The Sediment's Share - Transferring from Boiler to Fermenter

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by beardybrewer, Dec 28, 2014.

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  1. beardybrewer

    beardybrewer Initiate (0) Aug 5, 2014 Ireland

    On my last brew I lost nearly 2 litres when transferring from the boiler to the fermenter. I'm using muslin bags for the speciality grains and an even finer mesh for the whole hops. I did get a strong hot break with the chiller but let everything settle and tried not to disturb it when draining the boiler. Even so, this was a lot more sediment than normal so I left a fair share behind.

    What should I do differently? Rinse the grains before steeping? Use different mesh bags? Add a filter to the tap? Some trick to draw off the sediment?

    This isn't the first time this has happened but the amount of sediment was worse than normal. Very frustrating to lose so much so I'd really appreciate some tips on trying to avoid it.
     
    #1 beardybrewer, Dec 28, 2014
  2. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    Use a strainer with or without a spigot/ballvalve on your kettle...compensate with more volume on your next batch mostly because of the spongy nature of the whole cone hops.
     
    #2 GreenKrusty101, Dec 29, 2014
  3. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Perhaps you have cracked your specialty grains too finely, and that has produced the extra trub. The specialty grains are there for some flavoring and color, and there is no need to crack them very fine. You wouldn't want to wash the dust from the grain before the boil because there could be a lot of good flavor or color there.
     
    #3 PapaGoose03, Dec 29, 2014
  4. scurvy311

    scurvy311 Savant (1,135) Dec 3, 2005 Louisiana

    What kind of chiller do you use?
    Does your boil kettle have a valve at the bottom? If so, are the threads accessible on the inside of the kettle?

    Congrats on strong cold break. You can whirlpool with a sanitized spoon right up until the point your arm will fall off then cover and let sit 10 minutes, you will have a decent pile of sediment in the middle of the bottom. Then transfer carefully.

    Edit: check out this link. http://www.mrmalty.com/chiller.php You don't have to do this, but it explains some techniques that can be modified to be human powered.
     
    #4 scurvy311, Dec 29, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2014
  5. HerbMeowing

    HerbMeowing Maven (1,295) Nov 10, 2010 Virginia
    Trader

    Possible root causes:
    • Failure to measure pre-boil volume accurately
    • Failure to account for wort absorption using whole hops
    • Under-estimated evaporation rate
    • Under-estimated trub volume given hop schedule
    • Poor cold break
     
    #5 HerbMeowing, Dec 29, 2014
  6. beardybrewer

    beardybrewer Initiate (0) Aug 5, 2014 Ireland

    I've tried strainers before and they always get gunked up and seem to cause a lot of trouble. If you had a pic of the type you had in mind I'd like to see it. I add makeup water to some extent but at the point it changes the OG I'm stuck which is my my last batch was just 16l.

    Yep, this is a variable which would explain the random nature of this problem. Different recipes, different grains, all of which I purchase pre cracked (not really an option to do otherwise). I'm thinking one quick rinse should get rid of a lot of dust and crap but the good stuff just wash away so easily. I think this is the variable I'll tweak next time.

    It's a regular brass boil chiller and the water this time of year is like ice water. In Ireland/UK plastic buckets with a kettle element are common and these have a plastic "boiler" tap which is threaded. It came with a brass filter I stopped using years ago as it just caused problems getting completely clogged up.

    So you just whirlpool, let it settle, and hope for the best? Once the liquid gets to the same level of the tap the sediment starts getting disturbed. I go for a low flow but ultimately have to tip the bucket as the tap is a few cm above the bottom.
    Will check out the link. Thanks!
     
    #6 beardybrewer, Dec 29, 2014
    GreenKrusty101 likes this.
  7. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    Really? I use just a regular ole strainer and invert and knock on a bowl to clear...no problem.

    The strainer also helps to get more air into the wort

    Sometimes you have to adjust recipes and volumes...and it will become almost second nature
    after awhile
    Cheers
     
    #7 GreenKrusty101, Dec 30, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2014
  8. beardybrewer

    beardybrewer Initiate (0) Aug 5, 2014 Ireland

    Oh, so you're using a kitchen strainer. Sorry, I was thinking of a strainer located inside the boiler that the tap is attached to. Something like this:
    [​IMG]
    The above can be very hard to unclog and then you end up putting your hands in to it which negates your sterile brew and feels a bit like a fail.

    Must admit that using a kitchen strainer is a good idea. Better straining and letting the solids blow out during fermentation than losing 2 litres of wort. Next time I think I'm going to give the grains a very quick rinse before steeping and possibly have a sterilized strainer at the ready for a backup.
     
    #8 beardybrewer, Dec 30, 2014
  9. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    Agree, I usually use too many (pellet) hops in most of my boils to use a kettle screen to any good effect.
     
    #9 GreenKrusty101, Dec 30, 2014
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