Back in the 90s whenI I used to brew white wine, I just left it until the sediment was almost solid. The wine got clear and tasted OK - or so I thought at the time, haha.
35 seconds in and I can tell this is gonna be good. I did this when I first started brewing because I lacked the funds to do it properly... it didn't work out as well and it takes way too long anyways. Took hours to do a gallon of brew. EDIT: I didn't think of the whole air thing. Which explains why it tasted nasty lol. Not to mention it doesn't get all the lees and sediment at the bottom.
LOL my wife did this today with her first brew of vinegar... er... I mean delicious cider... I got the proper supplies (including siphon) to do a different brew. I'll follow Brian's steps through what I've seen throughout the other vids. I bet it'll taste amazing!
I just made a bunch of beer and I ended up with a couple of bottles to fill and I ended up with some yeast at the bottom. I was really hoping to click on here and have the magic answer just give to me LOL but I get it. I just think I’ll rack it a couple more times than usual. Thanks.
I just now tried filtering a half gallon of "Welch's Reserve" through my Aeropress with double filters. Did not work just wasted about 30 minutes. I've come to embrace the yeast and I really don't mind it. My wife on the other hand, just knowing it's there, it puts her off. She prefers sweet red wine, so I poured her a glass of my DIY and she didn't notice until I asked her if she noticed anything different and after her asking enough times why there were condom wrappers in the trash I finally broke down and bought some damn airlocks. I think my next move is a 5 gallon batch of Welch's Reserve(wow, just googed how many bottles 5 gallons make, 24!) I also threw in a handful each of dried white grapes and cherries to use instead of yeast nutrient and there are no complaints here. Happy fermenting!
my mother suggested using coffee filters three separate times so far to save the leftover wine or mead after racking before. I told her repeatedly why it doesn't work, but she still suggests it
I did this with my first Mead. It was a Maple Blueberry Mead, and after properly siphoning my 4x750ml bottles that I left to age, I got about 250ml into the 500ml Maple Syrup bottle, with a swing top, that I had used for the mead. I ran what was left through a coffee filter and got another 250ml of mead, filling the Maple Syrup bottle, but it took about 15 minutes and still came out a milky colour. I chilled it and drank it green later that night. I did the same when I first racked it, though that time I only did enough to fill a small glass for sampling. Vinegar was not really a worry, when I was going to drink it right away.
I've left the leas behind because they go in with the flour and become focaccia the next day. An important point about the acetobacter. They are toxic to lactobacter. Lactobacter is a good bacteria that makes a lot of what we all love, from sauerkraut to yogurt to sour dough bread. Lactobacter also plays a role in the aging process of brews lending a healthy acid over time, but an acetobacter infection that may not result in vinegar could result in none of the benefits of lactobacter because it killed them off with the resulting brew still being bad.
yeah... tried this with my last batch of mead since i havent gotten my siphon yet... didnt work very well. i did better with just pouring until i started getting sediment and stopping with a little liquid loss. siphon is next on my buy list.
I remember brewing for the first time, I brewed maple syrup wine in a glass milk jug that I saved from the recycling and cleaned out(was 14 didn't have too many options). I actually used a fine metal mesh strainer it sorta worked just yeeted the solids in the trash periodically too speed it up. Worked ok I guess but the auto sythene is better.
Even doing the cold brew coffee, it's impossible to strain it through a coffee filter. There's just too much ultra fine particles that clogs up the filter.
I use a permanent coffee filter. Filtered in acouple seconds. I don't need anything fancy. I drink half gallon in about 4 hrs,then it's nap time,Lol, so it don't get no time to turn to vinegar. I was just looking for some ideas. Siphon is probably best. Thanks for a great video, you got New sub.😊
Thanks Brian. Love your video's. I'm new to brewing since watching your videos. Have a traditional mead bubbling away right now. Look forward to trying it.
you can modify the funnle with a mesh insert to enlarge the surface area of filtration (the same way a buchner funnle works) and speed up the gravity filtration process. also if vacuum filtration is an option, it would eliminate the oxygen problem and also speed up filtration by a ton.
@@CitySteadingBrews I'm just saying :D may be helpful for people in a hurry for small scale batches or for brews that won't clear up nicely other ways.
I tried a coffee filter with the cloudy, beer-like dregs that were left after racking the batch of Syr Michael of York mead I started awhile back. Forget it. Don't waste your time. The dead yeast particulates in suspension are so fine, they go right through it.
I know this video is 2 years old, but I recently acquired a grape wine recipe that dates back to at least the 1850's. Ive made it as close to the original instructions as I humanly could. Although I have a few questions that maybe you can answer. The recipe is as follows: "Grape Wine - Ripe, freshly picked, and selected, tame grapes, 20 lbs. ; put them into a stone jar and pour over them 6 qts. of boiling soft water; when sufficiently cool to allow it, you will squeeze them thoroughly with the hand; after which allow them to stand 3 days on the pomace with a cloth thrown over the jar, then squeeze out the juice and add 10 lbs. of nice crushed sugar, and let it remain a week longer in the jar; then take off the scum, strain and bottle, leaving a vent, until done fermenting, when strain again and bottle tight, and lay the bottles on the side in a cool place" Making the wine I didnt have any issues at all. It seemed to ferment nicely, and is a very lovely color. My questions are, How do I tell when it is done fermenting? I know i can stop it from fermenting in various ways, but i want to stay as close to the original way it was done as possible. It said to leave a vent until its done fermenting... Without buying wine specific things to "leave a vent" what is the best way i could do so? And finally, what is the cheapest/"free-est" way to filter wine that you would recommend? Ive tried coffee filters and i agree with you, it sucks. Thanks in advance for this video and any advice you or anyone may offer. Youve earned a subscriber from me. And i would LOVE to see how you would make this recipe and how you would change it or wouldnt change it. The writer of the recipe says that he prefers it to 9/10th of all wines and that it is supposed to taste like the grapes.
