Pump trub out of fermenter with auto siphon prior to pitching...?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

GlassblowersBrew

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2007
Messages
87
Reaction score
1
Location
Central Coast of California
I did a few searches and came up with nothing...

Has anyone used the autosiphon to physically pump out the trub from the bottom of their carboys. It seems like 15 min after transferring to the primary and before pitching the yeast, all of the trub has settled out (with whirlfloc) and is hydrated enough to still be able to be pumped out of the bottom of the fermenter. Has anyone ever tried this? Does the trub really matter that much? It seems like it might work, but maybe someone has tried it before I do.

Thanks!
 
I'm not sure what you'd gain by doing that. If you just let it settle out it will compress down, and then you'll lose less beer when you rack it later.
 
For most batches it would be a waste of beer to pump out the trub... If you do beers with LOTS of hops (like 4+ ounces) then I personally think it worth it to strain the wort as you put it into the primary. My last brew had 6 ounces in the boil, and the amount I strained off was amazing. When squished solid, there were still many handfuls. In solution it takes up space and soaks up beer.
 
I guess it would be possible, but you'd almost definitely lose a bunch of beer in the process.

If you're really worried about trub in the fermenter, your best bet would be to get a conical fermenter, let the trub settle, and then open up the valve on the conical to drain off the trub.
 
I did a few searches and came up with nothing...

Has anyone used the autosiphon to physically pump out the trub from the bottom of their carboys. It seems like 15 min after transferring to the primary and before pitching the yeast, all of the trub has settled out (with whirlfloc) and is hydrated enough to still be able to be pumped out of the bottom of the fermenter. Has anyone ever tried this? Does the trub really matter that much? It seems like it might work, but maybe someone has tried it before I do.

Thanks!

it takes forever. I tried it once just for the hell of it and it clogged my syphon and was a royal Pain in the neck. If your worried, rack into a carboy, let it settle out and then rack again, then pitch. Alot of trub in the beer can lend some funky flavors and stop it from getting as clear as you may want but most of the time it isnt going to matter. Look into whirlpooling as a way to get less trub into the fermentor. In essence you spin the wort around and then let it sit, causing a cone of hops and coagulated protein sediment to form in the middle of your boil kettle. When you syphon out, you draw wort from the edge of the cone and that prevents the vast majority of the trub from entering your fermentor.
 
3000,

I use a whirlpool imersion chiller in a keggle with a spigot on the bottom and I still get about 5 inches of trub and hops in my fermenters. I think I must be releasing my wort too quickly. I know I am supposed to have a cone, but it seems to all end up in my fermenter. Maybe, I really need to crack my valve and let it come out slow, with gravity. If i can avoid it from the begining that would be best, Id prefer to not transfer as to not expose my wort to new infection possibilities.
 
3000,

BTW do you like the black IPA. Ive never made one but am willing to try. I love me some IPA!!!

(I noticed it on your brewing sig)

at the end of every brew year i will take all the partial hops i have and make a brew with it. That ipa was odd for the first month and then after that all the flavors melded and its like candy. It was great. ONly tip i have for that one is to toss a pound or two of de-husked carafa into the mash when you sparge for some color. It never came out as black as i wanted it but the flavor was great.

As for the whirlpool imersion chiller, im assuming your referring to Jamil's model-like this? I never wanted to invest in that so i take a large paddle or spoon and at flameout, spin the crap out of the wort until it is all moving in a whirlpool and then put a lid on the kettle immediatly and set a timer for 15 minutes. Then i syphon (metal) from very outside of the kettle. The autosyphon will melt if its hot. My kettles dip tube is adjusted to be around 1/2 inch from the bottom, hugging the inside corner of the keggle so that when im done i have a perfect sedement cone in the center. SOME still makes it in but a huge amount of sludge is left. I dont use an imersion chiller though- i use a counterflow allowing me to cool the wort after whirlpool. It is much nicer in my opinion because it gives the flamout hops or whirlpool additions(stone uses entirly whirlpool additions) time to lend more flavor.

What are you boiling in? Does your boil kettle have a diptube and if so how far off the bottom and where is it located? DO you have any odd flavors coming into your beer? How much gunk is left at the bottom after you syphon off?
 
I am using the Jamil style chiller but I don't have a dip tube. I really need to get one of those going. I am using a 15 gal keggle. After I drain my keggle trough the spigot I have about 5 inches of trub in each fermenter. After reading in the other thread going on about trub in the fermenter, i have decited that I really don't need to worry about it.
 
Back
Top