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Jako

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One of the next things i would like to build/ upgrade is a wort filter. As of now i will whirlpool then out of the chiller i will use a funnel filter that you would find at a homebrew store. wondering what everyone uses or has built. trying to get some ideas.
 
What would be the goal here?

My only attempts at "filtering" wort from the boil kettle to the fermentor have been strictly to reduce the amount of hops that make the trip. I've gone from nylon hop bags (effective but need constant attention) to a "Hopblocker V1" (tried once, total plugged up fail), a hop spider (ok, but again has to be attended to constantly to achieve decent utilization), and now a "Hopblocker V2" - which I believe I'm falling in love with :)

Beyond that...whatever finds it way into the carboy is just achieving its destiny...

Cheers! ;)
 
good question, right now i have nothing to limit the amount of hops from the boil kettle into the fermenter. i am working on building up my yeast bank. i like to keep hops out of the fermenter of most beers pull yeast then dry hop after or no dry hops. oh and whole cone hops keep jamming up my kettle valve...

i like to let the hops go free. don't want a bag to get stuck on the heating element. i am all for process but mixing a hop spider etc is not something i want to add.

most IPA i will build a starter then pitch that and dump the yeast as anything over 6% ABV is now spent yeast.

i will take a look at the hopblocker V2
 
[...]i will take a look at the hopblocker V2

If you didn't come across it, check out my Hopstopper V2 related thread here. There's some goal-specific mods from the oem fitment to be compatible with my rig, but otherwise the results should be common...

Cheers!
 
i just bought some 10"x24" hop bags....hoping for the best. 🤞

Yuge! :D
I used 1 gallon paint strainer bags and each round got its own bag. For classic IPAs (which I guess would be low-throw-weight WCIPAs these days) there'd be an ounce or two at 60 floating around, then a couple more at 20, a couple more at 10, and a couple more at FO. So now there'd be four bags of hops roaming around in the kettle, and I'd be compulsively picking them up with a set of SS tongs to drain them then dunk them back in the wort. Really obsessive stuff, but I was convinced if I didn't manipulate the bags the utilization would be pathetic.

Also, if one has never used nylon hop bags, here's a heads up: nylon mesh tightens over time in the boil. You might notice after say a dozen uses that you can pick a soaking wet bag of hops out of the boil and realize it literally isn't draining! No bueno - clearly utilization goes down the tubes at that point.

All of this stuff is what drove my hunt for a rational, functional, effective, and non-aggravating solution. I surely don't want to look like a shill - I don't think I've even mentioned the company's name - but this solution is the best I've tried yet...

Cheers!

[edit] I remembered I took this picture years ago showing hop bag progression from virgin to retirement. "It's A Hop Bag Life" :D

hop_bags.jpg
 
Last edited:
If you didn't come across it, check out my Hopstopper V2 related thread here. There's some goal-specific mods from the oem fitment to be compatible with my rig, but otherwise the results should be common...

Cheers!

really good thread. i love how you have your kettle set up and have planned on moving my whirlpool port lower in the kettle to avoid splashing and get more of a spin especially when i run the CF chiller in line.
Yuge! :D
I used 1 gallon paint strainer bags and each round got its own bag. For classic IPAs (which I guess would be low-throw-weight WCIPAs these days) there'd be an ounce or two at 60 floating around, then a couple more at 20, a couple more at 10, and a couple more at FO. So now there'd be four bags of hops roaming around in the kettle, and I'd be compulsively picking them up with a set of SS tongs to drain them then dunk them back in the wort. Really obsessive stuff, but I was convinced if I didn't manipulate the bags the utilization would be pathetic.

Also, if one has never used nylon hop bags, here's a heads up: nylon mesh tightens over time in the boil. You might notice after say a dozen uses that you can pick a soaking wet bag of hops out of the boil and realize it literally isn't draining! No bueno - clearly utilization goes down the tubes at that point.

All of this stuff is what drove my hunt for a rational, functional, effective, and non-aggravating solution. I surely don't want to look like a shill - I don't think I've even mentioned the company's name - but this solution is the best I've tried yet...

Cheers!

[edit] I remembered I took this picture years ago showing hop bag progression from virgin to retirement. "It's A Hop Bag Life" :D

View attachment 716157


that picture is insane. i don't know if its cool or nasty looking. i can almost smell old hop smell. was it stinky?
 
