Brewpot: Get Wort Out And Leave Crap In

[sosman]

So how do folk keep the hop (from pellets) and break material in the brewpot while getting the wort into the fermenter?

I just put a tap on my brewpot and although the tap works fine, there was so much crap trying to escape that it wasn't funny.

 

[joecast]

stirring the wort in the kettle should help all that stuff settle in the middle of the kettle. just make sure whatever you use to stir is sanitized.

pouring through a strainer (also sanitized) could help. it would also help in aerating the wort.
joe

 

[Jovial_Monk]

hey sos-y,

what kinda brewpot? Converted keg? 50L kettle w/flat bottom?

lemme know and I might be able to suggest a solution.

A generic solution, one that applies to all levels/sizes of brewing (yup, from a 2L pan right up to the biggest megaswiller) is the whirlpool.

Turn the heat off, add any dryhop, then with a big spoon STIR! Stir untill there is a nice whirlpool in the "kettle". Put the lid on, and leave the pot to stand for 30-60 mins.

Pellet hop debris and hot break have now settled into a pretty solid & stable pile in the middle of the bottom of the "kettle" allowing you to bail clear wort or open your tap or tilt the pan into a sieve over the fermenter and get absolute minimal hop/break gunk showing till right at the end.

An intake tube in the kettle works fine if your kettle has a concave bottom, like with a converted beer keg.

Jovial Monk

 

[sosman]

Its just a flat bottomed SS pot you can see a pics here:

brewiki: partial mash #1

The actual chronicle of the brew day is at:

brewiki: partial mash #3

which also shows where the tap is from the bottom of the pot.

I did whirlpool but methinks I wasn't patient enough, I only waited around 15 minutes, the stuff had sunk out of sight but obviously not to the bottom.

 

[sosman]

just make sure whatever you use to stir is sanitized.

The spoon was sanitized

My hands weren't

Well I had to unclog it somehow! My fingernails came out all clean

 

[Doc]

I used to have a ss srubbie/scourer on the pickup tube in my boiler. Howerver my first six or so all grain brews used plugs or flowers for the majority of the hop bill. When I started using more pellets (due to availability) the scourer started clogging.
After a couple of brews like this I got the ***** with it.
Now what I do is I have nothing on the pickup tube but on the tap I put a sanatised ankle high panty hose stocking.
Works like a charm.
On brews with a large hop bill I will use both of the stockings pair.
I used a light brown pair from memory but made sure that I soaked them in hot water etc first a few times to get rid of any dye that would come out.

Beers,
Doc

 

[Batz]

This is how I do it and get not hops at all in the wort

Just buy a length of plumbers s/steel braided hose , cut the end fittings off and pull the rubber hose out the guts

Pic shows finished article in my boiler

 

[AndrewQLD]

Hey Batz, love the braide in the kettle does it help with the hop pellets and does the flow slow down, think I might give it a try.
I only use hop flowers now as I am with Doc and get the ***** with pellets because there so messy. But flowers are hard to get.
Does anyone Know what the plugs are like, are they just big pellets or are they compressed flowers.
Andrew

 

[Gout]

my worrie is i have bashed the keg bottom in to help with the heating, so whirlpooling may not work because its not going to gather on the highest point on the keg, rather it will sink to the bottom on the sides

looks like this is going to be fun! not

 

[Batz]

Andrew,
I use only pellets , and the flow out of my kettle is the same as it was without any type of strainer at all

I get little or not crap in the fermenter

Easy and cheap

 

[Hopeye]

Does anyone Know what the plugs are like, are they just big pellets or are they compressed flowers.

Just compressed flowers. Though I've only been able to find Saaz plugs. Not that I've really looked all that hard....

:chug:

 

[sosman]

Do you have to take the stockings off first?

 

[sosman]

Batz,

So you are saying that even with pellets, you don't clog the SS braid? Do you leave it to settle or as soon as it is cool drain into the fermenter?

I have a couple of these kicking around in the garage (I used one for the mash tun) and so I could rig this up easily.

 

[Batz]

I just drain out after the cool , I do whilpool it
Never had a blockage

I use a boozooka screen in my tun , but going to change to one of these

 

[wedge]

Is there any reason to filter out the hops? I understand why we leave the cold break behind, but i dont really care if some hop debry gets through? Should i?

 

[Batz]

Wedge,
Yes I am with you on this mate , only it's difficult to filter one and not the other

What I do works for me , I never push my methods onlys pass on what I have learnt

We are all learning this stuff

Share what we have done

batz

 

[wedge]

to coin a phrase....grouse!

 

[Hoops]

I leave the coldbreak behind when racking, but can the cold break be easily filtered out or are the particles too small?

 

[big d]

for what its worth dont be to hung up on getting all the crud out.i havent a filter/strainer yet and i get some carry over.you can read heaps thats says it doesnt matter to much and also the opposite.
like batz says it works for him.try different methods and trial the outcome and see what ya reckon.
im intending to trial what batz has done and rig up a braided ss hose in the brewpot to see how it goes.
all up im pretty happy with my ag results so far except for a suss off liquid yeast starter.

cheers
big d

hoops most if any small amount of cold break will settle to the bottom of the fermenter if carried over.

 

[Murray]

I simply whirlpool and transfer through a strainer, don't really care if any break gets through. Dropping after a day or two helps remove any transfered break material.