Strain wort or hops bag?

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lmacmil

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I have never done either but would like to try one or the other on my next brew. Trying to get a clearer beer. Wondering if a spatter screen is fine enough to pour the wort through or is using a hops bag during the boil a better alternative? Open to other suggestions too but keep it simple! :D
 
I use hops bags to help keep the bulk of the hops out of my fermenter.
I also whirpool it and let it settle before putting into the fermenter. As long as you pull from the edges, it leaves most of that trub in the middle.

Whatever is left in the wort will settle our during fermentation.

Now, you could technically dump all of that in the fermenter and it would still settle out. But it's debatable whether having that much trub in there can cause any off flavors.
I just get most of it out for peace of mind really...
 
I use a wire mesh kitchen strainer. From what I read, these things don't sanitize well with chemicals, so I boil the part that's going to touch the wort for 5 minutes. Then I have my wife hold it as I pour the wort from kettle to fermenter. It definitely clogs up several times, but I just dump it into the sink when that happens and resume pouring from there. Works great for me so far!
 
Oh, and I should point out that I'm able to filter a lot of trub out that way as well...
 
I use a wire mesh kitchen strainer. From what I read, these things don't sanitize well with chemicals, so I boil the part that's going to touch the wort for 5 minutes. Then I have my wife hold it as I pour the wort from kettle to fermenter. It definitely clogs up several times, but I just dump it into the sink when that happens and resume pouring from there. Works great for me so far!

yeah, i did this for my most recent batch. only been in the carboy for about 10 days, so we'll see how it turns out. seemed to filter out a lot of sludge.

i hadn't heard that about the sanitizer though, i just sprayed it with starsan. oh well, i'm sure it'll be fine!
 
I don't strain, but if you want to you could do it a couple of ways. Once way is if you're using a bucket for a primary- you could line the bucket with a very large mesh bag (sanitized) and line the bucket. Pour the wort into it, and then lift out the bag. You can use a splatter screen, but I think it would clog fast.

Otherwise, a big spaghetti strainer (sanitized) over the top would work well.
 
i hadn't heard that about the sanitizer though, i just sprayed it with starsan. oh well, i'm sure it'll be fine!

It probably will. I've done this twice...the first time I hadn't read that yet and just used starsan...no contamination issues. I boiled it the second time just to be safe.
 
I don't strain, but if you want to you could do it a couple of ways. Once way is if you're using a bucket for a primary- you could line the bucket with a very large mesh bag (sanitized) and line the bucket. Pour the wort into it, and then lift out the bag.

i just started using this method after switching from a regular mesh strainer

works SO much better and easier - a strainer will clog pretty quickly and easily and can be a pain to stop and clear it out

i started using 5gal paint strainer bags when i PM or steep grains - i rinse it out well then throw it in my sanitizer while the wort is cooling then squeeze it out and line the fermenter bucket with it, pour and then lift out and gently shake/squeeze to get extra wort out
 
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