Straining the grain without the pain

[Steve Broady]

I don’t suppose this is anything incredibly new, but it worked well for me so I thought I’d share.

I’ve tried squeezing grain in a screw press. It works, but it’s a bit of a mess and a hassle, and my press isn’t big enough to handle all the grain now that I’ve moved to a larger fermenter. I’ve tried squeezing, but it’s hard work, and messy. I tried just not bothering at all, but I felt like I lost a lot of good beer.

I have a few BIAB bags, but I don’t like the idea of putting dry grain in one and then trying to mix it with a paint mixer. I can see the bag snagging, tearing, and generally making more problems than solutions. So I’ve just been putting the grain loose in a 15 gallon cooler, mashing and fermenting in there, and then skimming off the beer after it’s fermented dry.

This time, I decided to try a different approach. First, I skimmed off all the liquid I could get easily, filtering it through a BIAB bag.

Then I took the bag and put it into a 5 gallon bucket, which has several holes drilled in the bottom. This was stacked inside a 6 gallon bucket, leaving roughly 2 gallons of space at the bottom.

I then scooped all the wet grain into the bag, laid the lid on top loosely just to keep dust and debris out, and let it sit overnight. This is how it looked in the morning.

I had almost 2 gallons of beer in the bottom bucket. Considering that the starting liquid volume was about 9 gallons, that’s a pretty significant improvement over just tossing the wet grain.

And the best part is, I made almost zero mess and didn’t have to squeeze anything. I know some people just hang the bag up and let it drip for hours, but I don’t have a space than makes that a practical option. This kept the mess contained, reasonably protected, and didn’t involve lifting or hanging anything. And I already had a bucket with a split in the bottom, so I didn’t even lose a good bucket in the process!

[Wildcats]

Good job man. I like it. Simple and effective. Looks like a great solution. Thanks for sharing. Good write up and pictures as well. Cheer's

[Bradster68]

I also find letting it filter through something overnight is effortless. I pour the clear stuff off first(fermented mash). Then the leftovers in the barrel into a strainer bag and hang over a pail overnight. Maybe some slight squeezing the next day. Not too much as I make a sugarhead with leftovers. Then I filter that through a tshirt (yes a tshirt). Not my kiss jersey but something old..into another pail for a 2nd filtering. I lay the tshirt over the top and hold.in place with a bungie around top of pail.The bag removes the big chunks. And the tshirt,even when using cornmeal or rye catches alot of finer sediment. What goes in my still is very clean now.
Again I believe patience is key. A couple of extra days letting gravity do the work makes for a clean wash.
Good to hear your process though. Tidbits here and there are always interesting.

[Deplorable]

I've never understood the whole "mess" argument around squeezin grain. I must be doing it wrong because I can't make a mess of it squeezin the 50# of slop from my 25 gallon ferment.
The mop wringer method gets me through the chore in about 90 minutes including cleaning the mop wringer and fermenter.
Time and gravity work too I reckon.

[Bradster68]

I've never understood the whole "mess" argument around squeezin grain. I must be doing it wrong because I can't make a mess of it squeezin the 50# of slop from my 25 gallon ferment.
The mop wringer method gets me through the chore in about 90 minutes including cleaning the mop wringer and fermenter.
Time and gravity work too I reckon.

Just curious? Do u make sugar head with your spent grains. I'm contemplating a mop sqeezer too but figured some juice left over was an added bonus. I had a scorched once and don't want that again so added the extra filtering

[Deplorable]

I've never understood the whole "mess" argument around squeezin grain. I must be doing it wrong because I can't make a mess of it squeezin the 50# of slop from my 25 gallon ferment.
The mop wringer method gets me through the chore in about 90 minutes including cleaning the mop wringer and fermenter.
Time and gravity work too I reckon.

Just curious? Do u make sugar head with your spent grains. I'm contemplating a mop sqeezer too but figured some juice left over was an added bonus. I had a scorched once and don't want that again so added the extra filtering

There is no sugar in my shed. I did a sugar head once on an all grain, and [for me] it wasn't worth it. Not a hater, just not for me.
Even on a sugar head, follow your usual process, and squeeze the twice spent grains to get every last ounce of hard work.
Leave nothing for the compost heap but the unfermentable bits.

Edit to address filtering.
I don't filter shit. I let it settle and rack the clear into the boiler.
After it's fermented dry, I rack the clear into buckets. Squeeze the grain and pour the squeezins into buckets to settle out.
After a week or so, pump all the cleared wash into the still for stripping runs, and combine all the slurry into one or two buckets and let it settle some more. Once the settling slows or stops, I rack the clear into the still, and pour in the LWs from the stripping runs.
The remaining custard in the buckets gets dumped as waste because I don't know anyone with hogs to slop.