Surprisingly, not stanky at all. I don't ever recall a hop bag going rank. There may be some antibacterial science there?
The dark is from my chocolate stout - that's where bags near end-of-life would go for one last hurrah :D
But at that point they were nearly impermeable. Not a big deal with the stout, which iirc only had four ounces of chinook and cascade for 10 gallons...

Cheers!
 
Agreed. That's what I've been doing for some time now. I end up with ~50-75ml of dense white yeast from the overbuild, and in a 5L e-flask that will crank out enough to "pro-pitch" a 10 gallon batch plus have a third to save for the next cycle.

I have occasionally saved some yeast cake from a fermentation but it was more as insurance than for actual use. I also top-cropped a batch once and used that for the next batch - and that was a wild ride. Never had such an aggressive fermentation, almost had to beat the damned thing down with a stick :D

Too much drama. I'll stick with the over-build ranching method...

Cheers!
 
I find it easier to overbuild the starter by ~100 billion cells and then separate them out before decanting the starter.

i keep a "ground 0" jar that i will use after after a few uses to make a very small starter. split that off then grow that up.
 
Agreed. That's what I've been doing for some time now. I end up with ~50-75ml of dense white yeast from the overbuild, and in a 5L e-flask that will crank out enough to "pro-pitch" a 10 gallon batch plus have a third to save for the next cycle.

I have occasionally saved some yeast cake from a fermentation but it was more as insurance than for actual use. I also top-cropped a batch once and used that for the next batch - and that was a wild ride. Never had such an aggressive fermentation, almost had to beat the damned thing down with a stick :D

Too much drama. I'll stick with the over-build ranching method...

Cheers!

common man, nothing like going to war. the feeling of victory... JK no one wins that type of war.
 
Hahaha! Hang on a tick, lemme take a picture....

raging_1318.jpg


I pitched this on Saturday and have had it on a tight 64°F leash.
It's almost Friday here, so I bumped the chamber up by 1°F.
The yeast said "YAY! PARTY TIME!" and now I'm looking at Blow-Off City again! :D

Yeah, 1318 can run a bit nutty - and, again, this is at 64-65°F ffs!

Cheers! ;)
 
really good thread. i love how you have your kettle set up and have planned on moving my whirlpool port lower in the kettle to avoid splashing and get more of a spin especially when i run the CF chiller in line.



that picture is insane. i don't know if its cool or nasty looking. i can almost smell old hop smell. was it stinky?
I use 5 gal paint trainer bags hanging from the top of the boil kettle , attached with big binder clips. also have a fine mesh ss screen folded like a Taco and sewn in place around my drain tube inside of kettle.. the boiling agitates the bag well and drains by itself . the Taco screen flows good and the boiling action keeps it clean. Very cheap reusable and effective.
 
After fermentation, I transferred the wort through cheesecloth into the bottling vessel.
 
After ferment I use another 5 gal paint strainer bag stuffed into my keg to clean up any junk while siphoning.. then wash out the bag for reuse.
 
The cloth & bags work fine, but they are a bit of a pain to clean, and only good for so many uses. I went on to this hop spider, which works pretty well; Hop Spider | MoreBeer

I do like the option of using leaf hops, especially in post boil step, so Hopblocker not as good for me.
 
Hi I use two things in the bottom of my 70 litre guten.

I made a "trubtrapper" out of stainless steel mesh 2mm holes 16cm wide and 80cm long.

I folded this in half across it's width all the way along it's length and sandwiched another piece of stainless steel mesh 0.5mm holes inbetween. Then wired this
" ring " together.
Then cut a 15mm diameter silicone tube along its length so it had a slit in it. This fits over the mesh where it was folded together.

I drop this side with tube on down so it sits on the base of the boiler about 15minutes from end of boil around this I drop a helical spring from kegland that sits as a second barrier ol dam.

I then whirlpool and chill leave it to settle and then pump slowly into fermenter, About 2 litres left at the end which if i want to really clear up i pass thru the hop spider pre sterilised that I don't use during the boil.

Hardly any waste and easy to spray clean and pbw afterwards.
IMG_20201107_110054.jpg
IMG_20201107_113743.jpg
 
Hahaha! Hang on a tick, lemme take a picture....

View attachment 716170

I pitched this on Saturday and have had it on a tight 64°F leash.
It's almost Friday here, so I bumped the chamber up by 1°F.
The yeast said "YAY! PARTY TIME!" and now I'm looking at Blow-Off City again! :D

Yeah, 1318 can run a bit nutty - and, again, this is at 64-65°F ffs!

