18 replies to this topic

[No Party JKor]

I transferred my cream ale to my fermenter about 45 minutes ago. I was going to give it 1.5-2 hours before I dumped the trub. How long do people wait before dumping trub or transferring off the trub?

[Mya]

Iv'e done well lately to keep my hops a nd breakin the kettle lately, but this last batcgh was a disaster in that regard, so it'll had trub in there until it goes to secondary :facepalm:whem making light colored lagers I have been known to let my cooled wort settle for an hour before transferring to it's primary

[No Party JKor]

The main reason I want to keep as much break as possible out is because I'm going to be harvesting the yeast and it just makes it easier. With my recent lagers I let them sit overnight while it cooled down to pitch temp, then dumped. With the ale, I don't need to cool it any more than it is, so I'm just waiting for the trub to settle enough that there will be a minimal loss of wort when I dump. Maybe I'll just leave it overnight.

[Big Nake]

I use Whirfloc to help settle things and try to get as quick of a chill as possible with my IC and ground water. Then I use an ice-bath in a deep sink for 20-30 minutes. I usually rack about 4 gallons of ultra-clear wort from brewpot to primary and then I start getting some break & hop schputz. The end of the racking tubing is in a strainer so most of it gets caught anyway. A little gel solution in secondary and a little more in the keg and it's all good. I have a "gold lager" made with 2278 on tap right now and it's unbelievably clear. I have a house full of guests in from out of town and there are a bunch of ultra-clear glasses of gold beer everywhere. Cheers.

[gnef]

How big of an issue is it with repitching the yeast? Have any of you noticed flavor transfer due to it?I've never really worried about it, and I reuse my yeast without washing all the time. I don't have a very sensitive pallet though, and want to see how big of an impact this is. I am not that worried about clarity issues, more about flavor issues. With that said, I use whirlfloc (when I remember!) and chill as quickly as I can, but I don't let things settle, and transfer until I get to the hop sludge portion. I transfer most of the break material into the fermenter though.

[MakeMeHoppy]

I whirlpool and let it settle for about 1/2 hour (or however long it takes to finish my clean up and walk the dog) and then transfer using an autosiphon. If you are concerned why not transfer to a 'secondary' after a day or two when active fermentation is still going on. You'll transfer enough yeast to complete the fermentation and you should have a big enough yeast cake when it is completed.

[djinkc]

If I remember, I'll bottom dump from the conical later that day or the next. I'f I'm fermenting in my Sanke fermenter, I can't. Honestly, I can't tell the difference. I try, but still get some spludge in the fermenters.

[No Party JKor]

How big of an issue is it with repitching the yeast? Have any of you noticed flavor transfer due to it?I've never really worried about it, and I reuse my yeast without washing all the time. I don't have a very sensitive pallet though, and want to see how big of an impact this is. I am not that worried about clarity issues, more about flavor issues. With that said, I use whirlfloc (when I remember!) and chill as quickly as I can, but I don't let things settle, and transfer until I get to the hop sludge portion. I transfer most of the break material into the fermenter though.

The reason isn't for flavor or clarity, it's for ease of measurement of the yeast. If there is a lot of hop and break matter mixed in it's more difficult to tell how much yeast you really have. I like to be consistent with how much yeast I'm pitching from batch to batch, especially for bigger beers. I have some big beers coming up and I want to be able to allocate the yeast from this batch properly between them.

[Big Nake]

The reason isn't for flavor or clarity, it's for ease of measurement of the yeast. If there is a lot of hop and break matter mixed in it's more difficult to tell how much yeast you really have. I like to be consistent with how much yeast I'm pitching from batch to batch, especially for bigger beers. I have some big beers coming up and I want to be able to allocate the yeast from this batch properly between them.

I could see this reasoning. When I look at yeast slurry, I'm always wondering how much of that is yeast and how much is break/hop material. I don't really lose much sleep over it, but because I reuse yeast 3 or 4 times, I would prefer to keep the yeast as clean as possible. I did try some simple yeast washing techniques a few times but I don't need the added work on brewday and I really didn't see much of a difference. Cheers.

