Mega Trub

OK Am I doing something wrong here or is it normal with AG beer to have a mega crap load of trub? I had more sediment in my carboy for these last 2 brews then I think I have had in my last 5 put together.

I didnt filter these last 2 becasue the sediment clogged my filter so fast it was insane so I'm sure thats part of the reason. I think I have been recirculating correctly and the wort has looked pretty clear as I put it into the kettle. I have been getting huge hotbreaks and my cold breaks seemed to be good.

Am I screwing up here?
Is there a better way to do this?
Should I try to find a filter that wont clog so fast?

IME it's pretty normal with AG. I put effort into getting a good cold break and leaving as much as possible in the kettle, but I still get alot in the primary. You'll get good clear wort from your tun while lautering as you haven't created most of that gunk until the boiling process. I don't filter at any stage as I generally try to follow the KISS philosophy (except when I make it complicated ).

Baron von BeeGee said:

IME it's pretty normal with AG. I put effort into getting a good cold break and leaving as much as possible in the kettle, but I still get alot in the primary.

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This is good info, since I'm going to be engineering a siphon tube inside my keggle when I get it. Looks like I should design it to leave a little wort behind and not be too greedy, huh? Maybe I'll have the siphon tube extend to about an inch above the bottom of the kettle? (with some sort of cobbled up screen--I haven't decided about that yet. Maybe the SS mesh from a toilet water supply line.)

Right now I am siphoning from a ss kettle and I leave trub behind either by whirpooling (when it works for me) or just stopping the siphon when I really get into the muck. When I switch to my keggle I'm going to try to get the pickup as low as possible, but use a screen (bazooka tube or somesuch). I'm willing to suck up some trub to get as much wort as possible, as long as I'm leaving the vast majority of it.

Maybe some guys on here with keggles have some good insights to what tradeoffs to make.

I'm thinking that with a bazooka screen or something like it, and whole hops, the hops would also form a nice filter bed in the bottom and filter out some of the break trub.

I know pellets tend to clog bazooka screens (and probably the SS toilet line screen, too).

I'm thinking I'll just use the panty hose for pellets. It's kinda hot seeing the looks the teenage cashiers give me when I buy them, anyway.

I'm thinking I'll just use the panty hose for pellets.

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I was thinking about that last night. I can get a box of like 50 knee high stockings from Walgreens for like a buck. What I was thinking was to sanatize one, put it into the primary and hold it in place with a rubber band around the neck of the carboy then when I am transfering my wort from kettle to carboy just run it through the stocking. When I'm done pull the stocking out and toss it in the garbage.

I was wondering though, as the stocking fills up with crap it will streachout fromthe wieght. Once it streches will it really be effective for filtering? or will I end up withthe same problem of it becoming clogged too fast?

Wouldn't it wind up with a huge wad of trub (assuming it's effective) that would be impossible to get through the neck of the carboy?

Baron von BeeGee said:

Maybe some guys on here with keggles have some good insights to what tradeoffs to make.

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tnlandsailor's hop stopper works pretty good for me...it's a little pricey, but nothing but wort is coming out of that keggle, whether you're using pellets or leaf. As far as trade-offs go, I think if you get it adjusted just right you're not gonna leave more than 1-2 pints of wort behind (not counting hop absorption or course).

Pumbaa said:

I was thinking about that last night. I can get a box of like 50 knee high stockings from Walgreens for like a buck. What I was thinking was to sanatize one, put it into the primary and hold it in place with a rubber band around the neck of the carboy then when I am transfering my wort from kettle to carboy just run it through the stocking. When I'm done pull the stocking out and toss it in the garbage.

I was wondering though, as the stocking fills up with crap it will streachout fromthe wieght. Once it streches will it really be effective for filtering? or will I end up withthe same problem of it becoming clogged too fast?

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If you wanted to do this, I think you'd have to use a big funnel and put the nylons inside the funnel.

Might work with whole hops. My experience with trying to strain pellet hops in any such manner is very frustrating. If I use pellet hops, I get a good whirlpool in the kettle, let it rest. and siphon off the edge. Then I strain just that last pint or so.

If you are getting a lot of grain trube, try filtering your wort as it come out of your mashtun into your brew kettle before you boil it, and then filter it again going into the carboy after boil. I use a food grade plastic funnel with mesh screen and it works well.

I get what I can after whirpooling but don't worry about what I have to leave behind. I just prefer to leave as much gunk behind as possible. After all what would be the purpose of making a good cold break only to have it disolve back into solution in the fermenter. That's a lot of protien to possibly cloud an otherwise clear brew.

I'm not sure the protein will dissolve back into the brew. I only use whole hops so I don't have the issue with the pellets. I currently transfer by siphoning the wort out of the kettle and I don't pay attention to what comes with it. I have had chill haze once or twice but generally I end up with such clear beer that friends think it's storebought. If clear beer matters to you then I think irish moss/whirlfloc tab will be more than sufficient. I honestly don't understand what all the fuss around here is about letting some hops and/or break material into the fermentor...

I have a keggle with a 4500 watt heating element running across the bottom which makes it impossible to use a hop stopper. So.... after 2 batches of ending up with 3 gallons of wort because the hop trub clogged my stainless steel braid, I now only use whole hops and a bazooka. I just keep moving the my stirring spoon over the sides of the bazooka to keep it from clogging, maybe it never will but I don't wanna find out! The last batch turned out great, yielding 5.5 gallons...much better than 3 in the fermenter and 2 gallons of crap stuck in the bottom of the keggle.

Lost said:

I'm not sure the protein will dissolve back into the brew. I only use whole hops so I don't have the issue with the pellets. I currently transfer by siphoning the wort out of the kettle and I don't pay attention to what comes with it. I have had chill haze once or twice but generally I end up with such clear beer that friends think it's storebought. If clear beer matters to you then I think irish moss/whirlfloc tab will be more than sufficient. I honestly don't understand what all the fuss around here is about letting some hops and/or break material into the fermentor...

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The only thing about too much trub from the kettle going into the fermenter is that you can get a soapy flavor in the finished beer by doing it. A little will get through anyway and won't hurt and in fact will help the yeast. I use irish moss/whirfloc tablets along with clarifiers. I like my brew clear, but don't cry if it ends up hazy as it always tastes great.

Just use the knee-hi's as hop sacks in the boil. Like a tea bag, flavor will come through, but not much gunk. Or buy re-usable sacks, either at the HBS, or in the paint department of Home Depot.