Getting a ton of trub, what should I do?

Hey folks.

I currently have an Imperial IPA in my primary, and after dry hopping a few days ago, I have a TON of trub at the bottom. It's about 4 inches and it looks like I'll lose about a gallon of beer from it. Is there any way around this?

My second batch had the same thing, although it from me grinding the steeping grains way too fine with a rolling pin. However, the trub amount of this batch was fine until I dry hopped. Is there any way around this?

Put the hops in a mesh bag. That will stop some of it.

wrap a fine mesh back around your siphon when you rack. That way you can get all the way down into the hops without sucking up that mess.

jjp36 said:

wrap a fine mesh back around your siphon when you rack. That way you can get all the way down into the hops without sucking up that mess.

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Sounds good. Will a muslin bag work or will I need something finer?

Also I'm using an auto siphon, will that help a bit?

How long has the beer been clearing? Trub can take 2-3 weeks to pack.

david_42 said:

How long has the beer been clearing? Trub can take 2-3 weeks to pack.

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I had it for 2 weeks in the primary before I dry hopped (it's been 17 days total). I planned to bottle 10 days after I dry hopped as well.

Also, I'm noticing that some hop particles haven't sunk to the bottom yet, so I get the fermenter a gentle swirl (while the cap was on) so they could begin their descent. There's no way I could oxidize the beer while the cap is still on right?

BlueSunshine said:

Also, I'm noticing that some hop particles haven't sunk to the bottom yet, so I get the fermenter a gentle swirl (while the cap was on) so they could begin their descent. There's no way I could oxidize the beer while the cap is still on right?

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You need a lot of O2 in order to oxidize the beer. Most of it is probably CO2 anyways. I wouldn't worry about it.

BlueSunshine said:

Sounds good. Will a muslin bag work or will I need something finer?

Also I'm using an auto siphon, will that help a bit?

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I generally use a fine nylon mesh bag. Usually its a 5 gallon paint strainer bag. I have an auto siphon too, but i find that without the bag, i still end up sucking up a ton of hop debris when i transfer after dry hopping, no matter how careful i am. The bag makes a huge difference.

jjp36 said:

I generally use a fine nylon mesh bag. Usually its a 5 gallon paint strainer bag. I have an auto siphon too, but i find that without the bag, i still end up sucking up a ton of hop debris when i transfer after dry hopping, no matter how careful i am. The bag makes a huge difference.

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Sounds good, I'll have to pick some up from Home Depot this week.

Hopefully I won't lose a gallon of beer to trub this time like I did last time.