Over-filtering Wort?

[Tippsy-Turvy]

I want to increase my kettle yield and my whirlpooling technique is, clearly, still crap. I'm not starting a discussion on whether it's better to ferment with or without trub!

Is there a point when one is over-filtering wort and therefore negatively impact the fermentation quality? I recall reading that some break material could be beneficial to yeast.

My latest experiment will be following the mechanics of a French press coffee maker. I've made a large flour strainer fit very snuggly in my kettle. After chilling I'll gently push down the strainer to trap the trub at the bottom. However, the steel mesh looks SUPER fine. I'm talking cotton shirt material kind of fineness, hence my concern!

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

I was talking to the brewer at my local brewery and I asked about filtration. He said its different depending on what your brewing but lets say you are doing a pilsner or something you want real clean. He said they run it through a whirl pool then they run it though a fine mesh to clean it up really nice for a drought pour. If it goes to a bottle...it goes through a third filtration which is an even finer mesh. So I don't think you can over filtrate after listening to him.

With something like a hefe or wheat they whirlpool and move on.....obviously.

 

[IslandLizard]

I don't think you can overfilter your wort. Whatever is beneficial to the yeast is dissolved, FAN, etc.

How does your super fine mesh filter work in practice? Doesn't it get clogged by the hot and cold break?

The last few brews I've left the chilled wort for a few hours in a bucket to settle out, while I make a "Vitality Starter" with 1-2 quarts of it, per Brulosophy. I then pour the clear wort into another bucket, leaving most if not all of the trubby layer behind, then pitch the whole starter and aerate with a large whisk. Seems to work very well, and I get a very clean harvest of yeast after filling the keg.

Now I consider that leftover trubby gallon in the bucket good beer that just needs filtering. So I pour it through a large fine mesh hop bag, into another vessel. After most has dripped through I heat that up to 170F and keep it there for 5 minutes, to pasteurize, then let it cool in a sink with cold water. I make a small .75-1 gallon batch out of that, usually with a different yeast. Or it becomes starter wort.

 

[Tippsy-Turvy]

I don't think you can overfilter your wort. How does your super fine mesh filter work in practice? Doesn't it get clogged by the hot and cold break?

Great ideas guys, especially treating the trub as another batch of beer that just needs more filtering!

I guess I'm essentially trying to achieve the same thing but instead of waiting for the liquid in the trub to drip through the fine mesh, I'm pressing the fine wire mesh down onto the trub in the kettle to filter it by force - just like these French coffee presses.

Here's the giant flour sifter (the wide angle makes it look conical but it's not):


Here's how fine it is (next to my usual kitchen sieve):



I wrap the sifter with my mesh bag so the edges against the pot walls are REALLY tight and snug. When the wort is chilled, I'll then place this in my pot and push down slowly into the wort with sanitised tongs (like a syringe or piston). The mesh will definitely begin to get clogged like any false bottom in your MLT but with this approach I can apply steady pressure to force the remaining liquid through.



Well, nice theory! Next brew day in a couple of weeks so that'll be the real test.