11 replies to this topic

[TimE]

What does everyone use in their boil kettle to filter out gunk? Currently I have a dip tube with a SS scrubbie over the end but find that this gets clogged up if I have too much break material or do not use whole hops.

[DaBearSox]

a spigot on the kettle and some rest time after cooling (and some whirlfloc) does wonders. Sometimes i feel so bad pitching the yeast and clouding up that clear precious liquid.

[chadm75]

A dip tube to get the wort out of your kettle is problematic for the reasons you've stated. A quick chill will drop the schmputz (as Lenard refers to it) and then just siphon off the wort into your fermenter making sure you splash or force oxygenate. I always keep the siphon as close to the top of the wort as possible to keep as much schmputz out as possible. The rest will drop in fermentation.

[Thirsty]

I use one of these https://www.ihomebre...eHopStopper.pdf It works really well, but is expensive. I paid the $$ for it but couldnt live without it. A friend of mine has since made a DIY version of this and it was published in last issues Zymurgy, under the gadgets issue. I think it cost him about $20 in materials, and he loves it.

[TimE]

Thanks,Because I am using the recirculating chiller method ALA Jamil I can not simply wait to begin pulling liquid from the kettle. I do not have problems with the dip tube/scrubbie configuration when I use whole hops or don't have a significant amount of break material (like when brewing a beer with lots of wheat in it). I wonder if I reconfigure the dip tube so I am pulling from the kettle edge rather than close to the center this will help.T

[DaBearSox]

I use one of these https://www.ihomebre...eHopStopper.pdf It works really well, but is expensive. I paid the $$ for it but couldnt live without it. A friend of mine has since made a DIY version of this and it was published in last issues Zymurgy, under the gadgets issue. I think it cost him about $20 in materials, and he loves it.

That's pretty sweet. I guess with my method i probably lose about a half of beers worth of wort. My spigot is high enough that everything settles under it. If i tilt the kettle slowly i can get most of it out without distrubing the trub...I do use hop bags however...but those one time use ones still let a lot of pellet particles out, guess i could just through them in but I like at least containing some of the hop material.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

If I actually had a drain on my kettle I would do some filtering but I don't - so I just dump the wort through a paint strainer bag. It can be tough on batches with a lot of hops (the 9oz of pellets in my 5 gal AIPA caused a bit of a problem).

[MtnBrewer]

If I'm using whole hops, I use a Bazooka; for pellet hops, I don't use anything but I try to let the trub settle underneath the spigot. I used to use a false bottom but every once in a while some hops would get up underneath the FB and clog my pickup tube.

[Joe]

I sometimes just dump everything into the fermenter and not worry about the trub. No effect on clarity or taste as far as I can tell. Maybe more discerning palates can taste a difference.That said I will usually allow things to settle out as it allows me to clean up while I do that anyways. However with my first batch of MLPA, I drew crystal clear wort off for the first 5 gallon fermenter and just dumped everything (hot break, cold break, hop pellet gunk - no bags used) into the second 5 gallon fermenter. Both turned out very clear (used gelatin) and both taste great. The only difference I could tell is that the fermenter with gunk in it had a better fermentation and finished quicker - although there are other variables that could have affected that (i.e. The starter pitched into the trub fermenter may have been healthier, etc.).

[Howie]

I use a piece of SS braid over a copper pickup tube. Works well for filtering out whole hops, and a lot of the hot break and other junk gets caught up in the hops. Does NOT work with pellets.This system works best if I plan on leaving some wort behind in the kettle (as Jamil describes). If not, it'll start to pick up a lot of the break material when the kettle gets really low.I really like the hop stopper idea, as I'd like to start using some pellets, but it seems pretty expensive.

[Thirsty]

A friend of mine has since made a DIY version of this and it was published in last issues Zymurgy, under the gadgets issue.

In case anyone dosnt get zymurgy, I saw he has it posted on the website of his HB club, the complete breakdown of how to build one. https://www.wort.org/

[OhioMurb]

This bad boy 5 gallon bucket strainer