I don't filter. As for when it's done, we have a video coming out tomorrow going over that. Airlocks are your friend. Trust me, the small investment is worth it.
My siphon tube has a filter chamber built into it where I place 2 filters folded I half into it and them do a forced siphon which forces the brew through the filters. I evacuate the air by pushing sterile water to fill the hose and chamber and then start the siphon process.
Never did the coffee filter however I just purchased a filter and pump to try. Not so much to filter anything you can get out with a siphon and racking but to polish the wine before bottling. We shall see how that goes.
On top of everything else that Brian has said, I have found in my experience that yeast are too small for the holes in the coffee filter to catch them all.
I have some 2 year old bottled mead that has some junk left in it. Still taste good. How would filter this? Have you ever tried using a water filter pitcher?
@@CitySteadingBrews Well I'm 50 years old and I wanted a new hobby and thought about wine making for some time. I teamed up with this older retired guy. Did a fair amount of research and talk to other wine makers( mostly older folks). I want a variety of flavored wines. Plus when I pick up a hobby I get a little obsessed. So far I've made 55 bottles of choke cherry wine and 33 bottles of high bush cranberry wine. I want to make dandelion, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and mango wine. These type of fruits a abundant in this neck of the woods except the mangoes. I guess if I was to give my wines as a gift to people and they say that it's good shit. It would give me satifaction. Me and the retired guy said we're living the dream ha ha ha . Have a good day.
Really love how commited to simple home brewing you are, i'm on my 4th gallon batch now and they have all turned out great thanks to you, my latest brew has a LOTof lees and i dont want to lose too much, any ideas how to save as much as poss?
Let sit there as long as possible without any movement. Have brews that were cloudy for 2 years and then became almost clear in the 3rd year. The yeast will sink to the bottom, but it couls take - literally -years. If you can wait, do it. If not... Enjoy your drink. It's cloudy, it's not poisonous
Great video. That said, I remain a coffee filter fan. You are not against coffee filters because of their material, but rather because of the air that the wine is exposed to. I can live with that. Also, I force my wine through the filter with compressed air. So it filters a lot faster. (Yeah, it also exposes the wine to even more air.)
I use a funnel with a tube (extended to bottom of flask) in a bung, on a 2 L Erlenmeyer flask with a vacuum port. the vacuum provide the negative pressure and will provide extraordinary clarity. but then I do collect lab glassware.
I agree with everything, but one thing is that I feel the o2 issues isnt the largest issue. I made grape wine by freshly crushed garden grapes, some store bought wine yeast, After I siphoned for my first rack, I had so much liquid left cause of some uncrushed grapes and some caught in skins so I had to full thru a almond milking cloth and squeezed all the juice out of the skins and seeds. This resulted in a great wine, however I do support your idea of getting the least amount of o2 into your brew whenever possible.
I just did the same. I brewed without using a bag. They are so hard to find in the right size. Appreciate any help there. I plan to "scoop" the fruit out using a strainer and let it sit on the lees a bit longer as I'm just at the 2-week mark. Does that sound right Brian and Derica?
I dumped the brew into a stainless steel pot that had a painter’s straining bag in it. The straining bag worked really well and was cheaper. Then cleaned the fermenter and dumped the brew back in. Let it settle again, then bottled.
Love your Videos. They have helped me greatly for producing my own meads. Very informative, and solid infromation. However, with all due respect, I see an issue regarding the filter and it does work, especially if you use a wider coned funnel. Here's why! I get oxygen is bad for the final finish, and that there is air already trapped in the bottle, however for a liquid to enter and occupy a closed space (bottle with funnel) then the previous air has to be released, otherwise the area is just being pressurized and no liquid can continute to enter, as a result of the debris cloging the entrance throung the filter. I notice the funnel is rested at the opening of the bottle. With the filter in the funnel, naturaly the opening would clog as it traps the undesireables. However, as liquid rises the debris settles below the surface trapped in the filter, thus trapping the liquid. So given the observance of displacement, any remaining liquid would escape through the easiest exit, rising over the debris, escaping through the pours of the filter and being released. But in this case it cant. Some how the previous air is unable to escape. Its due to the funnel blocking the neck of the bottle and causing a seal resulting in an airlock. So the filter will work, but the funnel has to be raised a little to let the trapped air out and the rest of the fluid to pour through. I hope that made sense. Again, I love your vids, and I am a subscriber. I hope you continue to make more videos and inform the populous on the joys of brewing at home!
I use filter paper sheets to filter my wine, and approximately an hour I filtered 20 liters of wine. I have, obviously, not used coffee filters or small circular filters.
Meh I bought a siphon to rack my wine with a filter on the end, but the end that goes into secondary doesnt have a tube beyond the pump... so that means the wine has to go through all the air from the top of the 2ndary all the way to the bottom... I dont understand why they would make a siphon specifically for wine making that forces you to make the wine drip all the way from the top to the bottom like that... =/
I use a variety of filter but usually only with the lees. Even then the funnel (4 pint capacity) has a pipe attached and the pipe goes in the bottle. Never had a problem :)
I tried the same thing myself a few years ago with the same results. I just take the last inch or two of the jugs and combine them to drink for myself. Tastes about the same and it's all for me. Might try some layers of cheese cloth if I really feel like it.
I use coffee filters. But I combine metal mesh coffe filters with ordinary paper filters. The reason paper filters clogs up is due to poors being blocked when soaked and pressed against plastic surface. if you put it in e metal mesh or strainer the surface area increases greatly and also flow/rate. Its still not the best solution but for those like me who dont want to spend extra cash its definetly useful for sorting out chitosan and silica compounds that have interacted with yeast and proteins. Just make sure to flush the filters so you dont get cellulose in your brew and its useful for stuff you dont intend to shelf for a very long time.