[Steve Broady]

I've never understood the whole "mess" argument around squeezin grain.

I fully expect that the mess is a result of my lack of experience and trying to avoid too much dedicated equipment and especially space. So far, I haven’t found a better way to get good separation of liquid and solids without some kind of tool that I have to assemble and then clean, dry, and store afterwards. Buckets take up relatively little space, and have multiple uses.

[Twisted Brick]

I've never understood the whole "mess" argument around squeezin grain.

I totally agree. My mash/ferments have a maximum of 28lbs of grain, and after the ferment finishes and clears, the clear gets racked into carboys, and the remaining grains get hand-squeezed through a 5gal paint strainer bag in a colander. This operation takes 50min and 2-3 beers. The squeezed wash sits in a conical until crystal clear and gets stripped with the rest. The top-most layer of wash from the conical gets racked into a flask to clear in the fridge and is subsequently added to my spirit run. I feel these clearing stages allow the highest percentage of fines and yeast to drop out, giving the spirit the best chance to 'shine' down the road.

[Deplorable]

Everything in this hobby takes up space. Buckets, stills, fermenting barrels, grain, aging spirits, it all takes up space. It seems that every year I have to sacrifice giving up just a wee bit more space in the "shed" for this hobby. You can either do it with the tools the lord graced you with, or make space for a tool that makes the job a little easier. I'm not one to wait on gravity, Id rather get shit done. The waiting game for me is the clearing after recovering all the distiller's beer.
Again, I'm not saying the way anyone else does it is wrong, everyone has their preferred method. I'm saying squeezing doesn't have to be messy.

[Setsumi]

Steve, you are just a few steps from a press. Next time put another bucket filled with some water on top of the grains.

[NZChris]

If you make enough mash for multiple stripping runs, the last strip has plenty of time to drain in a bag/bucket/whatever while the first two/three/four strips run.

Clear wash for a flavored product isn't as important as if you are making neutral. For maximum flavor, you can do what the industrials do and run with everything in the boiler, as long as you are set up not to get burn on.

My last stripping charge is usually a bit cloudy and I've never noticed a significant flavor difference between it and the other strips.

Like others, I recycle the grain bed/backset/feints/etc. into a sugar wash for refluxing into GNS for a variety of products, so little ethanol is wasted.

[shadylane]

Time and gravity work too I reckon.

Since time and gravity are against me.
It's nice when I can use both to my advantage.

[googe]

My missus does similar when she.makes stock, works well!

[greggn]

Steve, you are just a few steps from a press. Next time put another bucket filled with some water on top of the grains.

Skip the water, sit on it instead, and now you have the famous "Ass Press."

[jonnys_spirit]

I just squeeze it too. On a large batch I can siphon two strips worth off the settled grain bed. Maybe a bit more. Scooping the remnants of 100# of spent grain out of a 50g HDPE barrel is a little rough on the back. I recently discovered that the long handled scooping tool I want is called a “grain hoe”. I might try some form of this next AG.

Cheers,
J

[Bushman]

I also use the 5 gallon paint strainer cloths. Not exactly on the subject of straining grain but filtering botanicals from a maceration process I use my own designed vacuum pump. Not sure if you saw this thread.
Vacuum pump

[Demy]

I think a filter at the bottom of the fermenter connected to a tap is useful...only the grains remain with little liquid and can be squeezed out.

[Setsumi]

Steve, you are just a few steps from a press. Next time put another bucket filled with some water on top of the grains.

Skip the water, sit on it instead, and now you have the famous "Ass Press."

True.... but then I want to very subtle promote my press.

[LikkorPanda]

I use a large dinner plate and about 20 lbs of lead fishing weights cover and let press overnight with the double bucket and bag setup. Seems to work well

[Sporacle]

I use a large dinner plate and about 20 lbs of lead fishing weights cover and let press overnight with the double bucket and bag setup. Seems to work well

Just checking that the leads not in contact with the mash

[LikkorPanda]

No mash contact at all full plate between and bag

[Buffalo]

Steve,
I've been wondering, what is the original gravity of the mash you end up with using this method? How many pounds of grain do your use, and how many gallons of wash do you end up with to go into your? I've always used a 10 gallon Clawhammer cooker that circulates the liquid over the grain in the basket the whole time I heat it. I usually end up with about 6 to 6.5 gallons for my fermenter.
Regards,

[Steve Broady]

I’m mashing 16.25 lbs of grain in 9 gallons of water. SG varies depending on my limited skill at mashing, but usually in the 1.055-1.060 range if I do it well. I get roughly 8-8.5 gallons back out this way (I think, I don’t really measure it). I don’t measure the final gravity because is pretty much is whatever it is, and it’s going in the still either way. But I usually get about 1.5-2 gallons of low wines at 30%, and close to another gallon at around 10% which I recycle into the next stripping run.

