Straining into primary

[P_Ribbs]

I've been on here a few months now, love the forum!!! Thanks for all the great information! I've read different takes on straining/filtering beer out of the boil into the primary. What's ok vs not? I don't want to miss on ABV or quality by not getting all the material and so on into the primary but also would love to reduce the amount of gunk that's left for cleanup. Help!?? Also depending on the answer to that question what's the best/sensible way to do so? Last if no filter into primary should I and how into secondary? Again best/sensible way to do so.


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[flars]

I've been on here a few months now, love the forum!!! Thanks for all the great information! I've read different takes on straining/filtering beer out of the boil into the primary. What's ok vs not? I don't want to miss on ABV or quality by not getting all the material and so on into the primary but also would love to reduce the amount of gunk that's left for cleanup. Help!?? Also depending on the answer to that question what's the best/sensible way to do so? Last if no filter into primary should I and how into secondary? Again best/sensible way to do so.


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Filters would be very difficult to use. Filters are used to remove very small particles from a finished beer before bottling or kegging.
I strain hop debris during the pour into the fermentor using a muslin grain bag.
I haven't noticed any change in the finished beer. The straining of the hop debris helps with the harvest of very clean yeast.
I and many others do not use a secondary unless there are additions to the beer such as oak cubes. The beer is finished in the primary. Usually in two to three weeks FG is reached. Another week for the yeast to clean up and the remaining sediment to drop out and the beer is ready to bottle or keg.

 

[JayDubWill]

I used to worry about all the "gunk," break material, hops, etc. in my primary but not really any more. I'll usually let the wort sit for 20 minutes or so after chilling to let the large stuff settle to the bottom. I then rack into my better bottle. I get a bit of gunk transferred as well, but a lot stays in the kettle. Just don't worry about getting every last drop of wort, or do and transfer all of it to your priamry. I haven't noticed any difference in my beers one way or the other. As far as secondary goes, I think it's fair to say most of us don't secondary any longer except for very specific reasons. There's a ton of "to secondary or not to secondary" threads. If you want a very bright beer search for finings or filter.

 

[JayDubWill]

Sorry, I should have added the break material won't have any affect on your ABV. That's determined only by the sugar content of your wort and how much of it the yeast eat.

 

[RM-MN]

Unless you are harvesting your yeast, just dump everything into the fermenter. When the ferment is over the hops will be on the bottom, covered by the yeast. You can easily rack your beer from above the yeast when it is time to bottle. Leaving anything behind in the kettle is a waste of potential beer in my mind. Those who have tried the different methods of keeping the material out compared to putting it all in haven't been able to taste any difference.

 

[unionrdr]

I use a large,dual layer fine mesh strainer available at NB & Midwest on top of my fermenters. Pouring the chilled wort through it gets the hop gun,etc out & aerates the wort. Not straining leaves a lot more gunk & cold break on the bottom of the primary vs straining. I get maybe 3/8" of compacted trub & yeast at the bottom of primary by bottling day. More clear beer going into the bottling bucket! I typically get about 53 bottles out of 5 gallons on average.

 

[kharper6]

Fits in bucket, stupid easy, catches everything, cheap, will froth your beer like crazy (aerating), clogs easy so I recommend a slow pour, may require some cleaning in the middle of straining.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003EDZO0G/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[brewbama]

I use a large,dual layer fine mesh strainer available at NB & Midwest on top of my fermenters. ..aerates the wort.

This is the same strainer I use and why I use it. I don't have a aeration system and this works great.

This is what Northern Brewer says about the secondary "Provided you sanitize your equipment with a capable sanitizer such as Star San I wouldn't say that the risk of infection outweighs the sometimes benefits of secondary for certain batches. Primarily I'd say you could forego secondary fermentations for batches with an OG of 1.053 or less, instead giving those batches additional time spent in their bottles in place of the secondary carboy. Only with sour beers is this not true."

This is what I read: when most beer is at FG from the primary it is done -- package it.

 

[unionrdr]

For the average gravity ale that's about it. Primary till settled out clear or slightly misty & bottle it. It'll settle out crystal clear in the bottles in a couple days time.

 

[Zwerski]

There are are three batches percolating now, nestled around my house, which were brewed with filtering/finings to see what I like best. Transferred to primary using a paint strainer bag, brewed with Scottish moss, etc. The results will tell me what, if any of these, ends up with something worth the extra effort.


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[P_Ribbs]

Do you then dry hop in the primary?


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[Zwerski]

Yep. So far just toss the hops in. Haven't tried a bag to cut down on debris. I have strained dry-hopped beer into the bottling bucket though. Cut way down on hops in the bottles.


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[Gixxer]

I use the bucket top strainers too... The 200 micron size is so fine you have to go slow, and gently scrape the filter to move the material, it clogs easily. This can be quite the handful if you still siphon from the kettle, but with a valve at the bottom with a dip tube, you can control your flow and you do not have to hold on to a racking cane and such. If you tried this with an IPA and a boatload of hops, there would be a lot of trub to deal with.

I also make sure to soak the strainer in star san for at least 15 min, ensuring 100% coverage to avoid infection...

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

Since I push through my plate chiller I really have no choice but to provide some filtration, in my case the wort flows through my hop quesadilla (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/hop-quesadilla-305073/)-> Inverted hop rocket full of leaf hops (http://thebrewingnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=27788) -> pump -> pc -> fermenter.

By the time it hits the fermenter it's pretty clear.

 

[P_Ribbs]

Fits in bucket, stupid easy, catches everything, cheap, will froth your beer like crazy (aerating), clogs easy so I recommend a slow pour, may require some cleaning in the middle of straining.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003EDZO0G/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

How does this work filtering into a carboy? Looks like you have to pour into a 5 gallon bucket then transfer to carboy, right?



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[kharper6]

How does this work filtering into a carboy? Looks like you have to pour into a 5 gallon bucket then transfer to carboy, right?



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I ferment in a bucket because I hate the idea of a carboy.

If you're using a carboy, this is probably more work than it is worth.

 

[Flboy]

I also use carboy fermenters. Using a 12 inch funnel, would this filter have a chance of working?

 

[budonze]

I use carboys as well and just put a stainless steel kitchen stainer inside the the funnel as I'm transferring from the kettle. It catches a bit of hops when I first open the valve. Most if the break and hops stay below the level of the valve.





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