136 replies to this topic

[neddles]

The other thought is to sanitize a keg and then fill that with the blow off CO2 from fermentation. 

 

If you have a slick way of doing that, that would be cool.

[Big Nake]

Skipping secondary and going from primary directly to a keg is one small change I made and even though I still do open transfers from primary to keg, the keg is purged with CO2 first. Not ideal, I know but those are two small steps I made. The yeast + sugar thing is interesting... never heard of that. I'll need to make a list of things to do.

Sugar + yeast in the strike water
Trifecta mix
Mash cap
Rack strike water to MT with hi-temp tubing


What about when I transfer from kettle to primary? My kettle is a no-frills, 10g Polarware pot and the only "accessory" is a lid. I wait until my wort is chilled and settled and then I open transfer to the primary through a strainer and there is plenty of splashing. I hit the wort with pure O2 after that as well. Thoughts on that?

[shaggaroo]

I must have missed something somewhere... what's the "no copper" thing?

Edited by shaggaroo, 05 December 2017 - 12:27 PM.

[Big Nake]

I must have missed something somewhere... what's the "no copper" thing?

Copper increases oxidation, apparently. The preference would be stainless instead.

[pkrone]

Skipping secondary and going from primary directly to a keg is one small change I made and even though I still do open transfers from primary to keg, the keg is purged with CO2 first. Not ideal, I know but those are two small steps I made. The yeast + sugar thing is interesting... never heard of that. I'll need to make a list of things to do.

Sugar + yeast in the strike water
Trifecta mix
Mash cap
Rack strike water to MT with hi-temp tubing


What about when I transfer from kettle to primary? My kettle is a no-frills, 10g Polarware pot and the only "accessory" is a lid. I wait until my wort is chilled and settled and then I open transfer to the primary through a strainer and there is plenty of splashing. I hit the wort with pure O2 after that as well. Thoughts on that?

 

As long as your yeast is ready to roll as soon as you oxygenate, you should be good.   Long lag times defeat all the hard work you just did. 

[Big Nake]

This is good stuff. We have varying degrees of low-O2ers in here and we knock this around occasionally but it seems like everyone in our beer forum has been very pleased with their efforts lately and it will only get better as we knock these ideas around more & more. Thanks pk!

[HVB]

As long as your yeast is ready to roll as soon as you oxygenate, you should be good.   Long lag times defeat all the hard work you just did. 

I guess this is another "I'm out" for me.  When I brew lagers I will often chill and then put the capped fermetner into the fridge with a CO2 cap until morning when it reaches pitching temp.

 

I have read many threads today on low oxygen brewing and with out tasting the a beer and seeing what could be gained I am not sure I will go farther than BTB and trying the yeast for de-oxygenating the water.  I do have 2 identical kettles that I have thought of using as a 2 vessel system for BIAB, that allows for underletting and minimal splashing.

[neddles]

This is good stuff. We have varying degrees of low-O2ers in here and we knock this around occasionally but it seems like everyone in our beer forum has been very pleased with their efforts lately and it will only get better as we knock these ideas around more & more. Thanks pk!

 

Not entirely pleased. My next change is to stop using BTB in the boil. We touched on this in another thread a while back. Just about every beer with a good charge of late hops has been coming out cloudy and after some research I have found this is a common problem. Unless I get some new information I'm done with using it in the boil.

[pkrone]

Yeah, the chilling to pitching temp quickly for lagers is a huge PITA,  especially since I switched to a SS CFC from my tried and true copper one.    My current method (in addition to not brewing lagers in the summer any more) is a SS immersion chiller  using tap water in my kettle while I have my whirlpool going.   I have my CFC packed in ice during this time.   Once it's down to 80, I'll fill my sink with ice water and use a sump pump to pump that through the chiller.

 

If you could minimize aeration while you're transferring the wort to fermenter and then use a CO2 blanket while you chill it in the fridge overnight, you might still gain a benefit.   Worth trying.  

[HVB]

Not entirely pleased. My next change is to stop using BTB in the boil. We touched on this in another thread a while back. Just about every beer with a good charge of late hops has been coming out cloudy and after some research I have found this is a common problem. Unless I get some new information I'm done with using it in the boil.

Is this with our without gel or Biofine?  I had one batch that took a while to clear but the rest seemed fine.  I really do not expect my heavily hopped beers to clear very well.

