Question about pouring my wort into the primary bucket. I’ve had this issue with several batches, so not sure what I’m doing wrong. After the boil I put my kettle in an ice bath and I’m able to cool the wort down relatively quickly. When I go to pour to the primary, the hop sediment doesn’t really settle so the mixture is really sludgy. I pour it through a colander, but the colander gets clogged up so the process take a while. Everything I read says that it should be easy to pour and the sediment will be left behind. I can’t seem to get the wort to settle out. The good news is that I hit my target OG, so something is working at least. Any suggestions how to make this process easier?
Maybe your colander is fine? I use a coarse wire mesh colander and mine makes a cake that takes awhile to completely drain out, but most of it goes through. I think the hops form a filter bed and some of the precipitated protein catches on that, moreso with whole hops but somewhat with pellets. If you let it sit for a few hours you can probably leave behind the sludgiest part, but pouring it in the primary is no big deal.
Do you use something like Whirfloc or Supermoss in the boil?
I use Whirfloc and then an immersion chiller to get the temp around 70-80°. Then I place the brewpot in an ice bath in the sink and wait 20-30 minutes for things to settle. Then I rack it (I use a racking cane & tubing but an autosiphon could work as well) from brewpot to primary and get 4+ gallons of ultra-clear wort and another gallon that has a bit of hop/break-schputz in it. I do place a strainer on my plastic primary to catch some of the gunk. There’s really no point in waiting for things to settle if you’re just going to pour it in. Good luck & cheers.
I use Whirlfloc. After boil, I go directly to an ice bath for 30-45 minutes…which cools it down quickly to 70ish degrees. I figure after almost 45 minutes the sediment would settle, but I guess not. Maybe I’ll try letting it rest for another 20-30 minutes. My wort ends up being decently clear, but it takes so long b/c the colander gets clogged (and I do use a fairly fine colander). I also need to get a bigger colander. Thanks for the suggestions!