Well... siphoning is the answer. You can use cheesecloth over it to keep out some chunks, but it won't stop the lees. Racking twice is a good plan too :)
I tried a cover filter about two or so months ago but for a different reason. A long story short I was using a juicer for apple juice, problem was that it was throwing a lot of blended pulp into the juice. Thought about filter paper in the form of an A4 but wasn't sure if it would be food grade. Went with the obvious coffee filter paper. Set up a bottle and a funnel and put the coffee filter in. Filled it up and it filtered for about five seconds and stopped, thought it was a bit odd but had a rough idea why. Removed the funnel and empted the paper back into the pulpy juice. Tried a second time, same thing. At this point I knew it wasn't going to work but wanted to try just one last time and ditch it if I could get it to work. Third try came and the same result. Ditched that idea really fast. My logic was that pulp like dirt would allow the water or in this case the juice to run/filter through and then into the paper because there would be micro air gaps. What I didn't account for was the fact that the pulp would clog all air space to prevent it from filtering, I didn't account for this because of the previous reasoning. Moral of the story? Coffee filter paper was pointless, I wasted more time by trying to save time. Conclusion? I learnt helpful information that can be or in this case not applied in future applications.
I never thought of filtering the whole mead batch but I do want to try to use the filter only on the last bit that I can't get with the siphon. Since I an intending to drink it right away, the air thing isn't an issue. However, watching your demonstration, that brew seems very cloudy after going through the filter. Not sure the Coffee filter is fine enough to get the lees out at all. Thanks for the demo.
LOL it is actually very funny that you posted this! Back when i was done my primary fermentation and has siphoned my mead into a new carboy, I looked at the bit left on the bottom with all the yeast left in it and thought "Hey I wonder if I could use a coffee filter to filter that!" Yeah, no! That's all I'm gonna say 😂😂😂
My paint sprayer has a rough screen on the bottom of the paint pickup (called a rock catcher) and I've thought something like this would possibly be a good way to add some filtration to the siphoning process. It would be hard to get the screen size right, and that seems like it would vary depending on what you have in the primary...
Thank you for this. I had the filter idea, but imagined my way out of it pretty quickly. However, I used a brand new auto-siphon to rack the other day and the rubber must have been dry rotted because it sucked air into the siphon hose with the mead. If it goes to vinegar, I'll understand why. :)
Did a sweet Mead last year, racked a couple times but the cloud never would fully settle. So just went and bottled it, for months it was still cloudy so i was getting a little worried. Just looked at it a couple days ago and it had fully settled, so that was from June 27th 2019 to Feb 20th it took to settle, poured of as much as i could from the bottle into another. I'm just gonna leave the other bottles alone till I finish this one.
I won't bore you with all of the details on how I made my Homebrew wine, but my concern is after I added the yeast, it became very cloudy. I tried to filter it through a glass drip coffee maker which has a spaghetti strainer and I used a coffee filter. Unfortunately it didn't take out very much of the cloudy substance out of my brew. I'm wondering what I can do to make it as clear as when I first started before the yeast? Please note, I made this as a homebrew, and I don't have the expensive or fancy equipment that most Professional Brewers have. If I really had to, I could make a filter out of charcoal and some other sediment capture layers in order to potentially remove the cloudy look, but I want a professional opinion or perhaps your comment section, seeing how they seem to be well knowledgeable on this subject. Any help would be much greatly appreciated. This is my first time actually attempting this on purpose, and I want to get the best product possible for my own first attempt. It may not look the greatest, but it does taste like wine, but I noticed it does kind of smell off, when I first brewed it, it had a wine slash beer smell to it, but now I think I'm starting to smell a vinegar smell to it, not what you think wine should smell like. But then again, it is my first attempt, and I'm kind of playing around with it too, dialing things in.
Not really, just let them sit. Time works wonders and you're aging it too. We did a video on why we don't use clarifiers though: th-cam.com/video/eSwXBpq7-ZA/w-d-xo.html
I have been searching all over for a video explaining why my first batches of mead tasted like sour vinegar. Now I know! However, I'm still confused as to exactly how I did it. It fermented for about 3 weeks. I racked into second vessels with the hose all the way to the bottom. Sanized very thoroughly. Clean hands, rubber gloves, the works. Idk. I wanted to avoid the potassium sorbate, but I think I'm going to crater and try it on batches 3 and 4.
@@CitySteadingBrews you guys pasterize, right? I think I saw a "how to" video of you guys pasterizing. I'm gun shy now and scared I'm gonna set myself back 2 months again.
I’d like to throw my two cents in. Yeah that takes awhile and correct me if I’m wrong but if you’re like me and know 100% you’re going to drink that bottle the night you filter it I wouldn’t worry about vinegar too much. I’m still at the half gallon jug of juice at a time stage haha
just a thought, could you use the filter in the end of the hose when your doing your first rack? If it's on the end of the hose in the bottle it wouldn't be introducing air and it might give more surface area as to not clog, again it's just a thought.
Well, you are correct that wholesale filter wont work but I for one am not going to waste a pint of cider. I will the bottom lees thru a coffee filter and set it aside for tasting and initial consumption. I call this being frugal and not wasteful. That being said I do appreciate your time and effort. Thank you.
@CityStandingBrews Question what about whole house filter systems can these work without changing the taste of the wine? I mean it would be the cloth filters yes more expensive but if worth it then great. Please and thank you for any feed back
Hey, just a suggestion for your site - what about a brewing FAQ for the hot button questions? The answers could be a brief one-liner and then a link to your assorted youtube videos that you have done (like this, or the hydrometer video, etc). I've asked some questions, which you graciously answered here, only to find those same answers in unwatched videos later as well. It may help the rookies to have an FAQ, and save you a little time in redundant answers.
