So much trub!

I brewed a 2.5 gallon Farmhouse ale tonight with this grain and hop bill:

4.5 lbs Belgian Pils
.5 German Munich
.5 Belgian Aromatic

.5 Light Belgian Candi Sugar added in the last 20 minutes of the boil

.5 oz EKGs at 60min
.25 oz @ 15 min
.25 @ 1 min

As the wort was cooling with an immersion wort chiller I started seeing the trub form. By the time it had cooled it was full of trub! Thick throughout the whole brew!! I waited for it to settle and about an inch or so became clear on the top so I started to siphon.

I had to leave a little under a half gallon! in the kettle as it was so so thick. I also got a decent amount in the fermenter which sucks...

Why was it so bad?

I mashed at 145F for 60min and 148F (infusion of boiling water) for 15 min. I did two batch sparges with 180F water. I'm guessing the problem is in here somewhere...I did an Iodine test at the 70 minute mark and all seemed fine there...

I also included 3/4 of a Whirlfloc tablet for the first time using any fining agent.

Other than that the brew day went so well. I have never run into this kind of problem before.

That's not trub - that's cold break. The fact that you made it is a good thing.

Don't worry if it gets in your fermenter. It won't hurt anything as it settles out after fermentation.

Is the addition of the Whirlfloc tablet the reason why there was so much? I have never seen anything like this before.

I guess I need to study up on whirlpooling!

One question on whirlpooling: do you do it before or after the wort chiller?

And the goal is not to splash?

The whirlflock probably contributed. I use Irish moss but will be trying whirlflock for the first time soon.

Whirlpool after you chill. Just make sure to use a sanitized spoon. I put a lid over my kettle after forming the whirlpool, and let it settle down for about 20 minutes. The cold break and any hops/grain husks will form a nice cone in the middle. If you rack from the perimeter, you'll get nice clear wort. Don't worry if you suck some sediment in. I'd rather have a little sediment than sacrifice a lot of wort.

I used to suck it all in. Lately I've tried to get rid of as much of the hops as possible. The coldbreak settles out and doesn't seem to cause trouble at racking time. A few batches I had trouble with the hops clumping up so I've tried to eliminate them (hop balls, whirlpool, straining).

Try a hop strainer if you want to keep hops from clogging up the works during racking. I've used it twice not and it works great. You just add your hop additions through the funnel-like opening.

It consists of a 4"-to-3" PVC reducer fitting, a stainless steel hose clamp, a paint strainer (5-gallon variety), and some threaded rod or carriage bolts to suspend the entire thing over your boil kettle. I think the total cost from Home Depot is about $10.

link 1: click here
link 2: click here

I always let the cold break into the fermentor - just leave the last couple inches in the kettle where the hops are. The Whirlfloc definitely makes a big difference in the amount of cold break. It makes a big diff even compared to when I used regular Irish Moss.

BrianP said:

The whirlflock probably contributed. I use Irish moss but will be trying whirlflock for the first time soon.

Click to expand...

I like using whirlflock tablets, and I concur. They're more effective as a coagulating agent then Irish moss, in my experience. I find with whirlflock and lagering a beer, I wouldn't ever need a filter to get clear beer! Anyways, even if I bag my hops while boiling, I do notice that the whirlflock tablets do their job of getting extra protein/flocculants and congealing them into a cold break. I tend to just dump the hops in and not use a straining bag also: I usually wind up straining out the hops (and some of the courser cold break) while racking the wort into my fermenter. So I have nothing left in my boil kettle because I'll strain out the hops after boil (which I like to use a fine metal strainer seperate from my tubing so that I can easily dump hops out while still continuing to rack).