Question about filtering hop pellets from wort

[lawle102]

I am going to brew second batch of beer on Saturday, it's an IPA that has several hop additions. I will be using all pellet hops with no muslin bags, After cooling my wort, I need to transfer to my fermenting bucket. I know that I need to transfer as little of the hop pellets as possible. I would like to do this with out siphoning the wort.

I have a large funnel I bought from LHBS with a screen. Similar to this one, Anti-Splash Funnel w/ Fine Filtering Screen | love2brew.com

Will a screen filter out most of the hop pellets? Just curious what it will take. I know some people say stirring in a circular motion will separate most of the stuff to the center of the kettle. But can that be transfered like that without using a siphon?

 

[Yooper]

I don't filter my pellet hops out (they really disintegrate) but one thing you could try if you want to filter it if you're using a bucket/ale pail is to sanitize a 5 gallon paint strainer bag, and line your fermenter with it. Then you could just lift out the straining bag after you pour your wort in the fermenter.

 

[TyTanium]

Yes, that screen should take out all but the finest hop material. So if you're not going to siphon, how will you transfer...lift & pour from your boil kettle? If so, get a buddy to help. The hop material will clog the screen quickly, so it helps to have someone else with a sanitized metal spoon scraping the filter to keep it clean.

EDIT: I'm with Yooper - I only filter for low-hop beers like a hefeweizen. For anything with more than an ounce of hops filtering just takes too dang long, even with a whirlpool. I've never noticed a taste difference.

 

[lawle102]

Damn yoop, that's a good idea.

And to Ty, that is probably a good idea. Thanks for reminding me before it's too late.

 

[JimTheHick]

I just did the paint strainer trick in my last batch and it worked just OK.

Eventually the whole of it clogged and I had about a gallon of wort trapped in the bag. It wasn't fun getting the last gallon out.

As for the funnel, Do Not do that.

The fine screen plugs almost immediately and then the large funnel fills completely. Worst case scenario it then falls out of the Carboy, spilling everywhere.

I'd guess the funnel would work much better with a whirlpool/siphon.

After trying both of these I just leave the last half gallon of really thick hops/break and call it good. Whole hops will float so I still try to get those out, but everything else sinks quickly

 

[Calichusetts]

ahhh...a clogged screen is no real issue, just stop the transfer and empty out the screen. I use three sets of strainers when I transfer to the chiller, then a fine screen mesh strainer over a double funnel (one funnel has a screen as well) for when I transfer to the carboy. As the mesh strainer fills up, I just stop and empty it into my sink then restart

 

[unionrdr]

That's about what I do. But I have ale pales & a cooper's micro brew FV with wide openings. I pour all through a fine mesh strainer into the FV. You could take out the screen& have some one hold a fine mesh strainer over the funnel. Then have'em dump & rinse the strainer real quick every so often. Tha way,you don't have to fool around with the funnel taking it apart.

 

[dfc]

I don't filter my pellet hops out (they really disintegrate) but one thing you could try if you want to filter it if you're using a bucket/ale pail is to sanitize a 5 gallon paint strainer bag, and line your fermenter with it. Then you could just lift out the straining bag after you pour your wort in the fermenter.

This is the way I filter out hop particles. It works much better than a funnel with a screen. You'll just get frustrated with the funnel because it will clog easily and you'll have to repeatedly clean it. Someone mentioned earlier that it traps a gallon or so of wort. If you squeeze the bag the wort gets pushed through, but the hops stay in the bag.

 

[AngusPA]

what is the downside of using mulsim bags? cost?

 

[hopjedi]

I am a big fan of hoppy IPA and just bottled my third IIPA. They have all been attempts at hopslam and they are damn good the longer they sit. Anyway, I had 9 ounces of pellets in the boil and dry hopped with 4 in secondary on the last one so what I have started using is a nylon hop bag from the LHBS. It is like 6 inches in diameter(opening), and 18 inches long. Sewn shut on one end I bent a wire coat hanger into a circle the same diameter roughly, and sewed a hem of the open end around the metal hanger circle. The length of the wire hanger allows me to form the extra metal on both ends, into hooks that I attach to my boil pot handles. Then it just hangs in the boil pot and all hop additions go in there so it catches majority of crud. I then pour the wort when chilled directly into fermented without trying to filter. Tried like you discussed with funnel and strainer but hop oils and resins clog it up. They all settle out before transfer to secondary.