Cheers! ;)

Honestly that's crazy that would be the equivalent of the yeast crawling out of my conical i have yet to have that happen that would get ugly fast. i have a old picture i will try to find of blueberry's going up the blow off tube. worst brewing experiance of my life.
 
The cloth & bags work fine, but they are a bit of a pain to clean, and only good for so many uses. I went on to this hop spider, which works pretty well; Hop Spider | MoreBeer

I do like the option of using leaf hops, especially in post boil step, so Hopblocker not as good for me.

would the hopblocker function just the same? i would think it would even aid the flow and filtering of the wort just like a mash tun would.
 
Hi I use two things in the bottom of my 70 litre guten.

I made a "trubtrapper" out of stainless steel mesh 2mm holes 16cm wide and 80cm long.

I folded this in half across it's width all the way along it's length and sandwiched another piece of stainless steel mesh 0.5mm holes inbetween. Then wired this
" ring " together.
Then cut a 15mm diameter silicone tube along its length so it had a slit in it. This fits over the mesh where it was folded together.

I drop this side with tube on down so it sits on the base of the boiler about 15minutes from end of boil around this I drop a helical spring from kegland that sits as a second barrier ol dam.

I then whirlpool and chill leave it to settle and then pump slowly into fermenter, About 2 litres left at the end which if i want to really clear up i pass thru the hop spider pre sterilised that I don't use during the boil.

Hardly any waste and easy to spray clean and pbw afterwards. View attachment 716231View attachment 716232

do you have any pictures of it in use?
 
I will take a picture of them both in the bottom of the Guten empty ( see below not that easy to get great photo) and as planning a brew tomorrow ( saturday as in NZ ) will get pictures then of it nearly empty and post use and a picture of the wort in the fermentasaurus to show how " clean " it is.
I don't think that the helical spring is that necessary but I have it so use it. The trub ring could have been a greater diameter but i wanted it to fit in a 35 robobrew as well.
IMG_20210129_122552.jpg
IMG_20210129_122632.jpg
 
PS if you are making one of these be careful as the stainless steel wire mesh is very sharp on the cut edges and I felt inoculated by the end of building it even with gloves on. Should have been more careful!!
 
PS if you are making one of these be careful as the stainless steel wire mesh is very sharp on the cut edges and I felt inoculated by the end of building it even with gloves on. Should have been more careful!!

after reading the post one more time and the new pictures it makes a lot more sense. i really want to see it after the brew day this weekend.
 
[edit] I remembered I took this picture years ago showing hop bag progression from virgin to retirement. "It's A Hop Bag Life" :D
Heh. I bleach my hop and grain bags when they start turning a bit funky coloured. I did it again this week, but I'm thinking it's time to replace both. The grain bag has funny stains that won't even bleach out, and the hop bag has adopted a cream soda light green colour that simply won't come out either.

Both bags are approaching 2 years in age, and have made probably close to 1,500l of wort, if not more.
 
I remembered I took this picture years ago showing hop bag progression from virgin to retirement. "It's A Hop Bag Life" :D

I put my muslin bags in the washing machine, and it gives them back to me in pristine condition, but they are the kind for pellets in cones. I never tried with the finer kind for pellets.

As far as using them as filters on the path to the fermenter, I think it would be wise to use a dedicated hop bag for that, which never gets boiled.
 
Jako

Sorry to not get the pictures up sooner.
This is the residue after pumping the wort into the fermentasaurus, still had some cold break about 400 ml go across but I find that this is less if I am chilling more. I was using Kveik so pump out slowly starting at 45 celsius. This means in fermentasaurus it is 35 celsius and ready to pitch.
I made the Trub trapper originally for the 35 litre robobrew and think this would be better with a larger diameter and a little taller for the guten 70 litre which has a diameter of 39.5 cm internally.
Portly Gentleman has a couple of shows using the real trub trapper ( that I tried to copy ) and also a newer bigger one from another manufacturer. The bigger one has some guides on it so that it drops into the right place which would save using the stirrer to position it.
I'm pretty happy with it and for info the recipe had 150 g of hops in total
IMG_20210201_001744.jpg
IMG_20210201_001802.jpg
 
@DuncB

Ah, initially I did not understand the logic, but now I see it. The whirlpool wil concentrate all the solids in the center, and the added circular filter will do the job of letting them away from the other filter which leads the liquids to the tap. That's interesting and new to me.
 
