28 replies to this topic

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Up until now I've been dumping my wort (break material, hops, and all) through a paint strainer bag into my primary bucket. I'm curious if this is hurting the clarity of my beer as there is also a significant amount of trub in the bottom of my fermenter within a couple of hours after pitching the yeast.If I wanted to siphon out of my kettle is there anything I need to do differently than siphoning beer? I know I'll have to whirlpool everything to move the hops and other junk away from the side of the kettle. Do I need to bag my hops? Can I use the same tubing as I use to move beer around or is this a bad idea (contamination)?Thanks! :smilielol:edit: fixed some stuff

[ncbeerbrewer]

Up until now I've been dumping my wort (break material, hops, and all) through a paint strainer bag into my primary bucket. I'm curious if this is hurting the clarity of my beer as there is also a significant amount of trub in the bottom of my fermenter within a couple of hours after pitching the yeast.If I wanted to siphon out of my kettle is there anything I need to do differently than siphoning beer? I know I'll have to whirlpool everything to move the hops and other junk to the side of the kettle. Do I need to bag my hops? Can I use the same tubing as I use to move beer around or is this a bad idea (contamination)?Thanks!

When I chill my beers with my immersion chiller I also whirlpool around the outside of the kettle until I am done chilling. After I do that I move it to my brewing table and I also add a couple pieces of wood to tilt the brew kettle to one side. Then I siphon with my autosiphon and try to put the siphon at the lowest point in the kettle. That seems to allow for the best transfer to me and minimizes the transfer of materials to the fermenter. I would say bagging hops would help cut down on your unwanted material if you wanted to go that route. I also say you are fine to use the same transfer hose. I do all my transfer with one hose and have never had a problem. I sanitize it with Iodophor before I use it each time too. I also believe that whirlpooling moves the break material to the center of the kettle. Hope that helps. $0.02.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I also believe that whirlpooling moves the break material to the center of the kettle.

yeah - I noticed I typed that wrong and edited it but not fast enough!

I would say bagging hops would help cut down on your unwanted material if you wanted to go that route.

I actually doubt a little bit of hop material getting into the fermenter is a big deal. I think the break material is more important.

[beach]

After chilling and whirlpooling I put my auto-syphon in at a point where I know how much trub I'll leave in my keggle. I don't worry too much about the hops and break material that end up going into the fermenter. I don't add any finings after the boil, I don't cold crash until the beer is carbed, and I can literally read this post through my beer. If my usb ports weren't jacked up I put a pic up in the other thread.I'm a bottler and it's all about timing for me. A month and a half- two months after bottling my beers are very clear. The only reason I know this is that my pipeline is finely to the point where I don't need to brew every two weeks to have my beer on hand. The haze I had when the beer was a little lees mature didn't really bother my palate, but, it is cool when you can see through your home brew.Beach

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

After chilling and whirlpooling I put my auto-syphon in at a point where I know how much trub I'll leave in my keggle. I don't worry too much about the hops and break material that end up going into the fermenter. I don't add any finings after the boil, I don't cold crash until the beer is carbed, and I can literally read this post through my beer. If my usb ports weren't jacked up I put a pic up in the other thread.I'm a bottler and it's all about timing for me. A month and a half- two months after bottling my beers are very clear. The only reason I know this is that my pipeline is finely to the point where I don't need to brew every two weeks to have my beer on hand. The haze I had when the beer was a little lees mature didn't really bother my palate, but, it is cool when you can see through your home brew.Beach

what is the diff between trub in the kettle and break material in the kettle??

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

what is the diff between trub in the kettle and break material in the kettle??

actually now that I check, trub is a by-prodcut of fermentation and doesn't refer to break material at all...

[beach]

what is the diff between trub in the kettle and break material in the kettle??

I don't honestly know the difference zym, I know there are break material (protiens?), and hop material (I use pellets w/o a bag) so I'm calling all the crap that's left "trub".I can see the difference in the kettle, but it all collects in the center after the whirlpool.Symantics? I don't know.Beach

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I don't honestly know the difference zym, I know there are break material (protiens?), and hop material (I use pellets w/o a bag) so I'm calling all the crap that's left "trub".I can see the difference in the kettle, but it all collects in the center after the whirlpool.Symantics? I don't know.Beach

I wasn't sure either - I had to just go look it up to check

[beach]

I wasn't sure either - I had to just go look it up to check

So what's teh answer? You see, I'm lazy. And on beer 4 Beach

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

So what's teh answer? You see, I'm lazy. And on beer 4 Beach

The answer is up above but I'll say it again:trub: by product of fermentationbreak material: mostly protein material brought about by heating and cooling that clumps together

[beach]

Thanks zym, like I said:

on beer 4 Beach

The answer is up above but I'll say it again:trub: by product of fermentationbreak material: mostly protein material brought about by heating and cooling that clumps together

I'm on beer #4 and I haven't had lunch or dinner yet. Better go now. Beach

FTF myselfBeach

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

[Big Nake]