[pkrone]

Not entirely pleased. My next change is to stop using BTB in the boil. We touched on this in another thread a while back. Just about every beer with a good charge of late hops has been coming out cloudy and after some research I have found this is a common problem. Unless I get some new information I'm done with using it in the boil.

 

Yeah, I don't use it in the boil at all any more- only the mash.       I've also started hydrating my Irish moss for a few hours prior to using it.    Have not done it enough yet to report results, but others have said it improved its fining capacity. 

Edited by pkrone, 05 December 2017 - 02:03 PM.

[neddles]

Is this with our without gel or Biofine?  I had one batch that took a while to clear but the rest seemed fine.  I really do not expect my heavily hopped beers to clear very well.

 

Both. They are cloudier before fining than I would expect and they are also harder to clear with either gel or biofine. Specific application... if I want to make a west coast style PA/IPA I really do not want to introduce dry hops until the beer is clear. I want it clear of yeast and clear of other protein or polyphenol hazes that may bind with the hop compounds from my dry hop and fall out. I get great long lasting dry hop character when I dry hop a clear beer. If I dry hop on a haze I get very hazy beer which before long drops out and takes a considerable amount of character with it. If I wanted NEIPA I would use one of the other methods of keeping that haze around, it's a different beer, and that's a different process. Anyhow I have been having a very hard time getting those pales and IPAs to clear before dry hopping, a problem I never had before using BTB.

[neddles]

Yeah, I don't use it in the boil at all any more- only the mash.       I've also started hydrating my Irish moss for a few hours prior to using it.    Have not done it enough yet to report results, but others have said it improved its fining capacity. 

 

Let us know what you find, if you like the moss any better than whirlfloc. 

[Big Nake]

Not entirely pleased. My next change is to stop using BTB in the boil. We touched on this in another thread a while back. Just about every beer with a good charge of late hops has been coming out cloudy and after some research I have found this is a common problem. Unless I get some new information I'm done with using it in the boil.

I don't make ultra-hoppy beers but this latest Amarillo-Citra Pale that was also dry-hopped had BTB in the strike water, sparge water and dissolved in a small amount of water in the boil. That beer was dry-hopped in the primary and eventually kegged, chilled, gelled and carbed. It was brilliantly clear and the hop character was fantastic throughout the whole keg (which actually took a couple months to be consumed). Granted, you may be looking for MOAR! hop character than me but to me this was a very hoppy beer that was clean, clear and delicious. In addition, all my other beers seem to be clearer as well. I've seen the clearest beers I have ever brewed since using BTB... not sure if it's BTB, something else or a combination.

[neddles]

I don't make ultra-hoppy beers but this latest Amarillo-Citra Pale that was also dry-hopped had BTB in the strike water, sparge water and dissolved in a small amount of water in the boil. That beer was dry-hopped in the primary and eventually kegged, chilled, gelled and carbed. It was brilliantly clear and the hop character was fantastic throughout the whole keg (which actually took a couple months to be consumed). Granted, you may be looking for MOAR! hop character than me but to me this was a very hoppy beer that was clean, clear and delicious. In addition, all my other beers seem to be clearer as well. I've seen the clearest beers I have ever brewed since using BTB... not sure if it's BTB, something else or a combination.

 

Maybe something unique to my brewery, who knows.

[HVB]

Maybe something unique to my brewery, who knows.

I will send an email to Joe Formanck (sp) to see if he has any info on that.

[neddles]

I will send an email to Joe Formanck (sp) to see if he has any info on that.

 

You were having a similar problem at one point were you not?

[Big Nake]

We all brew under different conditions so I suppose it's possible. Water comes to mind as a definite variable. I believe this pale ale I'm referring to had bittering hops and then 4 ounces of late hops (last 10 minutes) and then 2 more ounces of dry hops. To me it was very punchy but I mention it in case that sounds like far less hops you might use in a hoppy beer.

[neddles]

We all brew under different conditions so I suppose it's possible. Water comes to mind as a definite variable. I believe this pale ale I'm referring to had bittering hops and then 4 ounces of late hops (last 10 minutes) and then 2 more ounces of dry hops. To me it was very punchy but I mention it in case that sounds like far less hops you might use in a hoppy beer.

 

4oz of hops in the last 10 minutes in I would expect to come out hard to clear. Before BTB I would not have expected that to be hard to clear.

[Big Nake]

4oz of hops in the last 10 minutes in I would expect to come out hard to clear. Before BTB I would not have expected that to be hard to clear.

This is the one. 6+ ounces of hops total.