[gnef]

The reason isn't for flavor or clarity, it's for ease of measurement of the yeast. If there is a lot of hop and break matter mixed in it's more difficult to tell how much yeast you really have. I like to be consistent with how much yeast I'm pitching from batch to batch, especially for bigger beers. I have some big beers coming up and I want to be able to allocate the yeast from this batch properly between them.

Ah! I see. I understand what you are saying. I am a bit lax when it comes to this area. I usually just have mason jars filled with slurry/trub when a beer finishes, and I just dump the whole thing in for my 10 gallon batches. You are right that I don't really know exactly how much yeast I am adding (I also don't know the viability). I am pretty sure I am pitching at least enough yeast, with a slight possibility of more than I 'need', especially if the yeast is fresh enough, but I prefer to pitch more than I need, than not enough.

[BarelyBrews]

I could see this reasoning. When I look at yeast slurry, I'm always wondering how much of that is yeast and how much is break/hop material. I don't really lose much sleep over it, but because I reuse yeast 3 or 4 times, I would prefer to keep the yeast as clean as possible. I did try some simple yeast washing techniques a few times but I don't need the added work on brewday and I really didn't see much of a difference. Cheers.

I use an IC to chill,and honestly don't wait too long before i transfer to the fermentor.I do leave the crud in the bottom of the boil pot.I pour chilled wort threw a fine wire mess screen ,before i aerate.Jamil Z was talking about yeast cleaning techniques recently.My buddy listened to it, said the conclusion was to use the entire yeast slurry(and skip the cleaning yeast process)Did anyone else listen to that one?

[Humperdink]

Usually 1-2 hours sit time post chill.I use whirlfloc and whirlpool also. Depending on what my plans are with the yeast, I'll either stop the transfer as soon as I start getting trub, or run it til I get my volume which almost always means some trub. I leave about two gallons behind in the kettle when I'm really trying to bring brilliantly clear beer to primary. It's a waste I know, but it's much less expensive and time consuming then to rebuild up a new vile for multiple batches when compared with repitching slurry.

[DaBearSox]

I also use whirlfloc and let mine sit as long as it takes me to sanitize my better bottle, and clean up....usually 30-1 hr. Also goes in the fermenter clear.

[No Party JKor]

Usually 1-2 hours sit time post chill.I use whirlfloc and whirlpool also. Depending on what my plans are with the yeast, I'll either stop the transfer as soon as I start getting trub, or run it til I get my volume which almost always means some trub. I leave about two gallons behind in the kettle when I'm really trying to bring brilliantly clear beer to primary. It's a waste I know, but it's much less expensive and time consuming then to rebuild up a new vile for multiple batches when compared with repitching slurry.

If my kettle was bigger (it's literally within 3/4" from the lip before the boil), I'd just make a few more gallons and send more to the drain. A gallon of wort is cheap compared to all the other crap that would be required to clear out the wort. I ultimately ended up waiting until this morning and I dumped about a gallon of wort before it started running clear. I'll probably be a little short of 10 gallons when it goes to the kegs, not a big deal.

[Humperdink]

If my kettle was bigger (it's literally within 3/4" from the lip before the boil), I'd just make a few more gallons and send more to the drain. A gallon of wort is cheap compared to all the other crap that would be required to clear out the wort. I ultimately ended up waiting until this morning and I dumped about a gallon of wort before it started running clear. I'll probably be a little short of 10 gallons when it goes to the kegs, not a big deal.

dang man, how do you keep from boil overs with hop additions etc? I use foam control, but I still get more than 3/4" of foam. Do you just babysit the kettle the whole boil?

[No Party JKor]

The foam control does enough to keep it from boiling over...usually. When it does boil over it's minor. I don't watch it after the first few minutes.

[VolFan]

I usually let mine settle for 3-4 hours at least, sometimes over night.