How fine do you strain your wort?

[Brewing Clamper]

I was just pondering my last batch I brewed on monday. And BTW, I was doing this because I didn't actually wanted to do anything productive. As usual, after the boil I put my partial boil wort into a bottling bucket with ice through a large grain bag over the mouth of the bucket. This cools down my wort, adds the needed water, and filters most of the hop stuff & hot break. Then I let it sit for a good 10-15 mins for the rest of the gunk to settle below the spigot before puting it into a glass carboy, then I pitch.

Well, it seems that shortly after I place the air lock and set my carboy where it'll ferment, new stuff starts to precipitate and just hang there for a while. I imagine this is the cold break. So what I'm wondering is, should I just wait until this cold break or other stuff precipitates out in the plastic bottling bucket before I put it in the carboy to filter it out? Does filtering the wort completely change the flavor of the end product? How much do you filter your wort before dumping it into a fermenter? Ok, I guess that's enough for now....

 

[Reverend JC]

I get some of that residule fall out as well. If you are using a secondary fermentor then you are fine. If not be careful not to get all of that crap in the bottle or keg.

 

[Evan!]

I was just pondering my last batch I brewed on monday. And BTW, I was doing this because I didn't actually wanted to do anything productive. As usual, after the boil I put my partial boil wort into a bottling bucket with ice through a large grain bag over the mouth of the bucket. This cools down my wort, adds the needed water, and filters most of the hop stuff & hot break. Then I let it sit for a good 10-15 mins for the rest of the gunk to settle below the spigot before puting it into a glass carboy, then I pitch.

Well, it seems that shortly after I place the air lock and set my carboy where it'll ferment, new stuff starts to precipitate and just hang there for a while. I imagine this is the cold break. So what I'm wondering is, should I just wait until this cold break or other stuff precipitates out in the plastic bottling bucket before I put it in the carboy to filter it out? Does filtering the wort completely change the flavor of the end product? How much do you filter your wort before dumping it into a fermenter? Ok, I guess that's enough for now....

Yeah, that's cold break. It gets through pretty much any screen. But the amount is decieving, since it is suspended. Sometimes I'll get freaked out because there's like an 8" layer of cold break material on the bottom of my carboy...but once fermentation is done, it settles down into a 2" trub.

I don't like adding ice directly to my wort. Too much risk of contamination. I use an immersion chiller (I used to use ice baths before I got the chiller), and then I use a funnel strainer to add it to the carboy.

 

[Orfy]

Just used this.

 

[Brewing Clamper]

Just used this.

Ok, now you have to elaborate!

 

[Nate]

I've never filtered or strained... just let everything settle out during fermentation and/or conditioning.

 

[Orfy]

It's just a dip tube on the back of a ball valve.
The tube 1/2 diameter ends 1/4 inch from the bottom of the keg. I used to have a hopp stopper type arrangement but it was difficult to clean and got bashed. So I'f started using Stainless Steel pot scrubber. I've done 3 brews so far using one. they are around 50c each.

 

[EdWort]

I use a big stainless strainer from Target. It works great and aerates the wort.

 

[seyahmit]

I don't strain at all. I formulate my batches for 6 gallons. I also use Whirlfloc and an immersion chiller that gives me a good cold break. After I cool the wort down to the 60's, I whirlpool and let it sit for a while in the kettle. This is a good time to get the carboy ready. By that time all of the hop and break material has settled to the bottom and you can siphon or drain 5 gallons of clear wort into your carboy.

 

[the_bird]

I use a big stainless strainer from Target. It works great and aerates the wort.

Same here. You get a HUGE head on the wort when it hits the fermenter. I'm still thinking of investing in an O2 system to supplement that (and because I would like to eventually transition to Better Bottles as primaries), but this strainer works beautifully.

 

[Spyk'd]

Well, if you have a kettle with a spigot (or plan to get one) I'll continue to recommend the Bazooka screen:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=4497

It leaves a very clear end product and is super easy to use.

 

[beerfan]

I have a nylon bag that I put into the fermentor and then pour the wort through. I usually get a 2" ball of stuff in there when I am done. My first stage fermentor ends up with less than 1" of trub on the bottom. In my secondary I end up with about 1/4" of trub or less. I might even filter one more time before kegging, I have not decided yet.