Newbie here. Just brewed my 4th batch and bottled my 2nd batch, and I'm frustrated with trub loss. After the boil, I'm using a wort chiller and stirring for a "whirlpool" then giving 30-40 min for things to settle. No obvious benefit from my stirring. When I siphon to the fermenter, I still have a large amount of break that easily clogs the funnel strainer-I end up just putting in almost all of the wort and break. I use whirlflock in the boil and hop bags. I dry hopped the last batch with pellets and cold crashed for 4 days, but still had a tough time siphoning clear beer to the bottling bucket tonight. Poor yield as I don't want too much gunk in the bottles. What am I missing? Would gelatin improve things? I'm not ready to buy pumps or new kettles at this point. Thanks in advance!
Try using irish moss or whirlfloc (basically the same thing) at the end of your boil. Also there are some who believe that adding trub to the fermenter isn't a big thing. http://brulosophy.com/2014/06/02/the-great-trub-exbeeriment-results-are-in/ Keeping it out of your bottling bucket might be accomplished by cold crashing your primary for a few days... I'm sure other, more experienced brewers on this site have some thoughts as well... Cheers!
I was lazy before I read the brulosophy post linked above, that just validated my laziness I dump most of the brew pot contents into the bucket, trub and all. I plan on there being trub at the bottom of the bucket when it is time to package (bottle or keg) and adjust my recipe accordingly, i.e. I do a 5.5 gallon batch so I end up with 5 gallons of beer. Everything settles out by the time the beer is ready to package so no "gunk" ends up in the bottles/kegs. How are you racking to the bottling bucket? Do you have the siphon off the bottom of the fermenting bucket? Or is in with the "gunk"? It definitely helps to keep it above the bottom so you are just siphoning beer into your bottling bucket. Did you dryhop in a bag?
Are you adding the whirlfloc at about 10-15min left in the boil? I also crush it into a powder before adding. You should see the trub separation near the bottom of the kettle when siphoning, also be careful not to lower the siphon to low into the kettle to start with. Make sure you have a good rolling boil, other that that I'd say maybe try some calcium in the boil, just enough to help with the hot break.
So you are siphoning from the kettle to the fermenter with the siphon hose going into a funnel with a filter that clogs? Here are some options: 1. Adjust your racking cane so it is a few inches from the bottom of the kettle. Don't greedily try to get every last drop out of there. The last couple inches will have the most sediment after your whirlpool chill. 2. Use a bigger strainer, like a big dedicated kitchen sieve. It won't clog as fast. 3. Put a clamp on the funnel end of your siphon tube. Clamp the flow when the funnel is clogged and empty the funnel. Put everything back in position and resume flow. Repeat as necessary. 4. Hop bags or other containment devices in the boil. Remove before siphoning. 5. Whirlflocc to help consolidate break material 6. Don't worry about the trub so much. You might try several of these ideas, in combination?
Thanks. I did use whirlfloc tablets. My main problem was likely siphoning too close to the bottom, especially in the fermenter. One question: how long to you let the cooled wort settle before siphoning out of the kettle?
Question about Irish moss: when does the clumping together happen, during chilling or during fermentation? I normally pour my wort from the boil kettle through a big double-strainer to remove the thickest gunk (and for bonus aeration), but I'm wondering if doing that is reducing the effectiveness of the Irish moss addition.
I always pour it into my carboy as soon as it has cooled to pitching temp. But I don't recommend siphoning it at this stage. I pour it back and forth between a bucket and my brew kettle a few times to ensure it picks up enough oxygen for the yeast before funneling it into the carboy.
The point of a whirlpool is to get the wort going good and fast in a whirlpool and then wait 30 minutes or so for the trub to collect in a nice pile in the center bottom of your brew kettle. At that point I siphon the wort to my primary fermenter being careful not to get the siphon too close to the bottom where all the trub is. Regarding Whirlfloc I add it with 15 minutes left in the boil and can IMMEDIATELY see teh effects (noticeable precipitation of gunk)
Do you ferment in a bucket or in a carboy? Just trying to figure out the rationale for siphoning from kettle to fermenter. Do you get a vigorous boil going and how long do you boil for?
I ferment in both but am planning to move away from glass if I can. The reason for siphoning from the kettle to fermenter is to avoid picking up trub, using the siphon gives you some control. I just hover the bottom of the siphon a couple inches above the pile of trub in the bottom of the brew kettle. Others pass the wort through a strainer or filter into the fermenter. Others throw everything into the fermenter. Not sure it really matters honestly as every time I've let significant amounts of trub in my fermenter it has settled by the time I'm ready to bottle and I've noticed absolutely no difference in teh final product. ETA : I do get a vigorous boil going and usually boil for 1 hour or 2 when using pilsner malt.
I don't worry about trub too much; in fact, I've heard that a bit of break material is good for the yeast. To minimize it some, though, I do take a few steps. 1. A good hot break, by bringing the wort to a boil as quickly as possible 2. Hop spider 3. whirlfloc at 10 (which you do) 4. Chill/whirlpool until the wort looks like egg drop soup. I'll hold off on pitching yeast if its too cold. 5. Strain chilled wort through a very fine mesh stainless steel strainer. I really like my chinois, which is almost as fine as a few layers of cheesecloth. One can be bought from a restaurant supply place for ~$60 (pricey, but I use it for cooking as well, just make sure you clean the everloving bejeesus out of it). As @pweis909 stated, if it clogs, stop the flow and clear the clog, then resume 6. Minimal movement of fermentor/cold crashing 7. Paint strainer bag over autosiphon when racking, even when not dryhopping. It'll keep most of the trub out when transferring. 8. After gently mixing in priming solution (I like to think of it as a very gentle whirlpool), let the bottling bucket rest for a bit (covered) before starting to bottle. A fair amount of what has been transferred will rest on the bottom of the bucket, below the valve. Don't try to bottle all of the beer, and label the last couple you bottle for testers to see how carbonation is coming along. It's really hard to not have any trub transfer with homebrew equipment, but I'm ok with the level that I allow.
Without knowing much about Irish moss, I know that most clarifying agents work by attaching to proteins in beer or wine. They help these impurities floc to the bottom of a fermenter as trub in beer or leese in wine. I wouldn't worry about how much of the moss you remove from the boil and I'd think that the moss has done its work.
