Bottling today, question about filtering

Don't worry about it. All that crap is settled at the bottom of the fermenter. Just keep the siphon above the level of the trub when transferring to the bottling bucket. Don't try to run it through cheese cloth or anything else because you'll likely add oxygen to the beer which will cause issues worse than a few floaties in the bottles.

 

I try to move the beer from the fermentation freezer to the (outdoor) bottling area as carefully as possible. I also set it on a slight angle (makes it easier to siphon) by sticking a piece of wood under one side of the bucket, same with the carboy after transfer.

When I used to do all this indoors, it was easy to bring the fermenter bucket into the kitchen and leave it sit for a day to re-settle before racking to the bottling carboy. This is not so easy now, because the TX weather isn't necessarily cooperative, and I have to carry it down stairs*. So I just leave it sit as long as possible, to settle as much as it can. Then I sanitize a rubber band and a nylon paint strainer bag and multi-wrap it around the bottom of the auto-siphon. Finally, I rack as carefully as possible.

The filtering is not perfect. I have accepted that using this process, there will be some particulate that gets through. But it works pretty well, good enough I'd say. In the future it will get better as I improve my processes.

*this problem will be solved once the brew shed is built. it's about 1/3 completed

 

Really? I haven't had that issue. My filter is set quite low and is multi-layered. Curious if you could elaborate.

 

This would be true if the cheese cloth was affixed to the output end of the siphon. If affixed to the input end, kept below the surface of the beer, there would be no oxygenation, because there's no source of oxygen to add, and the turbulence settles down by the time it reaches the output.

 

Edit: I'm not saying the OP should filter this way. Probably doesn't really need to. But it wouldn't add O2.

 

the whole DWRHAHB mantra is especially true when you are bottling. its a very good time to be relaxed. just try not to splash around the beer. don't get worried about drawing up a bit of trub, just a bit. if you leave the bottling bucket and racking cane undisturbed it will take care of itself. filters, cheesecloth and stuff is just another thing to worry about and have go wrong. and you don't need any filters anyway.
set up an assembly line. know your mies en place. have a stool or chair. i like to keep the bottling bucket on the kitchen counter and the bottles on the floor because it helps to maintain a good flow. an old bath towel helps to keep your floor clean and not sticky. bottle everything then cap. remember to add your priming before you begin.

go throught the whole process in your head for a moment and youll know exactly what you are doing. its not very hard at all.

no problems. youll be fine. relax, have a brew.
Cheers.

 

if your buddies are around, make them part of the assembly line when bottling.

 

A super-flocculating yeast can help immensely...as well as a full 3 weeks in primary followed by a cold-crash...if you have spigots on buckets/carboys...even better (no siphoning at all)

Didn't know the carboys with spigots even existed until recently seeing them on a primarily wine-making website.

 

once i discovered the benefits of having a faucet on a bucket i bought a few extras, drilled most of my buckets. now most all of my buckets are bottling buckets. only disadvantage is that they don't stack. sipohns are for glass carboys only now.
Cheers.

 

"only disadvantage is that they don't stack"

They do if you take them out for cleaning (a good idea anyway) and don't put them back until you are ready to brew.

Cheers

 

Are there any issues with scratching up the inside of buckets if you stack them?

 

I usually don't stack them myself, but when I do I'll put single layer paper towels around the sides

About half my buckets now are the larger diameter 6.9 gal. ones...so non-problem

 

I definitely agree that if the filter media is part of the siphon path and is kept submerged, then there should not be any issues with oxidation. I guess I misunderstood the OP and envisioned trying to pour the beer through a cheese cloth stretched across the top of the bottling bucket.

But the main point I was trying to make is that the OP should not need to worry about filtering at all, since trub carry-over from the kettle should settle out on its own.

Cheers!

 

Understood! Actually I have a big strainer thingie with two filters/screen sizes that I use for twofold purposes, to filter the beer upon transferring from kettle to fermentation bucket, and for help in oxygenation in the chilled wort. I paid about $20 for it, and it's well worth it, because it's BIG and doesn't easily fall through the bucket (like happened to me when I tried to use a kitchen strainer). This thing is designed for brewing.

Now that we've got that cleared up, I think we both deserve a homebrew.

 

Indeed, good sir! Just finished brewing an all-Chinook IPA at my friends's house. Drank some homebrewed Belgian wit and ESB while the process went on.

 

"all-Chinook IPA "...like liver and Chianti...mmmm

 

extra fava beans for me, please