Vorlauf question - runnings won't clear?

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Tankard

Tankard

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My first AG had its share of problems, but the biggest one was my inability to get clear runnings from my MLT. I mashed at 150 degrees for one hour. I recirculated about a gallon and a half of wort, and there was still *some* grain getting through. At first there would be a ton of grain coming out, and after a gallon or two, there would be a lot less, but there would still be some grain. After the sparge, the same thing would happen. My boil pot had floating pieces of grain on top when I began the hour long boil.

Is this normal for a false bottom setup? I have a 10 gallon rubbermaid MLT. I think I made the mistake of pouring the wort right back on top of the grain bed, rather than using the coffee lid method that protects the grain bed. Any ideas? Thanks.
 
Brew Dude said:
My first AG had its share of problems, but the biggest one was my inability to get clear runnings from my MLT. I mashed at 150 degrees for one hour. I recirculated about a gallon and a half of wort, and there was still *some* grain getting through. At first there would be a ton of grain coming out, and after a gallon or two, there would be a lot less, but there would still be some grain. After the sparge, the same thing would happen. My boil pot had floating pieces of grain on top when I began the hour long boil.

Is this normal for a false bottom setup? I have a 10 gallon rubbermaid MLT. I think I made the mistake of pouring the wort right back on top of the grain bed, rather than using the coffee lid method that protects the grain bed. Any ideas? Thanks.
Click to expand...

I dont use a false bottom I use a SS braid, However I have had brewdays where I would have to vourlof 9-10 times before it would clear.
 
If your grain bed is shallow, it can be very difficult to recirculate without disturbing it. Use a perforated pie tin next time. You won't get totally grain-free wort, but it should be better.
 
I never really get 100% clear runnings, and I don't really care. As long as you minimize it, you should be fine...little bits of grain won't hurt anything. Now, you don't want the husks in there, but it's usually just bits of the grain itself that get in there.
 
Thanks for asking this question.

I did my first vorlauf last batch, and saw some clarification but never ran clear. At some point I pleaded "diminishing returns" and just let it run off.
 
When I brewed my hefeweizen, my wort cleared practically instantly. Other times (like the summer ale I brewed most recently), I couldn't get to clear to save my life.

I'm not really sure why it sometimes clears and sometimes it doesn't, but both the hefeweizen and the summer ale are great ... so I guess I'm not worrying about it too much at this point.
 
Ive always recirc'ed until I had clear runnings. And now that i recirculate with a pump, it's unbelievable how crystal clear the wort is. And I don't mean I just get all those little pieces of grain out, but even the cloudiness/haze gets filtered out in the grainbed. It really is a beautiful thing.
 
a lot can be said for having a thicker grain bed and letting it compact a little bit. I personally have better clarity on my 10 gallon batches with the thick grain bed than I do with my 5 gallon batches and the shallow bed. Perhaps this is a good excuse for you to jump into ten gallon batches.
 
Also, while its fine to drain a batch sparge at full speed, you may still need to close the ball valve a little to get clear runnings.

I'd say mine is about 75-80% open. fast enough to drain quickly but just slow enough to filter grain bits after 2qts of recirculation.
 
and when you vorlouf or recirc back on top of the grain bed, a small plastic lid or something will help distribute the runnings evenly without disturbing the bed
 
these are all good suggestions. i would like to ad one: stir up the wort and do .... nothing! for about 10 minutes. instead of draining right away, let it sit there and settle.
 
I have the same setup that you have and found that the pie plate w/holes works fairly well, but it still takes 2+ gallons to clear.I think part of the problem is grain is getting under the false bottom by stirring the mash.I hard piped my false bottom to the valve and that helped, but didn't stop it completely.The next thing I'm going to try is to slice a small dia. hose and wrap the edge of the false bottom to make a better seal with the MLT:mug:.
 

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