s2cmpugh
Well-Known Member
Anyone have any tips on how to reduce the amount of sediment post-boil?
Thanks,
Cris P.
Thanks,
Cris P.
Reducing sediment
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Nanobru
Well-Known Member
If your talking about trub ending up in your fermenter, try whirlpooling by stirring with a spoon for a minute or two, then letting the wort rest for 10 minutes. This will encourage the trub to fall into a cone formation in the bottom center of the kettle. Then carefully transfer your wort into the fermenter. Not knowing your setup, its hard to tell.
erock2112
Well-Known Member
Are you talking about the hops, hot and cold break at the bottom of the kettle after the boil? More sediment there is a good thing, since you've precipitated unwanted proteins in the wort. You'll end up with less of that if you have a weaker boil and use less hops, but neither of those is really a good solution. That said, I don't filter any of it out. I just dump it all into the carboy and let it settle out on its own. I rack off of the sediment and end up with a nice, clear beer.
If you're talking about the sediment left after fermentation, that consists of the same stuff plus flocculated yeast. There really isn't a way to reduce that either.
If you're talking about the sediment left after fermentation, that consists of the same stuff plus flocculated yeast. There really isn't a way to reduce that either.
DrawTap88
Well-Known Member
As far as the break material (a/k/a trub) there's not a whole lot that you can do about it. Obvioiusly, you don't want to have a ton of trub in your fermenter, and you should follow Nano's advice. Otherwise, you can transfer you beer to a primary, wait for the trub to fall out of suspension and gently siphon off of what settled out (which is not adviseable).
A little bit of trub is good for the yeast, since it contains some fatty nutrients that helps them through their life cycle.
A little bit of trub is good for the yeast, since it contains some fatty nutrients that helps them through their life cycle.
I've also heard whirl-pooling is a very effective way.
I put my hops in a mesh bag and run the wort through a double fine mesh strainer before it goes in the carboy. This still leaves a good amount of trub in the carboy.
I put my hops in a mesh bag and run the wort through a double fine mesh strainer before it goes in the carboy. This still leaves a good amount of trub in the carboy.
s2cmpugh
Well-Known Member
See I used to use a strainer but found it to be more trouble than it's worth.
How can I reduce the sediment in my bottling bucket when transferring from primary to bottling bucket? I've tried to let the primary sit for a couple hours before siphoning, but I don't know :/
Thanks!
How can I reduce the sediment in my bottling bucket when transferring from primary to bottling bucket? I've tried to let the primary sit for a couple hours before siphoning, but I don't know :/
Thanks!
Well, the first key is to leave it sit longer. Leaving it in the fermenter for three weeks or so really helps to make a more compact trub layer.
Secondly, use a more flocculant yeast strain like nottingham or S04. Those strains form a tightly compacted yeast cake once they finish up, making it very easy to not suck up any trub.
Last, careful racking really helps. Moving the fermenter the night before you rack is helpful so that any thing stirred up can resettle overnight, and then minimize movement when you get ready to siphon. I start the siphon in the middle of the fermenter, and gently lower it as the level of the beer drops until I'm just barely above the trub. Once I start sucking up yeast (you can see the color change in the siphon tubing), I stop.
s2cmpugh
Well-Known Member
Thanks guys for all the help! I'll try some of those tips next time around.
Cris P.
Cris P.
+1... except I tilt my bucket slightly by placing a thick book or something else and place my siphon opposite to where the trub settles...
chrispykid
Well-Known Member
I can second all of Yooper's advice and I'll add in another trick for good measure: COLD CRASH.
Refrigerate the fermenter as close to freezing as you can get it without dipping below 32F. It will precipitate more yeast out of solution (don't worry, you'll still have enough for bottling) and it will harden the trub layer at the bottom. Hold it at that temperature for a day or too if possible.
If you don't have a fridge available you can still get pretty much the same effect. A few hours before you're ready to rack out of your fermenter put it inside a big cooler or bathtub filled with ice water and do a mini cold crash - I've had great results with this method.
Refrigerate the fermenter as close to freezing as you can get it without dipping below 32F. It will precipitate more yeast out of solution (don't worry, you'll still have enough for bottling) and it will harden the trub layer at the bottom. Hold it at that temperature for a day or too if possible.
If you don't have a fridge available you can still get pretty much the same effect. A few hours before you're ready to rack out of your fermenter put it inside a big cooler or bathtub filled with ice water and do a mini cold crash - I've had great results with this method.
