Three Bag Brewing Technique

[electrichead]

I started to write an explanation but the disconnect between my brain and my keyboard wouldn't allow me to. I'll just let the pictures explain. They are from this afternoon. I decided to go extract for my new process test. It is a Moose Drool clone.


The ingredients......

The equipment.....

Nylon grain bag

Hop Spider with 1gal paint strainer

7.5gal Bucket with 5gal paint strainer

 

[electrichead]

The process.....

Mash specialty grains

Drain (convenient cabinet)

Boil

Transfer to fermenter (for the test I excluded funnel straining and poured right in)

The results

Hop spider

Bucket bag

Clarity

 

[MetallHed]

pretty cool.. I've never thought of using an additional bag in the fermentor to get the last of the sludge.

nice!

 

[ScubaSteve]

Nice. You can also use a smaller hop bag (sanitized) over your discharge hose as you drain into the fermenter. Might save a few bucks.

 

[ghpeel]

Yup I do this myself as well. Works great. I do No Chill, so once my wort is cooled, I line the fermenter bucket with a bag I've soaked in Star San and pour the wort in. I pull out the bag and it drags out all the leftover hop sludge and some of the break material. Plus, I have to believe that it oxygenates the wort too.

 

[KAMMEE]

I use a mesh strainer, and a bag in the bucket. I will have to make one of these hop spiders though, that will cut the crud even more. Great post.

 

[electrichead]

Yup I do this myself as well. Works great. I do No Chill, so once my wort is cooled, I line the fermenter bucket with a bag I've soaked in Star San and pour the wort in. I pull out the bag and it drags out all the leftover hop sludge and some of the break material. Plus, I have to believe that it oxygenates the wort too.

I definitely got a lot of the break material. The whirlfloc tab really helped there.

I use a mesh strainer, and a bag in the bucket. I will have to make one of these hop spiders though, that will cut the crud even more. Great post.

The spider is possibly my favorite piece of brewing hardware. Thank you HBT!

 

[rustym]

Wow, that's awesome! I am going to try that on my next brew. I've read and had people tell me to just throw everything in the fermentor. Is there any noticeable difference in taste or body between doing it both ways?

 

[electrichead]

There is no effect on the body. The question has been asked in other threads about the spider effecting hop efficiency, but I can't speak to it as this was my first time using it. IIRC some who use them increase their hop usage by a few percent.