Hi
Not sure if I'm misunderstanding your reply, the pipework at about 7 o'clock in pictures is for the whirlpool ( which uses the tap inlet) . I drain the wort out via using the pump via the hole at about 1 o'clock.
But as you say the helical coil is just acting as a second barrier. The helical coil was meant to be attached via a T to the tap outflow ( instead of the L and smaller tube) as a filter when using the tap to empty the Guten. But there is no way that I can use the Guten high enough off the ground to drain into a fermentasaurus the guten would need to be a metre off the ground, the top of it would then be 1.8m off the ground and then raising the malt pipe to sparge would be a further 60 cm ( disaster could occur). I don't know why they even bother to put the tap on it really.
 
But there is no way that I can use the Guten high enough off the ground to drain into a fermentasaurus the guten would need to be a metre off the ground, the top of it would then be 1.8m off the ground and then raising the malt pipe to sparge would be a further 60 cm ( disaster could occur). I don't know why they even bother to put the tap on it really.

I don't know what a Guten is, maybe it is the kettle.
I put the kettle on a chair before brewing. All the brewing happens on the chair. That is also easier when I have to connect the immersion chiller to the tap which is on the sink, which is near the chair.
When I have to move the wort from kettle to fermenter, it goes via the tap to a fermenter which sits on the floor.
Then I have to put the fermenter on my portable shelf (a shelf with wheels, which I move from my fermenting room to my kitchen): I either use my muscular force (I do this until 25 kg or so, more than that and I feel I should not), or lately much more intelligently I use an inexpensive pulley which I installed in my kitchen. That reduces the effort 7 times (lifting 28 kg is as tiring as lifting 4 kg).

Easy-peasy.

Using the recirculation pump would work as well but having the kettle on the chair makes the work more "compfy".
 
The Guten is an Electric brew vessel all in one like a grainfather ( 65litre) but less expensive. I have it on a small box 30 cm high so the steam condenser can drain into the sink and I can lift the grain basket okay at this height. The inbuilt pump is used during the mash and I use it to pump through the counter flow chiller and for the whirlpool and for transfer to the fermentasaurus. It's easy and safe. Haven't got a pulley yet in the brew room but coping okay at the moment.
I did use an immersion chiller previously so again box elevation helped with this as per your chair, but now using counter flow as much quicker and I get a better whirlpool.
 
The wort drains ( or is sucked really ) out through the hole seen at about 1 o'clock just outside the spring. It goes to the inbuilt pump and then the recirculation arm and I use that to fill the fermentation vessel. Haven't got a picture of the transfer being done I'm sorry.
 
Ah, ok, it wasn't obvious because the remaining wort level seemed to be lower than that hole.
Now that I know what I'm looking at ;) it looks like the wort is right at the left edge of the hole...

Cheers!
 
I think that is because it isn't completely level and that is why the last few ml are to the left of the hole. I can suffer that much loss to the fermenter out of 30.5 litres.
 
that's awesome, i honestly didn't expect it to work that well. i am very impressed. I brewed last night and my RIMS system scorched my coil for the 4th time. that's another issue of its own... But i was working on a black IPA with tons and tons of late hop and whirlpool hops. After my vent hood ducting started to leak tons of water and i drilled relief holes to allow it to drain the gallon of water trapped i was was over it! i just racked the boiling wort into the fermenter.

But with that sad sad story out of the way. i plan to rip everything apart and really rethink some things. going to look into building a filter like this and see how i like it.

thanks for getting back to us and posting pictures. i was having a hard time following as well but seeing it in action really helps
 
Jako no problem.

Sounds like you need to build yourself a steam condenser as part of your rebuild then no noisy extractor, no dripping water into your boil.

Might need to be in another thread though!

I brew indoors without any steam and much reduced smell as well using the condenser and get less boil off and use less heat when boiling it's been a real boon.
 
Jako no problem.

Sounds like you need to build yourself a steam condenser as part of your rebuild then no noisy extractor, no dripping water into your boil.

Might need to be in another thread though!

I brew indoors without any steam and much reduced smell as well using the condenser and get less boil off and use less heat when boiling it's been a real boon.

after last night that might not be a bad idea. i have a 4x4 foot hood vent with a 10" fan i thought i wouldn't have any issues and didn't until last night.
 
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