Tom: Racking the wort from brewpot to primary is easier when you use Whirfloc or Supermoss to get everything to settle. That's the first thing. If you use these products with 5-10 minutes left in the boil, the break material clumps up & drops out quicker. I try to get a good chill with my IC but after that's done I usually drop my brewpot into a deep sink with some water & ice and let it sit for another 15-20 minutes for things to settle further. I do this for lagers and ales. When it's time, I simply rack the wort from brewpot to primary and the wort is usually exceptionally clear for the first 3-4 gallons. Some of this depends on your volume... if you only have 5 gallons of wort in your brewpot, your either going to be short in the primary or you're going to have break material in there. I start my boil with 7+ gallons and end up around 6ish at the end of the boil. When I'm racking, I will begin to get some amount of schputz in the last gallon of wort, but even that ends up in a strainer. When I get to 5¼ gallons or so, I stop the rack. In my brewpot, there will be anywhere from a half-gallon to a gallon of pea-soup that gets dumped. Does all of this mean that I collect too much of my runnings and possibly lower the ABV of my beer? Probably. But I've said it before... if I plan to make a 5.4% beer and end up making a 5.2% beer, I really don't care. If you do this plus use gel in the secondary along with some amount of cold conditioning (and use a high-floccing yeast!), you're going to have some very clear beer at the end. I think most of this stuff is on my site under GENERAL BREWING INFORMATION. Cheers.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Tom: Racking the wort from brewpot to primary is easier when you use Whirfloc or Supermoss to get everything to settle. That's the first thing. If you use these products with 5-10 minutes left in the boil, the break material clumps up & drops out quicker. I try to get a good chill with my IC but after that's done I usually drop my brewpot into a deep sink with some water & ice and let it sit for another 15-20 minutes for things to settle further. I do this for lagers and ales. When it's time, I simply rack the wort from brewpot to primary and the wort is usually exceptionally clear for the first 3-4 gallons. Some of this depends on your volume... if you only have 5 gallons of wort in your brewpot, your either going to be short in the primary or you're going to have break material in there. I start my boil with 7+ gallons and end up around 6ish at the end of the boil. When I'm racking, I will begin to get some amount of schputz in the last gallon of wort, but even that ends up in a strainer. When I get to 5¼ gallons or so, I stop the rack. In my brewpot, there will be anywhere from a half-gallon to a gallon of pea-soup that gets dumped. Does all of this mean that I collect too much of my runnings and possibly lower the ABV of my beer? Probably. But I've said it before... if I plan to make a 5.4% beer and end up making a 5.2% beer, I really don't care. If you do this plus use gel in the secondary along with some amount of cold conditioning (and use a high-floccing yeast!), you're going to have some very clear beer at the end. I think most of this stuff is on my site under GENERAL BREWING INFORMATION. Cheers.

Thanks for the post Ken - do you bag your hops? I like to let mine swim around free and I'm curious if I'm going to have a problem clogging up my racking cane.

[Big Nake]

My hops float around and I only use pellets. I once tried a hop bag but the sucker opened up mid-boil and I ended up with hop schputz anyway so I say F-it! You will not clog your racking cane. Keep the bottom of the cane a few inches above the schputz and watch the level so you don't lose your siphon. Eventually, you can tip your brewpot but the schputz is going to lean that way too so you're going to get SOME amount of break material no matter what... the trick is to minimize it, IMO. I mentioned this in a PM to you, but this is also helpful when you go to harvest that yeast... it will be white, smooth and schputz-free when you go to use it again. Some of the wort I have racked out of the brewpot has been so clear I've actually taken pics of it. How's that for whacked-out? Cheers.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Some of the wort I have racked out of the brewpot has been so clear I've actually taken pics of it. How's that for whacked-out? Cheers.

you've got a lot of love for your beer and it shows

[Big Nake]

you've got a lot of love for your beer and it shows

It's a fine line between love for your beer and bizarre, unstable behavior. Cheers, Amigo.

[Kremer]

I don't worry too much about break material from the kettle, pretty much all of it ends up in my fermenters. I do use 5gal paint strainer bags to contain the hops but that's it. I end up with a pretty good layer of break in the bottom of the fermenter but it doesn't seem to hurt anything, and the break material actually provides nutrients for the yeast I believe. I do take care to leave all the break and yeast sludge in the fermenter when I rack to the kegs, having clear lexan fermenters lets me monitor this well. My beers pour perfectly clear after the kegs have been in the fridge for a week or so.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I don't worry too much about break material from the kettle, pretty much all of it ends up in my fermenters. I do use 5gal paint strainer bags to contain the hops but that's it. I end up with a pretty good layer of break in the bottom of the fermenter but it doesn't seem to hurt anything, and the break material actually provides nutrients for the yeast I believe. I do take care to leave all the break and yeast sludge in the fermenter when I rack to the kegs, having clear lexan fermenters lets me monitor this well. My beers pour perfectly clear after the kegs have been in the fridge for a week or so.

what fermenter are you using?

[Kremer]

what fermenter are you using?

My babys:They are from the old "Mr. Beer Professional" 5 gallon kit, which doesn't exist anymore. They hold 7.5G to the shoulder, a little over 8 to the brim. I wish I could get another couple of them, and some handles, they get slippery like a carboy.