Another awesome video Brian; thanks so much! Of course I also asked the question and tried it myself and found the filters clog up pretty fast. I just bottled 4 bottles and the first 2 went fast but the last 2 took several filters each since that was at the bottom of the jug. However, each bottle I filled I immediately slapped a vacuum stopper on and vacuum sealed. Hopefully that will keep it from turning to vinegar. But hey, if it does turn, I'll have about a gallon of CHERRY vinegar! LOL...oh, and I also spilled A BUNCH when I knocked the full funnel over--TWICE--which gave me the opportunity to wash down 3 walls, the floor, the washer (inside and out) AND my entire right side. This also gave me the chance to indulge in MUCH cursing, muttering, and an occasional scream, all of which, if you remember, is required when one has spilled "a bunch." And no, I didn't try this experiment after watching this video, it happened a few days prior to my viewing (unfortunately).
Hey Brian, That was pretty clear and concise! I do have a question for you, I started your recipe for Ginger Beer on the 7th Feb', it was slow to start, about 12 hours (average temp' here is 30 c, no AC.), now it has completely stopped, your thoughts and or suggestions, please? On the previous day I did Jalapeno, it is still going strong. As always your views from your videos are very clear and always look forward to the new ones, You and Derika are the reason that I finally took the plunge to start brewing. Fred and Soraya... Indonesia
Fred Christie check the Facebook group, we've covered a whole slew of different problems with ginger beer. Just hop in and search ginger beer, the answer will be somewhere in there.
@@RyanC1984 Thanks for your response Ryan, however, because of my location (Indonesia) Facebook will not let me access it as they think I am trying to hack into my own account... Thanks anyway, Fred
@@RyanC1984 Hi Ryan, sorry to take so long in getting back to you, I have over the past day taken very close observation on the G/B as it turns out it has not actually stopped , it is however as you said very slow! It was very slow to start then went crazy for a day and a half, so after the observing I have decided to just leave alone for now. I am not sure if you noticed I am in Indonesia, getting the right equipment is extremely difficult, i.e.: I ordered a Hydrometer 6 weeks ago and has still not arrived, it took 2 weeks to get my airlocks, even then only two arrived from the 6 I ordered. The other thing I have to contend with is the ambient temperature which is a very constant 30 c and this is the rainy season, so any suggestions you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for your assistance. Fred... Indonesia.
Yeah just be patient, my ginger beer have taken anywhere from 15-24 days, we’re in winter here in the USA so it’s throwing things for a loop since this is the coldest winter we’ve had since I started brewing.
I just strain it through the few teeth I have left and chew the chunks.
Lol
hahaha
🤣
Ik a buddy j like this lmao made my day
A trooper!
Back in the 90s whenI I used to brew white wine, I just left it until the sediment was almost solid. The wine got clear and tasted OK - or so I thought at the time, haha.
I've done this and can definitely say that it takes a VERY LONG TIME! Don't do this. Listen to Brian.
Should i just siphon?
Same XD
Yes, siphon.
35 seconds in and I can tell this is gonna be good. I did this when I first started brewing because I lacked the funds to do it properly... it didn't work out as well and it takes way too long anyways. Took hours to do a gallon of brew. EDIT: I didn't think of the whole air thing. Which explains why it tasted nasty lol. Not to mention it doesn't get all the lees and sediment at the bottom.
What about a Britta filter? Just before drinking?
@@zebman74 there is active charcoal in there. You would filter out the majority of flavours.
Loving the one on one feel this has. Definently keep these kinds of videos on small topics. Short and sweet with a little information
Thanks, we are trying new things!
Thank You! This video saved me from the mistake of filtering through a coffee filter and causing issues with my homebrew.
Thank you for the PSA :) Trying to filter anything thru a coffee filter, beyond coffee, is a time-consuming mess.
Actually most of them suck for coffee too!
LOL my wife did this today with her first brew of vinegar... er... I mean delicious cider... I got the proper supplies (including siphon) to do a different brew. I'll follow Brian's steps through what I've seen throughout the other vids. I bet it'll taste amazing!
I just made a bunch of beer and I ended up with a couple of bottles to fill and I ended up with some yeast at the bottom. I was really hoping to click on here and have the magic answer just give to me LOL but I get it. I just think I’ll rack it a couple more times than usual. Thanks.
I just now tried filtering a half gallon of "Welch's Reserve" through my Aeropress with double filters. Did not work just wasted about 30 minutes. I've come to embrace the yeast and I really don't mind it. My wife on the other hand, just knowing it's there, it puts her off. She prefers sweet red wine, so I poured her a glass of my DIY and she didn't notice until I asked her if she noticed anything different and after her asking enough times why there were condom wrappers in the trash I finally broke down and bought some damn airlocks. I think my next move is a 5 gallon batch of Welch's Reserve(wow, just googed how many bottles 5 gallons make, 24!) I also threw in a handful each of dried white grapes and cherries to use instead of yeast nutrient and there are no complaints here. Happy fermenting!
my mother suggested using coffee filters three separate times so far to save the leftover wine or mead after racking before. I told her repeatedly why it doesn't work, but she still suggests it
Well now you can show her this video! 😃 👍
I used a fine muslin cloth , it was brilliant
I did this with my first Mead. It was a Maple Blueberry Mead, and after properly siphoning my 4x750ml bottles that I left to age, I got about 250ml into the 500ml Maple Syrup bottle, with a swing top, that I had used for the mead. I ran what was left through a coffee filter and got another 250ml of mead, filling the Maple Syrup bottle, but it took about 15 minutes and still came out a milky colour. I chilled it and drank it green later that night. I did the same when I first racked it, though that time I only did enough to fill a small glass for sampling. Vinegar was not really a worry, when I was going to drink it right away.
I love the way this was shot. Good lighting, focus, etc.
