Just finished my second batch of brew. When I purchased my equipment I
was sold a funnel with a strainer screen. When transferring the wort
into the primary fermenter, through the funnel, it gets clogged in no
time. I tried using a bigger kitchen strainer but it also clogs very
quickly. I did pour slowly and tried to leave as much sediment as
possible in the bottom of the pot.
Should I worry much about straining the wort as I transfer it to the
primary? Any suggestions?

Thanks
BC

I'm on my 6th batch of homebrew, 5 different types (one type I have done
twice) - so I am still quite new to this. I have noticed some transfers
to the primary have had more stuff to strain out than others.

I siphon from my brewpot into my primary. When I use a bucket I strain
it through a large stainless kitchen strainer. Some batches this works
for the whole transfer, some I have to stop when the strainer gets
clogged and remove the gunk before I continue the siphon. My last batch
I used a 6.5 gal carboy for my primary. I used a stainless funnel with
the same large strainer on top of it and it worked just fine.

[dj_van_gilder]

I personally just use grain and hop bags in my wort. When I do get sediment I can usually just stir it in the funnel and the wort will pass on through. A good trick I read about for the siphon method is to first stir the wort quickly to collect the sediment toward the center of the pot. Then use a metal tube of some sort with a metal scrub brush attached to the end with some wire for you siphon. Then collect your wort along the sides of the pot where the sediment levels are lowest. The scrubber should filter out any remaining sediment.

[color=blue]
> ... When transferring the wort
> into the primary fermenter, through the funnel, it gets clogged in no
> time. I tried using a bigger kitchen strainer but it also clogs very
> quickly. I did pour slowly and tried to leave as much sediment as
> possible in the bottom of the pot.
> Should I worry much about straining the wort as I transfer it to the
> primary? Any suggestions?[/color]

The bottom line to your question is that, no, there's very little to
worry about if you don't strain, or don't strain very well. It will all
settle and you can, later, siphon off the top of it.

Technically:
* some say that the hot break IS NOT real good,
* that some cold break IS good,
* and that the hops have no effect on the fermentation.
Most say there is not much taste difference with or without all the
material in the primary. (Note that straining DOES areate the wort
pretty well, compared to just siphoning it).

So... make the same brew twice... once straining and once just dumping.
Save some bottles of each, compare, and YOU decide! You're certainly
NOT going to "ruin" your beer without straining - many homebrewers don't.

Me... I siphon and leave as much as I can behind, but I don't worry if
I get "stuff" into the fermenter. RDWHAHB! :)

Derric

On Sun, 28 Jan 2007 18:42:03 -0500, dj_van_gilder
<dj_van_gilder.2l5bto@usenet.brewtank.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
>
>I personally just use grain and hop bags in my wort. When I do get
>sediment I can usually just stir it in the funnel and the wort will
>pass on through. A good trick I read about for the siphon method is to
>first stir the wort quickly to collect the sediment toward the center of
>the pot. Then use a metal tube of some sort with a metal scrub brush
>attached to the end with some wire for you siphon. Then collect your
>wort along the sides of the pot where the sediment levels are lowest.
>The scrubber should filter out any remaining sediment.[/color]
I would just add to this that you can just use a plastic siphon, after
of course chilling. To get the whirlpool effect, you must stir fast
and narrow, to get a good vortex going. This brings the sediment to
the center. Try also slightly elevating the kettle after the vortex
settles, and siphon from the lower (deeper) end. The scrubby referred
to is really not necessary. I used to use it, but don't any more.
Just another thing to have to sanitize.

A further tip: use the tube part of a turkey baster (remove the
bulb), insert the narrow end into the hose end, and draw (with your
mouth) from the open end. This will start the siphon. Then quickly
remove the baster and put the hose end into the fermenter. More
sanitary than using your mouth directly, if that's what you usually
do.

John S.

--
Posted via NewsDemon.com - Premium Uncensored Newsgroup Service
------->>>>>>[url]http://www.NewsDem[/url]

[harsley]

All good ideas. I recommend using the whirlpool method and getting all the trub and hops to the center of the pot. You could then pour into the fermenter and get most of the wort in before the strainer clogs...or do the siphon method after the whirlpool.