 

[flabyboy]

I used a five gallon nylon bag for my big IPA I just finished. It took awhile for all the wort to filter thru, but the hops stayed behind. I usually just put my hop pellets in one gallon paint strainer bags. No need to filter when doing this. It's questionable whether excess hops and trub in the fermenter makes any difference. I personally believe the less you bring over the better

 

[KegerRaider]

what is the downside of using mulsim bags? cost?

I'm a noob, but i believe that the downside of using the bags is that the hop utilization goes down.

 

[flabyboy]

I'm a noob, but i believe that the downside of using the bags is that the hop utilization goes down.

Never heard this before. Is this true?

 

[HomebrewMTB]

I've struggled with this question too. However, first ask yourself why you want to filter. I'm trying to harvest yeast so want relatively clean trub. If not for that, the just dump it all in the fermentor. The hops just sink to the bottom with everything else. So don't worry about it at all if you're not saving the yeast. It won't affect the clarity of your beer at all.

Next it depends on how you transfer. If you dump directly or use a racking cane, it's very hard to adjust the flow. I've had much more success when I added a kettle valve. I can just shut off the flow to clear out the clogs.

The last comment I have is if you're looking for a relatively clean wort into the fermentor, you can't worry about getting every drop. So don't be afraid to leave that hop slurry behind when you transfer

 

[unionrdr]

Yes,it does go down. But by a very insignificant amount. So it doesn't really matter. I've done it both ways,& I can't taste a whole lot of difference. The sacks just make things easier with less funk at the bottom of the FV. More beer for me,as I strain it too. I get an average of about 3/8 of an inch of trub at the bottom.

 

[JimTheHick]

For guys/gals that use sacks, how much hot and cold break material is in the boil kettle? I've never separated out my pellet hops so I have no idea how much of that sludge is hop pellets and how much is break.

 

[flabyboy]

I've struggled with this question too. However, first ask yourself why you want to filter. I'm trying to harvest yeast so want relatively clean trub. If not for that, the just dump it all in the fermentor. The hops just sink to the bottom with everything else. So don't worry about it at all if you're not saving the yeast. It won't affect the clarity of your beer at all.

Next it depends on how you transfer. If you dump directly or use a racking cane, it's very hard to adjust the flow. I've had much more success when I added a kettle valve. I can just shut off the flow to clear out the clogs.

The last comment I have is if you're looking for a relatively clean wort into the fermentor, you can't worry about getting every drop. So don't be afraid to leave that hop slurry behind when you transfer

Some very good brewers feel that bringing the hops and trub into the fermenter effects the final beer. There are some good brewers who think It makes no difference. It's not a forgone conclusion either way, but I doubt professional brewers leave there beer fermenting on hot/cold break material and hops

 

[unionrdr]

Exactly why I like to get the funk out.

 

[TTB-J]

What works for me is to take a cheese cloth and clip it across the top of an ale pail. I pour from the kettle over the cheese cloth and it grabs the majority of the hop and break material. Then I pour from the ale pail into the funnel with strainer. I still have to scrape the strainer screen towards the end as stuff builds up, but it's not bad at all. I definitely prefer not to transfer all of that trub material into the fermenter. I don't know if it affects taste, but it leaves me the option of washing the yeast later.

 

[KegerRaider]

Yes,it does go down. But by a very insignificant amount. So it doesn't really matter. I've done it both ways,& I can't taste a whole lot of difference. The sacks just make things easier with less funk at the bottom of the FV. More beer for me,as I strain it too. I get an average of about 3/8 of an inch of trub at the bottom.

Thanks for clearing that up. I had read that the utilization goes down, but i was not sure by how much. I have not been filtering my pellets out, but i want to filter them on the next batch and see how it affects it.