Thank you for noticing! We are working hard to improve our production value!
Thanks for sending me this. It was informative. I'm doing research now. Getting the base knowledge about to get my a bunch of tools to start.
I've left the leas behind because they go in with the flour and become focaccia the next day. An important point about the acetobacter. They are toxic to lactobacter. Lactobacter is a good bacteria that makes a lot of what we all love, from sauerkraut to yogurt to sour dough bread. Lactobacter also plays a role in the aging process of brews lending a healthy acid over time, but an acetobacter infection that may not result in vinegar could result in none of the benefits of lactobacter because it killed them off with the resulting brew still being bad.
yeah... tried this with my last batch of mead since i havent gotten my siphon yet... didnt work very well. i did better with just pouring until i started getting sediment and stopping with a little liquid loss. siphon is next on my buy list.
I remember brewing for the first time, I brewed maple syrup wine in a glass milk jug that I saved from the recycling and cleaned out(was 14 didn't have too many options). I actually used a fine metal mesh strainer it sorta worked just yeeted the solids in the trash periodically too speed it up. Worked ok I guess but the auto sythene is better.
Anything Apple I love. More Apple beverages please!
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!
Even doing the cold brew coffee, it's impossible to strain it through a coffee filter. There's just too much ultra fine particles that clogs up the filter.
Agreed. I keep my grind coarse with a burr grinder and that helps a lot.
I use a permanent coffee filter. Filtered in acouple seconds. I don't need anything fancy. I drink half gallon in about 4 hrs,then it's nap time,Lol, so it don't get no time to turn to vinegar. I was just looking for some ideas. Siphon is probably best. Thanks for a great video, you got New sub.😊
It certainly did work, and I didn’t oxidize it, but my goodness it took forever, so yeah haha
Thanks Brian.
Love your video's.
I'm new to brewing since watching your videos. Have a traditional mead bubbling away right now.
Look forward to trying it.
Awesome! Thanks for watching!
Thank you for the clarity Brian.
you can modify the funnle with a mesh insert to enlarge the surface area of filtration (the same way a buchner funnle works) and speed up the gravity filtration process. also if vacuum filtration is an option, it would eliminate the oxygen problem and also speed up filtration by a ton.
Doesn't really solve the issue. It's just so much better to let it attenuate out over time and use a siphon.
@@CitySteadingBrews I'm just saying :D may be helpful for people in a hurry for small scale batches or for brews that won't clear up nicely other ways.
I tried a coffee filter with the cloudy, beer-like dregs that were left after racking the batch of Syr Michael of York mead I started awhile back. Forget it. Don't waste your time. The dead yeast particulates in suspension are so fine, they go right through it.
Glad I saw this. I never tried it. Thought about it but now I know not to
I know this video is 2 years old, but I recently acquired a grape wine recipe that dates back to at least the 1850's. Ive made it as close to the original instructions as I humanly could. Although I have a few questions that maybe you can answer. The recipe is as follows:
"Grape Wine - Ripe, freshly picked, and selected, tame grapes, 20 lbs. ; put them into a stone jar and pour over them 6 qts. of boiling soft water; when sufficiently cool to allow it, you will squeeze them thoroughly with the hand; after which allow them to stand 3 days on the pomace with a cloth thrown over the jar, then squeeze out the juice and add 10 lbs. of nice crushed sugar, and let it remain a week longer in the jar; then take off the scum, strain and bottle, leaving a vent, until done fermenting, when strain again and bottle tight, and lay the bottles on the side in a cool place"
Making the wine I didnt have any issues at all. It seemed to ferment nicely, and is a very lovely color.
My questions are,
How do I tell when it is done fermenting? I know i can stop it from fermenting in various ways, but i want to stay as close to the original way it was done as possible.
It said to leave a vent until its done fermenting... Without buying wine specific things to "leave a vent" what is the best way i could do so?
And finally, what is the cheapest/"free-est" way to filter wine that you would recommend? Ive tried coffee filters and i agree with you, it sucks.
Thanks in advance for this video and any advice you or anyone may offer. Youve earned a subscriber from me. And i would LOVE to see how you would make this recipe and how you would change it or wouldnt change it. The writer of the recipe says that he prefers it to 9/10th of all wines and that it is supposed to taste like the grapes.
I don't filter. As for when it's done, we have a video coming out tomorrow going over that.
Airlocks are your friend. Trust me, the small investment is worth it.
Very clever execution Brian
Thank you kindly
My siphon tube has a filter chamber built into it where I place 2 filters folded I half into it and them do a forced siphon which forces the brew through the filters. I evacuate the air by pushing sterile water to fill the hose and chamber and then start the siphon process.
Never seen one like that. I would think the filtration might slow or stop siphoning though...
Never did the coffee filter however I just purchased a filter and pump to try. Not so much to filter anything you can get out with a siphon and racking but to polish the wine before bottling. We shall see how that goes.
On top of everything else that Brian has said, I have found in my experience that yeast are too small for the holes in the coffee filter to catch them all.
I have some 2 year old bottled mead that has some junk left in it. Still taste good. How would filter this? Have you ever tried using a water filter pitcher?
I wouldn't, just don't shake it up and pour carefully.
Thank you! I I now have a 122 750ml BOTTLE COOLER!
Thanks for the info. I'm trying to perfect my wine making. I want to hit my goal of 500 bottles in a year. 🍻
Curious why that is your goal?
@@CitySteadingBrews Well I'm 50 years old and I wanted a new hobby and thought about wine making for some time. I teamed up with this older retired guy. Did a fair amount of research and talk to other wine makers( mostly older folks). I want a variety of flavored wines. Plus when I pick up a hobby I get a little obsessed. So far I've made 55 bottles of choke cherry wine and 33 bottles of high bush cranberry wine. I want to make dandelion, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and mango wine. These type of fruits a abundant in this neck of the woods except the mangoes. I guess if I was to give my wines as a gift to people and they say that it's good shit. It would give me satifaction. Me and the retired guy said we're living the dream ha ha ha . Have a good day.
