into the bottling bucket when you transfer from primary. Done carefully, you should only have a thin layer of yeast at the bottom of your bottles. I've never done anything but throw the hops in the kettle, and fermenter when dry hopping, and don't get any into the bottle.

 

[truckinusa]

I'm reading this guessing I did it all wrong. I have a 1 gallon primary and I just poured everything from the brewing pot into it. Maybe I should have tried to strain everything? Maybe its not too late and I can strain after I ferment? Its been about a week in the fermenter.

 

[BikerMatt]

So the only really effective way is a bottling bucket then? Hm. Well I was being a little bit untruthful in saying I don't have a bottling bucket as I do, the problem with it just is that after the last batch I brewed in it (old primary) the wort had a some sort of an infection, assumably lactobacillus, and now the bucket has a pungent vinegar smell in it. I'll try to scrub and sanitize it more if I can get the smell to go away. I do have an autosiphon, though I don't remember the brand.

What about the gelatine? Anyone tried that?

Eyy another trucker, whatcha drivin there? '03 MAN TGA 18.313FLLC under me bum as I write this.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Well, besides potential issues with pulling up debris, having a bottling bucket also makes it a lot easier to make sure your priming sugar gets mixed evenly. If racking from your fermenter into bottles you'd pretty much need to add sugar directly to each bottle to achieve appropriate carbonation.

Any container that you can sanitize and will hold your beer is fine for bottling... I currently use my brew kettle as my "bottling bucket". My siphon and bottling wand make bottling a walk in the park.... Now if only I had a bottle washer

Cheers

@truckinusa
Don't worry about it. All that gunk from the brew kettle MAY impart some off-flavors, but if it's already fermenting it's too late. Some people just like to have as much control over the process as possible; removing the debris isn't absolutely necessary. Some people use secondary fermenters as well to minimize exposure to dead yeast cells, which also isn't necessary. I think just doing stuff makes us feel better.

 

[BikerMatt]

The only easier way to wash bottles that I can think of is getting someone else to do it In fact going to open, pour away and wash two cases of the aforementioned unintentional malt vinegar this weekend.

 

[Brownalemikie]

You are not bottling directly from your fermenter, right? If so, that's your problem right there. Allow enough time in the primary. Use a bottling bucket. Try to get as little of the trub into the bottling bucket when you transfer from primary. Done carefully, you should only have a thin layer of yeast at the bottom of your bottles. I've never done anything but throw the hops in the kettle, and fermenter when dry hopping, and don't get any into the bottle.

I respectfully disagree. I've only brewed about 30 batches but have never used a bottling bucket. I've always bottled directly from my 3 gallon carboy with a Fermtech auto siphon. The siphon has a 3/4" cone on the bottom which keeps the Trub below the inlet and works great. After 3 weeks of bottle conditioning, I have less than 1/16th inch of sediment in the bottom of the bottles.

Btw, I use Dot sugar cubes for priming and put one in each bottle right before capping.

 

[truckinusa]

@bikermatt I use to drive volvos mostly. I now operate a liquid nitrogen plant.

@RPh_Guy I kinda poured and some got poured and some stayed in the stainless pot. I guess I was just being lazy and didn't think it would hurt.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Looks awesome! Just not sure I have a sink the wife would let me requisition for brewing!

 

[BikerMatt]

Takes me about a minute, if that, to screw off the original nozzle and screw that thing in it's place, and another to replace. The only bummer is the seals need changed after a few runs as they deform and start to leak but they don't cost much.

Truckin I did the same with my first batch and got away relatively fine with it, for some reason this last batch is at least double as murky as the first so got me thinking.