On Jan 31, 10:59 am, harsley <harsley.2la...@usenet.brewtank.com>
wrote:[color=blue]
> All good ideas. I recommend using the whirlpool method and getting all
> the trub and hops to the center of the pot. You could then pour into
> the fermenter and get most of the wort in before the strainer
> clogs...or do the siphon method after the whirlpool.
>
> --
> harsley
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> harsley's Profile:[url]http://www.brewtank.com/member.php?userid=763[/url]
> View this thread:[url]http://www.brewtank.com/showthread.php?t=3278[/url][/color]

Yes, stir your wort enough to incorporate all of the material in it.
Then siphon off of the side of the kettle. It's not all that
important to do this. My first homebrew was an extract stout from a
kit. I didn't ask too many questions because I was affraid of looking
foolish in case I wanted to visit that HB shop again for more
supplies. Anyway, I did not strain the hops when transfering to the
fermenter and the beer tasted like Boston Lager at first. After a few
months of drinking store-boght beer and forgeting my stout in the back
of the fridge, it tasted like Anchor Porter. That was my first lesson
in bottle conditioning. Now, if you're making an APA or IPA type
beer, my second attempt, the first tastes will only differ from the
later tastes in that the early results will be a little on the harsh/
hoppy side. That's not always bad, but that's up to you.(sorry to
ramble)

Get a sock at your suppliers. Put your grains in the sock.

Roy

"BuddyC" <bc24@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.2026899491fdc4ea989683@news.central.cox.net...[color=blue]
> Just finished my second batch of brew. When I purchased my equipment I
> was sold a funnel with a strainer screen. When transferring the wort
> into the primary fermenter, through the funnel, it gets clogged in no
> time. I tried using a bigger kitchen strainer but it also clogs very
> quickly. I did pour slowly and tried to leave as much sediment as
> possible in the bottom of the pot.
> Should I worry much about straining the wort as I transfer it to the
> primary? Any suggestions?
>
> Thanks
> BC[/color]

Get a brewing sock. Put your grains in the sock.

Roy

"Tpeters" <tobypeters@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:F7GdnYbZDoNteSHYnZ2dnUVZ_t6qnZ2d@comcast.com...[color=blue]
> I'm on my 6th batch of homebrew, 5 different types (one type I have done
> twice) - so I am still quite new to this. I have noticed some transfers
> to the primary have had more stuff to strain out than others.
>
> I siphon from my brewpot into my primary. When I use a bucket I strain it
> through a large stainless kitchen strainer. Some batches this works for
> the whole transfer, some I have to stop when the strainer gets clogged and
> remove the gunk before I continue the siphon. My last batch I used a 6.5
> gal carboy for my primary. I used a stainless funnel with the same large
> strainer on top of it and it worked just fine.[/color]

I usually put a copper or stainless scrubbie on the end of my racking cane
(I have a stainless Racking cane) and siphon the wort into the carboy....
The combination of the scrubbie and the whole leaf hops stops a majority of
the trub (protein coagulants) from getting into the carboy.



"Roy Boy" <r@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:mvWdnZ6zyoRgUl_YnZ2dnUVZ_tunnZ2d@comcast.com...[color=blue]
> Get a sock at your suppliers. Put your grains in the sock.
>
> Roy
>
> "BuddyC" <bc24@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:MPG.2026899491fdc4ea989683@news.central.cox.net...[color=green]
>> Just finished my second batch of brew. When I purchased my equipment I
>> was sold a funnel with a strainer screen. When transferring the wort
>> into the primary fermenter, through the funnel, it gets clogged in no
>> time. I tried using a bigger kitchen strainer but it also clogs very
>> quickly. I did pour slowly and tried to leave as much sediment as
>> possible in the bottom of the pot.
>> Should I worry much about straining the wort as I transfer it to the
>> primary? Any suggestions?
>>
>> Thanks
>> BC[/color]
>
>[/color]