Removing starch from pre-boil wort

brewerrabbit · May 8, 2017

Has anyone filtered out starch left behind after steeping? I need to remove as much as possible. Is there any way to do this before the boil? Like preboil filtering? What filter pore size would filter starch, but not any of the flavor/color?

Thanks!

Yooper · May 8, 2017

brewerrabbit said:
Has anyone filtered out starch left behind after steeping? I need to remove as much as possible. Is there any way to do this before the boil? Like preboil filtering? What filter pore size would filter starch, but not any of the flavor/color?

Thanks!

You shouldn't have starch in the wort, if you mashed properly. What makes you think you have starch (unconverted sugars)? Starch molecules are microscopic, so you can't strain them out.

brewerrabbit · May 9, 2017

Hi, and thanks for responding.

I'm steeping crystal malt grains in a bag and the starch from those grains stays in my wort. I was wondering if they could be filtered out before I boil, and what pore size filter paper would remove the starch but not any of the flavor/color.

I believe it's starch because some of it settles out as a fine, light colored ooze at the bottom of a test glass. And at the end of a previous boil, a similar trub is at the bottom of the pot.

Thanks again for any insight.

flars · May 9, 2017

I don't worry about the fine flours from the crushed grains. Irish moss in the boil kettle will remove some. Straining the wort going into the fermentor to remove hop debris will take out more. What is left seems to settle into the trub/yeast layer.

Some of the haze from wheat flour in wheat beers will remain. The hazy appearance is characteristic of the wheat beers.

Mainer · May 9, 2017

Are you sure you mean starch? I think the so-called "hot trub" in your boil is usually made up of proteins. Is that what you mean, the cloudy haze that separates and sinks in the kettle as you chill?

kh54s10 · May 9, 2017

That is not starch and there is no need to filter it out. Any grain debris, proteins and such will settle to the bottom of your fermenter once fermentation has finished. Just leave it all in your boil kettle then pour it all into your fermenter. If you use a lot of hops you can contains some of that by using a hop spider.