How do you strain/filter your brew
Jarrett Insurance
My home brew is one of those already mixed and prepared lagers and all you
do is add sugar, yeast and the like to start fermenting.
The brew has fermented and ready to bottle, to make the bottles really
clear and to stop any of the mix coming out of the fermenter, is there a
way of straining or filtering the brew going into the bottles.
The fermenter has a screw on top, water lock in the top and a tap at the
base to bottle. The settlement is at the bottom and I would think the
settlement would go into the bottles as you bottle.
Another Question, to make sure the brew is ready to bottle. The fermenter
should have stopped bubbling altogether and the hydrometer should be below
1006? Is this correct?
Thank you Murray
Falcon
<jarretti...@bigpond.com> had this to say:
>Please forgive me, very new at brewing and may ask silly questions :-)
Nothing wrong with questions of any kind, that is how we learn.
>My home brew is one of those already mixed and prepared lagers and all you
>do is add sugar, yeast and the like to start fermenting.
I take it that this is your first batch. Go get some books
and study up on the subject, you will be glad you did. My personal
favorite is Charlie Papazian "The Joy of Homebrew" which is a
terrific resource. Also, if you want instant gratification, I
just learned of a new online book (courtesy of this newsgroup)
which I have browsed through a bit and find it very good. Check
it out.
>The brew has fermented and ready to bottle, to make the bottles really
>clear and to stop any of the mix coming out of the fermenter, is there a
>way of straining or filtering the brew going into the bottles.
Straining and filtering can involve a lot of expensive apparatus which
is usually not worth the trouble. I normally use Irish moss during the
boil but this is not an option for you right now since you are way past
that step. Unless you are really trying to achieve something special
the hassle of straining is not worth the cost and effort. There are
also things to reduce chill haze but again, not for you since you are
past that step in the process.
>The fermenter has a screw on top, water lock in the top and a tap at the
>base to bottle. The settlement is at the bottom and I would think the
>settlement would go into the bottles as you bottle.
The tap should have been placed above the bottom to avoid undue yeast
sediment from going into the bottles. If the tap is at the very bottom
the manufacturer made an error. In that case you can get a racking
tube which is a walking cane shaped gizmo to siphon the beer. These
are equipped with a fixture on the end of the tube to hold it above the
yeast layer on the bottom.
>Another Question, to make sure the brew is ready to bottle. The fermenter
>should have stopped bubbling altogether and the hydrometer should be below
>1006? Is this correct?
Not necessarily, depends on the amount of non-fermentables in your
brew. Some final gravities can be quite high for dark beers, as high
as 1.030. One way to tell if it is ready is to see if the fermenting
has stopped, i.e., no bubbles in the airlock for a few days. Another
more scientific way is to take readings and see if they are still
changing over a few days. After a few batches it becomes pretty easy
to tell when it is done by just keeping an eye on it.
Ciao,
Falcon <--- Currently sipping a very nice porter style homebrew.
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David M. Taylor
news:igqL5.11832$e5.3...@newsfeeds.bigpond.com...
> Please forgive me, very new at brewing and may ask silly questions :-)
No problem, I'm still pretty new myself, I've got about ten batches under my
belt, but I've become a fanatic and I am a chemical engineer, so naturally I
have taken very good notes and am willing to share my experiences.
> My home brew is one of those already mixed and prepared lagers and all you
> do is add sugar, yeast and the like to start fermenting.
Yep, those will work, although I'd recommend using malt extract instead of
"normal" sugar, assuming you may have done that. I must admit I've never
used regular sugar, but the rumor is that it creates a thin syrupy flavor in
the finished product. You'll have to let me know if this is true or false
when you taste it!
> The brew has fermented and ready to bottle, to make the bottles really
> clear and to stop any of the mix coming out of the fermenter, is there a
> way of straining or filtering the brew going into the bottles.
In my experience, the best way to get clear beer, besides Irish moss as
Falcon suggested, is to "rack" the beer to a secondary container. For me,
this means to carefully siphon the beer into a second bucket without
disturbing any sediment on the bottom. To do this you need either a tap an
inch or two above the bottom of the bucket, or you can use a 1/2" Tygon tube
or equivalent. I don't have a tap, so I just fill the tube all the way with
water, put your thumbs over the ends, drop one end in the beer, drain the
water into some third container, then collect the beer in the second bucket
down to the yeast sediment. You can either throw away the yeast sediment or
save it for a new batch of beer. Then let the beer sit in the secondary for
another week or two before bottling. This way, most of the yeast and any
sediment is given a second chance at settling out of the beer. I've found
that by "racking" the beer in this way, the amount of sediment and
cloudiness left in the bottles at the end is significantly reduced.
> The fermenter has a screw on top, water lock in the top and a tap at the
> base to bottle. The settlement is at the bottom and I would think the
> settlement would go into the bottles as you bottle.
It sounds like you're set up for easy transfers between secondary containers
and bottling buckets. If you've got a tap about an inch or two above the
bottom of the bucket, then you should be all set. You have a second bucket,
don't you? If you don't, go get one, I think you might need it! Make sure
you get a lid for it too.
> Another Question, to make sure the brew is ready to bottle. The
fermenter
> should have stopped bubbling altogether and the hydrometer should be below
> 1006? Is this correct?
In my experience, brews made from extracts rarely get a final gravity below
1.020, and never below 1.017. This is just the way extracts are. I'm not
exactly sure why, it might have something to do with enzymes. In theory it
would be nice to get down to 1.006, but it's more likely that this simply is
not going to happen. When you start mashing with real grains, then the
lower gravities become more possible. The best way to know when
fermentation is done is to wait for the bubbles to stop, then wait another
two or three days, and THEN open up the bucket and take a final gravity. If
it is 1.020 or below, it is probably finished! If not, you'll have to wait!
I once bottled a beer too early, at a gravity of about 1.030, and the
bottles exploded all over my kitchen! So don't be in too much of a hurry.
It is better to wait then to be sorry. If you do get a gravity down to
1.006, I'd be amazed, and you'd be lucky! But don't wait for six months for
it to get there, because it just might not happen.
Hope this helps! As a total beer nut, I'm always willing to talk about my
beer experiences all day long! I just hope I don't give out any incorrect
information. I try my best. Take care, and good homebrewing to you!
--
Dave
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Studio/8415/homepage.html
"Like a fool in a pool, I'm incredibly cool." -- Genesis, 1972