While I agree that you should not use a coffee filter. You could reduce the issue of oxygen exposure by attaching a tube to the end of the funnel.
true, but when the tube fills up, where is the force coming from to force the liquid into the bottle?
@@Silvers24 Yeah, you would have to slowly raise the funnel to keep the tube just below the surface
By the time you've done that.... you could have siphoned 10 gallons.
Great video - short, informative and just enough information to mull over.
Y'all really are the Will and Dawn of homebrewing
I have no idea what that means.
Really love how commited to simple home brewing you are, i'm on my 4th gallon batch now and they have all turned out great thanks to you, my latest brew has a LOTof lees and i dont want to lose too much, any ideas how to save as much as poss?
Let sit there as long as possible without any movement. Have brews that were cloudy for 2 years and then became almost clear in the 3rd year. The yeast will sink to the bottom, but it couls take - literally -years. If you can wait, do it. If not... Enjoy your drink. It's cloudy, it's not poisonous
Great video. That said, I remain a coffee filter fan. You are not against coffee filters because of their material, but rather because of the air that the wine is exposed to. I can live with that. Also, I force my wine through the filter with compressed air. So it filters a lot faster. (Yeah, it also exposes the wine to even more air.)
I used a coffee filter today to get rid of extra hop crap....it's a SLOW process...but it seems to be working....
I use a funnel with a tube (extended to bottom of flask) in a bung, on a 2 L Erlenmeyer flask with a vacuum port. the vacuum provide the negative pressure and will provide extraordinary clarity. but then I do collect lab glassware.
I agree with everything, but one thing is that I feel the o2 issues isnt the largest issue. I made grape wine by freshly crushed garden grapes, some store bought wine yeast, After I siphoned for my first rack, I had so much liquid left cause of some uncrushed grapes and some caught in skins so I had to full thru a almond milking cloth and squeezed all the juice out of the skins and seeds. This resulted in a great wine, however I do support your idea of getting the least amount of o2 into your brew whenever possible.
Tried this on my first rack. I will try not to in future xD...
My question is how should we remove the fruits and berries when taking it from a bucket to put in the gallon bottles
I just did the same. I brewed without using a bag. They are so hard to find in the right size. Appreciate any help there. I plan to "scoop" the fruit out using a strainer and let it sit on the lees a bit longer as I'm just at the 2-week mark. Does that sound right Brian and Derica?
I dumped the brew into a stainless steel pot that had a painter’s straining bag in it. The straining bag worked really well and was cheaper. Then cleaned the fermenter and dumped the brew back in. Let it settle again, then bottled.
Love your Videos. They have helped me greatly for producing my own meads. Very informative, and solid infromation. However, with all due respect, I see an issue regarding the filter and it does work, especially if you use a wider coned funnel. Here's why! I get oxygen is bad for the final finish, and that there is air already trapped in the bottle, however for a liquid to enter and occupy a closed space (bottle with funnel) then the previous air has to be released, otherwise the area is just being pressurized and no liquid can continute to enter, as a result of the debris cloging the entrance throung the filter. I notice the funnel is rested at the opening of the bottle. With the filter in the funnel, naturaly the opening would clog as it traps the undesireables. However, as liquid rises the debris settles below the surface trapped in the filter, thus trapping the liquid. So given the observance of displacement, any remaining liquid would escape through the easiest exit, rising over the debris, escaping through the pours of the filter and being released. But in this case it cant. Some how the previous air is unable to escape. Its due to the funnel blocking the neck of the bottle and causing a seal resulting in an airlock. So the filter will work, but the funnel has to be raised a little to let the trapped air out and the rest of the fluid to pour through. I hope that made sense. Again, I love your vids, and I am a subscriber. I hope you continue to make more videos and inform the populous on the joys of brewing at home!
What you said is fine but doesn’t change the fact that you are needlessly exposing your brew to oxygen and the filter won’t remove lees anyway.
I use filter paper sheets to filter my wine, and approximately an hour I filtered 20 liters of wine. I have, obviously, not used coffee filters or small circular filters.
Meh I bought a siphon to rack my wine with a filter on the end, but the end that goes into secondary doesnt have a tube beyond the pump... so that means the wine has to go through all the air from the top of the 2ndary all the way to the bottom... I dont understand why they would make a siphon specifically for wine making that forces you to make the wine drip all the way from the top to the bottom like that... =/
Thank you. I learned something on vinegar and saving the wine :)
I use a variety of filter but usually only with the lees. Even then the funnel (4 pint capacity) has a pipe attached and the pipe goes in the bottle. Never had a problem :)
There's a lot of ways to make it work. Just takes forever.
I tried doing it when straining my ginger tea for ginger beer. I gave up quickly and just used the strainer :P
I tried the same thing myself a few years ago with the same results. I just take the last inch or two of the jugs and combine them to drink for myself. Tastes about the same and it's all for me. Might try some layers of cheese cloth if I really feel like it.
Fantastic video, love the way you laid out the example and info. Keep up the great work! :)
Thank you!
I did try a piece of coffee filter on the exit end of the siphon. I had a couple of blowouts but didn't really see advantage when it didn't blow out.
I use coffee filters. But I combine metal mesh coffe filters with ordinary paper filters. The reason paper filters clogs up is due to poors being blocked when soaked and pressed against plastic surface. if you put it in e metal mesh or strainer the surface area increases greatly and also flow/rate. Its still not the best solution but for those like me who dont want to spend extra cash its definetly useful for sorting out chitosan and silica compounds that have interacted with yeast and proteins. Just make sure to flush the filters so you dont get cellulose in your brew and its useful for stuff you dont intend to shelf for a very long time.
