British Brewer

Recreating the perfect British Pint

19 March
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Tips and Tricks: Straining Wort

Once wort is cooled and you are ready to transfer into the primary it is a REALLY good idea to strain to the wort to separate the hops out.  Historically I have done this by carefully pouring the contents of the kettle through the funnel trying to leave as many hops in the bottom of the kettle as I can.

If you strain the wort the resulting ale will have greater clarity and reduction in bitterness caused from the wort sitting on the now spent hops.  I use a regular kitchen strainer locked into a funnel.  There are also purpose built strainers and screens for those who enjoy convenience. Alternatively you can place hops inside a purpose built container during the boil.

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  • http://www.embroiderydigitising.co.uk Embroidery Digitising

    Hey,Read several ideas whether its best to strain the wort and get the solids out before fermenting.
    Several people had trouble with strainers plugging and seemed to be a hassle

  • http://www.biabrewer.info RdeV

    My 2c: Whole hops seem to work best as a filter when pouring and pelletised hops are hopeless. Complete blockage is unlikely with whole hops, however sometimes it will fill the sieve or colander up to overflowing, that’s OK, just wait a few minutes for it to drain and pour through the remainder. Use some leaf hops or plugs and it should be quite easy.
    This is a very simple means for brewers to strain hops debris, it also captures quite a lot of break material (hot and cold), not all of it, but enough for it to be my preferred method of transferring cooled wort from kettle to fermenter. There’s some schools of thought along the lines that break material is almost the worst kind of no- no in fermenting beer, but I’m of the view that a little bit is no trouble.

  • http://www.britishbrewer.com Stephen C Jenvey

    Thanks for the feedback. I have used both types of hops and agree that whole hops offer the best method for straining.

  • Charles Lawrance

    I use a hop strainer fixed in to the back of the tap of the boiler.  It’s copper and looks like a perferated cigar.  Works a treat, I only use leaf hops though.