Fire Rooster 192 Report post Posted January 31 Has anyone used a Paint Strainer Bag, to strain hop sludge after wort is cooled, and before fermenting ? Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RickBeer 6,020 Report post Posted January 31 I use that bag for my BIAB, but use normal mesh strainer to filter out hop sludge. 1 Fire Rooster reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fire Rooster 192 Report post Posted January 31 11 minutes ago, RickBeer said: I use that bag for my BIAB, but use normal mesh strainer to filter out hop sludge. Mesh strainer ? I have a kitchen SS fine mesh strainer, do you mean that kind ? Thanks 1 D Kristof reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jdub 1,415 Report post Posted February 1 i use a hop spider during the boil. this retains a ton of the hop sludge. other batches, i don't worry about it. just pour it all into the fermenter and it goes to the bottom during the cold crash i think. 1 1 youdontknowme311 and Fire Rooster reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zorak1066 1,387 Report post Posted February 1 i'm with rick. i use a dual layer , large kitchen mesh strainer resting atop my fermenter bucket. i transfer the cool wort using the strainer and it does a good job of getting most of the sludge. a quick knock out into the trash and rinse... voila. clean. paint strainer 5 gallon and 1 gallon bags are great for dry hopping, biab, etc. wash / sanitize first. cheap...effective. 1 Fire Rooster reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RickBeer 6,020 Report post Posted February 1 15 hours ago, Fire Rooster said: Mesh strainer ? I have a kitchen SS fine mesh strainer, do you mean that kind ? Thanks Yes, that mesh strainer is the mesh strainer I was referring to, vs. the other type of mesh strainer... 😁 Remember to sanitize it first. 1 Cato reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BDawg62 983 Report post Posted February 1 I use a Paint strainer bag in a Home Depot 5 gallon water as my mash screen. Just lift the bag, drain the wort, put the bag back in and sparge. Wort is from mash tun to kettle in less than 15 minutes (15 rather than 5 because I let the sparge sit for 10 minutes). Like @Jdub I use a hop spider during the boil. I just transfer all but the last qt or so of wort to my fermenter. 2 Cato and Jdub reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fire Rooster 192 Report post Posted February 1 3 hours ago, RickBeer said: Yes, that mesh strainer is the mesh strainer I was referring to, vs. the other type of mesh strainer... 😁 Remember to sanitize it first. Thought so, had to double check, strange things going on sometimes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
D Kristof 789 Report post Posted February 1 14 hours ago, Jdub said: i use a hop spider during the boil. this retains a ton of the hop sludge. other batches, i don't worry about it. just pour it all into the fermenter and it goes to the bottom during the cold crash i think. How difficult is it to drain the wort trapped in the hop spider by hop pellet sludge? How do you clean yours? I sometimes brew with a club member who has rigged up a hanger to suspend his hop spider above the kettle so it drains while he chills the wort in the kettle below. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jdub 1,415 Report post Posted February 1 1 hour ago, D Kristof said: How difficult is it to drain the wort trapped in the hop spider by hop pellet sludge? How do you clean yours? I sometimes brew with a club member who has rigged up a hanger to suspend his hop spider above the kettle so it drains while he chills the wort in the kettle below. good question D. while i'm cooling the wort, i just lift it out and hold it over the kettle. the mesh is pretty fine, so i just kind of roll it around horizontally until most of the liquid drains out. after that, i just turn it upside down in the sink and rinse it out. super easy to clean. used it 4 or 5 batches and it's worked great. 1 D Kristof reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BDawg62 983 Report post Posted February 1 36 minutes ago, Jdub said: good question D. while i'm cooling the wort, i just lift it out and hold it over the kettle. the mesh is pretty fine, so i just kind of roll it around horizontally until most of the liquid drains out. after that, i just turn it upside down in the sink and rinse it out. super easy to clean. used it 4 or 5 batches and it's worked great. I do the same thing, basically just move around the hop sludge until most of the wort drains. Only takes about a minute. I clean mine when I clean my pot and equipment. I use Oxyclean Free to clean everything and a 5 minute soak in that with a rinse is all it needs. If it has some stubborn junk in it a bottle brush or other brush will clean that out in no time. https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Micron-Stainless-Strainer-Brewing/dp/B079N61YY4/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1549045782&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=hop+spider+stainless+steel&psc=1 This is the hop spider that I have been using for over a year now. 1 1 Jdub and D Kristof reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