Sorry for the loose numbers. To be honest, I don’t see the point in measuring what’s coming out. I’m a lot more careful about what goes in, but nature takes over after that.

[Buffalo]

Thanks Steve, I'm getting ready to start mashing in a larger container over a propane burner so I can have about 12 gallons of wash when done. I have been looking at what I currently end up with which is about 1.25 gallons after I strip. I have always used the Clawhammer 10 gallon cooker with a mesh basket, I just haven't tried to mash without constant recirculation so I don't know how that will affect the final gravity. I guess my next batch using the Clawhammer BIAB will be done without recirculation to see what I end up with. Currently I raise the mesh basket and just let it drain, usually overnight. Thanks for responding.
Regards

[Steve Broady]

Following advice I had here, I tried mashing in a large cooler. I add the grain, then hot water, enzymes, and stir occasionally. Unusually let it go overnight just to have plenty of time to donuts thing. I’ve been tempted to use the BIAB bag, but I feel like I’d struggle to get things mixed well enough without snagging the bag. So this way works well for me so far.

[Steve Broady]

I use a large dinner plate and about 20 lbs of lead fishing weights cover and let press overnight with the double bucket and bag setup. Seems to work well

Just a quick follow up. I tried something similar, putting a plastic garbage bag and about 4 gallons of water on top of the grain, after letting it drip as much as it wanted to in its own. Left it for a couple weeks while we went on vacation, and when I came back I discovered two things. One, the weight had pressed the two buckets together insanely tightly, so much that it took some tools to get them apart. Two, I had an additional quart of liquid, out of about 9 lbs of grain. In my opinion, that small a return isn’t worth the time or effort. So I expect I’ll just let it drip for a day or so and call it good from now on.

[rubberduck71]

FWIW this works for me: I ferment on grain with YLAY. When transferring with my auto siphon from my usual 4x6 gal buckets, I hang my 18" tall hop spider over the edge of the bucket. As liquid level drops to bottom of spider, I move off edge of bucket & "gently" push it down into the grain bed. The spider acts like a BIAB. I'll then it sit for 10 min or so, let the grains "drain" into the spider again, reactivate siphon (or my buddy's anti gravity pump). Diminishing returns after a while, but maybe 2-3 rinse/repeats.

Not the clearest looking mash, but no scorching events so far. If it's too cloudy, I'll let it sit overnight.

Then I do sugarheads on the "spent" grains/yeast trub. Starts right up. I find the sugarheads ~80% flavor of A/G. Worthy enough to help keep my paws off A/G while they age.

[Homebrewer11777]

FWIW this works for me: I ferment on grain with YLAY. When transferring with my auto siphon from my usual 4x6 gal buckets, I hang my 18" tall hop spider over the edge of the bucket. As liquid level drops to bottom of spider, I move off edge of bucket & "gently" push it down into the grain bed. The spider acts like a BIAB. I'll then it sit for 10 min or so, let the grains "drain" into the spider again, reactivate siphon (or my buddy's anti gravity pump). Diminishing returns after a while, but maybe 2-3 rinse/repeats.

Brilliant idea! I used this yesterday. Was my third go at an all grain bourbon recipe. Best yield yet and really no mess. I collected enough to do first stripping run and then kept going back to the spider with a ladle every 15 minutes or so during that run. This was 28.5 gallon mash with 50# of grain. ABV came in at 9.3% and I collected 17.25 gallons.

Theoretical volume after taking into account the the grains and minimum absorbed wash was 22.4 gallons so I left behind about 5 gallons for a 77% lautering efficiency. I'm still on the fence about getting a mop bucket or press to recover that last 5 gallons and will give this method a few more tries before going there.

[rubberduck71]

This was 28.5 gallon mash with 50# of grain. ABV came in at 9.3% and I collected 17.25 gallons.

FYI you can do great-tasting sugarheads on top of spent grain! Helps keep your paws off the A/G while it ages.

[BoomTown]

I’ve been using a mini-wine press for years, it works great, but is still a bit labor intensive.

So I saw a posting on another forum, where a guy uses a ‘Ninja Laundry Spinner’. I looked it up on Amazon, and it looks tike it may be the bee’s knees for separating grains from the wort.

Anyone here have any experience with the Ninja laundry spinner? If so, how good is it?