I used cheese cloths and syphoned at least twice to get rid of sediment. It seemed to work great
Well... siphoning is the answer. You can use cheesecloth over it to keep out some chunks, but it won't stop the lees. Racking twice is a good plan too :)
Curious, what about an activated carbon filter like they use in distilling?
Better to just use time and an autosiphon. Charcoal filtering will remove some flavors I'd think.
Thank you! New to this! Definetly liked and subbed
Awesome, thank you!
Woow I got alot of information thanks dude
I tried a cover filter about two or so months ago but for a different reason. A long story short I was using a juicer for apple juice, problem was that it was throwing a lot of blended pulp into the juice. Thought about filter paper in the form of an A4 but wasn't sure if it would be food grade. Went with the obvious coffee filter paper. Set up a bottle and a funnel and put the coffee filter in. Filled it up and it filtered for about five seconds and stopped, thought it was a bit odd but had a rough idea why. Removed the funnel and empted the paper back into the pulpy juice. Tried a second time, same thing. At this point I knew it wasn't going to work but wanted to try just one last time and ditch it if I could get it to work. Third try came and the same result. Ditched that idea really fast. My logic was that pulp like dirt would allow the water or in this case the juice to run/filter through and then into the paper because there would be micro air gaps. What I didn't account for was the fact that the pulp would clog all air space to prevent it from filtering, I didn't account for this because of the previous reasoning. Moral of the story? Coffee filter paper was pointless, I wasted more time by trying to save time. Conclusion? I learnt helpful information that can be or in this case not applied in future applications.
for small fruit pulp particulates, put a stocking or mesh bag around the auto siphon this will keep them from being sucked up.
I never thought of filtering the whole mead batch but I do want to try to use the filter only on the last bit that I can't get with the siphon. Since I an intending to drink it right away, the air thing isn't an issue. However, watching your demonstration, that brew seems very cloudy after going through the filter. Not sure the Coffee filter is fine enough to get the lees out at all. Thanks for the demo.
LOL it is actually very funny that you posted this! Back when i was done my primary fermentation and has siphoned my mead into a new carboy, I looked at the bit left on the bottom with all the yeast left in it and thought "Hey I wonder if I could use a coffee filter to filter that!"
Yeah, no! That's all I'm gonna say 😂😂😂
We have all been there.
Ah, answers my question, thank you.
Coarse cheesecloth is my go-to... followed closely by a hankercheif, seriously.
Well, that's fine for pulp, seeds and fruit, but it won't keep out the lees.
Great video, thanks for the info.
My paint sprayer has a rough screen on the bottom of the paint pickup (called a rock catcher) and I've thought something like this would possibly be a good way to add some filtration to the siphoning process. It would be hard to get the screen size right, and that seems like it would vary depending on what you have in the primary...
I also use the siphon.
GREAT VIDEO ! Coffee Filter .. ...,ok i did it to. & .PORTAFILTER BASKET too !!!
That camera work tho
Aaron Reash that depth of field is B E A U T I F U L
Thanks! That's a Zeiss 35 1.4 lens at work.
When I finish racking, I’ll pour the lees into a coffee filter and let it sit. After a couple hours I’ll come back for a nasty little drink 👍
Thank you for this. I had the filter idea, but imagined my way out of it pretty quickly. However, I used a brand new auto-siphon to rack the other day and the rubber must have been dry rotted because it sucked air into the siphon hose with the mead. If it goes to vinegar, I'll understand why. :)
It probably won’t cause a problem.
If you lift the funnel up it will run in to the bottle much better .
Did a sweet Mead last year, racked a couple times but the cloud never would fully settle. So just went and bottled it, for months it was still cloudy so i was getting a little worried. Just looked at it a couple days ago and it had fully settled, so that was from June 27th 2019 to Feb 20th it took to settle, poured of as much as i could from the bottle into another. I'm just gonna leave the other bottles alone till I finish this one.
What yeast was used?
@@CitySteadingBrews Lalvin EC-1118
Very unusual, but, as always, time is your friend in brewing.
What about a wash cloth much faster and gets rid of major sediment
Not fine enough. It will just pass right through.
Very well done video. Looks great.
Thank you!
I won't bore you with all of the details on how I made my Homebrew wine, but my concern is after I added the yeast, it became very cloudy. I tried to filter it through a glass drip coffee maker which has a spaghetti strainer and I used a coffee filter. Unfortunately it didn't take out very much of the cloudy substance out of my brew. I'm wondering what I can do to make it as clear as when I first started before the yeast? Please note, I made this as a homebrew, and I don't have the expensive or fancy equipment that most Professional Brewers have. If I really had to, I could make a filter out of charcoal and some other sediment capture layers in order to potentially remove the cloudy look, but I want a professional opinion or perhaps your comment section, seeing how they seem to be well knowledgeable on this subject. Any help would be much greatly appreciated. This is my first time actually attempting this on purpose, and I want to get the best product possible for my own first attempt. It may not look the greatest, but it does taste like wine, but I noticed it does kind of smell off, when I first brewed it, it had a wine slash beer smell to it, but now I think I'm starting to smell a vinegar smell to it, not what you think wine should smell like. But then again, it is my first attempt, and I'm kind of playing around with it too, dialing things in.
When first tried my hand at filtering my wine I used a coffee filter.... hell no never doin that again 😅 it took forever and it made the wine horrible
Yep, yet people still do it all the time, or ask if they should!
Good idia. I like it
Only a Magnificent Bastard would repurpose an Ardbeg bottle like this!
True!
Use something other than a funnel?