 

[lawle102]

The only reason I don't have a whole stock pile of the muslin bags is my LHBS just didn't have enough. I bought his last one the other day. I wish they carried more, but I don't think brewing is big in this area.

 

[AngusPA]

For guys/gals that use sacks, how much hot and cold break material is in the boil kettle? I've never separated out my pellet hops so I have no idea how much of that sludge is hop pellets and how much is break.

i've only done a couple batches so far, but used muslim bags for both the hops and the specialty grains. i had virtually no sediment left in the wort either time. i even poured it through a strainer into the fermentor and there was barely anything.

 

[unionrdr]

JW Dver is fairly busy sometimes. Especially at harvest time. They tipically have lots of different hop & grain sacks/bags,bottle caps,all the usual needs. Lots of different juices for wines too. Including the white muscat used in midas touch. I need afew more muslin grain sacks for the whole hops though.

 

[Yooper]

Never heard this before. Is this true?

Yes, it does go down, but it depends on how they are in the bag and the size of the bag.

If it's a big bag, and the hops are loose in there so the wort can flow through it unimpeded, the impact on utilization is probably negligible. But I've seen a few brewers want to put two ounces in a small bag, and that's an issue. You'd get a huge reduction in hops utilization that way.

The wort needs to boil and the oils need to be able to isomerize in the wort. So a bag is fine, if the hops are loose in there and the wort can make the contact.

 

[flabyboy]

I usually use one gallon paint strainer bags with no more than an ounce in there. Everything is usually wet and the pellets are all broken down like you would see if they were on the bottom of the kettle

 

[eastoak]

I used a five gallon nylon bag for my big IPA I just finished. It took awhile for all the wort to filter thru, but the hops stayed behind. I usually just put my hop pellets in one gallon paint strainer bags. No need to filter when doing this. It's questionable whether excess hops and trub in the fermenter makes any difference. I personally believe the less you bring over the better

this is an interesting article on trub and it's effects, if any, on beer.

 

[psymonkey]

Some very good brewers feel that bringing the hops and trub into the fermenter effects the final beer. There are some good brewers who think It makes no difference. It's not a forgone conclusion either way, but I doubt professional brewers leave there beer fermenting on hot/cold break material and hops

i've only done a couple batches so far, but used muslim bags for both the hops and the specialty grains. i had virtually no sediment left in the wort either time. i even poured it through a strainer into the fermentor and there was barely anything.

I recently switched to using the bags for all but my final addition of hops. The difference is remarkable. I use the siphon/funnel method and the last two batches since i Started using the bags have been completely clog free until the last 10 ounces or so. Before trying to transfer was a nightmare as those funnels clog so fast.

ONe thing I"ve found to be amazing now that it doesn't clog is just how good of a job the screened funnels do of aerating. My last batch had at least six inches of beautifully fluffy foam on top when I was done.

BTW, the reason I still add the final hop addition directly is because I pull the bag out when it's time to put the wort chiller in.

 

[flabyboy]

Sounds like it pretty hard to remove all of it without letting it settle for 12-16 hrs at lower temps.

 

[Progger]

I don't filter my pellet hops out (they really disintegrate) but one thing you could try if you want to filter it if you're using a bucket/ale pail is to sanitize a 5 gallon paint strainer bag, and line your fermenter with it. Then you could just lift out the straining bag after you pour your wort in the fermenter.

Yooper, you mean you just pour all the wort, along with all the "junk" in the kettle into the fermenter?.

I´ve filtered since day one and yes, it is a hassle and the most stressing time of brewing. Specially thinking the wort is exposed to the enviroment.

 

[eastoak]

Yooper, you mean you just pour all the wort, along with all the "junk" in the kettle into the fermenter?.

I´ve filtered since day one and yes, it is a hassle and the most stressing time of brewing. Specially thinking the wort is exposed to the enviroment.

lots of brewers pour everything into the fermentor since it will cause no harm to the beer. everyone who uses a plate chiller gets all of the break material right into the the fermentor along with some of the hops if they are pellets. there is no harm in doing this. there is no harm in filtering but no reason to do it either,