Very informative Brian
I wasted 3 hours trying to filter through a coffee filter and it sucked
Same
I've just made a batch of elderflower wine. I've done the primary and now I've got two full demijohns of wine. Problem is, there are tiny little
When you rack, put some cheesecloth over the tubing on the output of your siphon. IT should catch them all.
is there a video on how to clear your brews
Not really, just let them sit. Time works wonders and you're aging it too. We did a video on why we don't use clarifiers though: th-cam.com/video/eSwXBpq7-ZA/w-d-xo.html
I have been searching all over for a video explaining why my first batches of mead tasted like sour vinegar. Now I know!
However, I'm still confused as to exactly how I did it. It fermented for about 3 weeks. I racked into second vessels with the hose all the way to the bottom. Sanized very thoroughly. Clean hands, rubber gloves, the works.
Idk. I wanted to avoid the potassium sorbate, but I think I'm going to crater and try it on batches 3 and 4.
We have never used sorbate.
@@CitySteadingBrews you guys pasterize, right? I think I saw a "how to" video of you guys pasterizing.
I'm gun shy now and scared I'm gonna set myself back 2 months again.
We do.
I have just looked into the wine filter. Do you think this would be a good addition to the final process? The buon Vino?
Never tried, and likely won't... seems just an added expense to me. I'm all about keeping things simple. :)
I’d like to throw my two cents in. Yeah that takes awhile and correct me if I’m wrong but if you’re like me and know 100% you’re going to drink that bottle the night you filter it I wouldn’t worry about vinegar too much. I’m still at the half gallon jug of juice at a time stage haha
Coffee filters still aren't fine enough to filter out most lees.
Thank you for the tip! 😊
Thank you for your good experiment and explanation. Can we keep mead long for aging and does aged mead taste better?
Yes, and yes. Properly bottled, it can last for years and gets better with time.
just a thought, could you use the filter in the end of the hose when your doing your first rack? If it's on the end of the hose in the bottle it wouldn't be introducing air and it might give more surface area as to not clog, again it's just a thought.
Wouldn't it just clog at the end of the tube?
Thank You from Phoenix Arizona ;
Well, you are correct that wholesale filter wont work but I for one am not going to waste a pint of cider. I will the bottom lees thru a coffee filter and set it aside for tasting and initial consumption. I call this being frugal and not wasteful.
That being said I do appreciate your time and effort. Thank you.
they make brewing filters
a V60 could sort the fliter clogging issue mostly
@CityStandingBrews Question what about whole house filter systems can these work without changing the taste of the wine? I mean it would be the cloth filters yes more expensive but if worth it then great. Please and thank you for any feed back
Thank you so much, saved my brew with science mwahahah
Hey, just a suggestion for your site - what about a brewing FAQ for the hot button questions? The answers could be a brief one-liner and then a link to your assorted youtube videos that you have done (like this, or the hydrometer video, etc). I've asked some questions, which you graciously answered here, only to find those same answers in unwatched videos later as well. It may help the rookies to have an FAQ, and save you a little time in redundant answers.
Good idea, but would require people to actually read. Trust me, they don't, lol.
I wonder if you tie it on the end of the racking tube and pass the liquid through would that make a reasonable difference?
It would break the siphon it’s too slow.
Great video thanks
Another awesome video Brian; thanks so much! Of course I also asked the question and tried it myself and found the filters clog up pretty fast. I just bottled 4 bottles and the first 2 went fast but the last 2 took several filters each since that was at the bottom of the jug. However, each bottle I filled I immediately slapped a vacuum stopper on and vacuum sealed. Hopefully that will keep it from turning to vinegar. But hey, if it does turn, I'll have about a gallon of CHERRY vinegar! LOL...oh, and I also spilled A BUNCH when I knocked the full funnel over--TWICE--which gave me the opportunity to wash down 3 walls, the floor, the washer (inside and out) AND my entire right side. This also gave me the chance to indulge in MUCH cursing, muttering, and an occasional scream, all of which, if you remember, is required when one has spilled "a bunch." And no, I didn't try this experiment after watching this video, it happened a few days prior to my viewing (unfortunately).
You always crack me up!
@@CitySteadingBrews Thanks! I figure you deserve a laugh or several from your viewers.
Hey Brian, That was pretty clear and concise! I do have a question for you, I started your recipe for Ginger Beer on the 7th Feb', it was slow to start, about 12 hours (average temp' here is 30 c, no AC.), now it has completely stopped, your thoughts and or suggestions, please? On the previous day I did Jalapeno, it is still going strong. As always your views from your videos are very clear and always look forward to the new ones, You and Derika are the reason that I finally took the plunge to start brewing. Fred and Soraya... Indonesia
Fred Christie check the Facebook group, we've covered a whole slew of different problems with ginger beer. Just hop in and search ginger beer, the answer will be somewhere in there.
@@RyanC1984 Thanks for your response Ryan, however, because of my location (Indonesia) Facebook will not let me access it as they think I am trying to hack into my own account... Thanks anyway, Fred
Ok, I can field this one then. what are you using to determine that it has stoped? My ginger beer has always been kinda slower to ferment.
@@RyanC1984 Hi Ryan, sorry to take so long in getting back to you, I have over the past day taken very close observation on the G/B as it turns out it has not actually stopped , it is however as you said very slow! It was very slow to start then went crazy for a day and a half, so after the observing I have decided to just leave alone for now. I am not sure if you noticed I am in Indonesia, getting the right equipment is extremely difficult, i.e.: I ordered a Hydrometer 6 weeks ago and has still not arrived, it took 2 weeks to get my airlocks, even then only two arrived from the 6 I ordered. The other thing I have to contend with is the ambient temperature which is a very constant 30 c and this is the rainy season, so any suggestions you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for your assistance. Fred... Indonesia.
Yeah just be patient, my ginger beer have taken anywhere from 15-24 days, we’re in winter here in the USA so it’s throwing things for a loop since this is the coldest winter we’ve had since I started brewing.