Need help with kettle losses!

So, I brew all grain, calculate for 5.5 gallon batches. My brew process is pretty straightforward, but I always seem to have one issue:

getting beer from the kettle to the fermentor.

I've been leaving about a gallon in the kettle because i don't want all that hop material and break in my fermentor. Right now i'm just siphoning from the kettle. I tried a surescreen once and it plugged up immediately (I use pellets). I tried a funnel with a filter and that plugged up quickly too.

any tips? I'm sick of leaving so much behind.

One alternative, which would involve an extra transfer if you use carboys, would be to use a 5-gallon paint filter and a pail for the first transfer.

would that be one time use or can i sanitize them?

I have tracked my boil volumes and came up with my own system for calculating batches. I calculate about 1/4 gallon lost to trub per ounce of hops in the boil. Using this I've greatly reduced trub in my fermenter. My minimum batch size is 5.75. More hops = larger batch size. An IPA with 5 ounces hops is at least 6.25 gallon batch size for me. I get a full 5 gallons into the fermenter.

I think your pot size would alter the measurements but this is something you could do as well. To figure it all out I just measured out how much was left after siphoning for several batches and I noticed it was almost always 1/4 gallon per ounce hops used.

Are you using a fining agent in the boil? Chilling quickly to improve the cold break?

Dump 100% of your wort into your fermenter, trub and all. it settles out after 3 or 4 weeks.

i'm using irish moss and an immersed chiller.

1/4 gallon per ounce? i only have a cheap-o 8 gallon pot. i try to whirlpool and give it 20 min to settle, but my bottom is a bit warped so i don't think it works very well.

this beer might have been an exception as I used 5.5oz of hops in the boil, but this happens to me even with low-hop beers and even when i use hop bags.

i thought about dumping it all in, haven't brought myself to do it. I do generally primary for 3-4wks then cold crash for a few days. maybe i'll try that next time...

+1 for not stressing about what does an does not get in to the fermentor. I drain the kettle from the spigot and then tip the kettle to get all but the last 1/2 inch out of the bottom. Also, I dont do 2ndary fermentations except for extended aging. Once its in the primary I avoid disturbing or moving it. Clarity is never an issue.

I am an anti dump it all into fermenter brewer. From my non scientific inadvertent experiment I found it to be detrimental to the beer quality. I brewed a 10 gallon IIPA last year and the first 5 gallons went into one fermenter, the other 5 gallons with trub and whatever hop bits remained went into the second fermenter. Both were pitched a packet of S-05, not rehydrated and fermented in the same temp controlled environment. First 5 gallons were heavenly delicious and the last 5 gallons were lip puckering overly bitter to the point of not wanting to drink it. Managed to finish most of it with a lot of extra dry hopping in the keg as time went on.

I make sure that no hops get into the fermenter, some cold break does not seem to matter much IMO.

I started with whole leaf hops, switched to pellets - rain into the clog issues and have gone back to only whole leaf hops using a false bottom. I'd suggest you try some leaf and strainer funnel next time.

motobrewer said:

1/4 gallon per ounce?

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That does seem like an excessive ratio, but I completely sympathize with the problem and am going to follow TheMan's Plan, more or less.

I don't see any way around it unless you indiscriminately dump everying into the fermenter, hops, trub and all. If you're against doing that, which I am (it just seems nasty and wrong), you're simply going to lose wort to the hops. Filtering or straining isn't going get the majority of that wort back.

And to make up for that loss, you have to make more wort.

I'm hoping TheMan's calculated proportions are exaggerated, but maybe they aren't? I'd have to collect 8 gallons of wort for a 5 oz IPA, and with the ridiculous evaporation rate I'm dealing with I'd have to collect 8 gallons in my 10-gallon kettle. Just a little scary.

paint strainer seems like a bit of a winner so far.

one extra thing to sanitize, tho. maybe i'll give my funnel another shot. my next beer's gonna be low hop anyway.

thanks for the input!

I started all-grain with BIAB so I just kept using paint strainer bags for the hop infusions.

I boil 6 gallons every time and sit a noodle strainer and regular wire strainer which fit perfectly on the rim of my bucket and can pour in by myself. I've only brewed a few batches but gotten 5 or 5.5 gallons every time after siphoning's. If you were using a carboy just put a strainer on your funnel or if u siphon into carboy put a nylon bag or some sort on the end of your hose. I hate seeing that beer left behind also : P I feel like leaving the sediment behind leaves a cleaner beer though. I have yet to let a beer condition longer than 3 weeks lol.

I'm a "no trub in the fermenter" guy, but only because I've read that it should be seperated. There are a lot of people who say don't bother. I've never fermented trub, so I can't comment on it, but I've read that SOME cold break should be included because the yeast needs cold and hot break proteins to feed on. I usually whirlpool, then pour from my kettle. when I start to see "dirty" wort, I give it a second, then ditch the rest. Then again, I use a hop bag, so maybe I don't get as much material in my trub.

There are lots of ways to accomplish trub separation. One is to look at how it is done in pro breweries. Most use some form of whirlpool. The kettles are dished on the bottom, rather than flat. This will help by keep the cone of hops and trub in place.

After you whirlpool and start to draw down, the cone will start to flatten out. By having a dished bottom the level of the cone will remain under the draw off point for a greater amount.

For home brewers, using a keggle with a rounded bottom will give you better results with a whirlpool than a flat bottomed pot. Draw off from the side.

With my system and it's latest modifications, I typically leave 0.625 gallon behind no matter how many hops I use.



Here is a shot of a typical trubpile. I have since reversed the location of the whirlpool fitting and the draw off fitting. Yesterday I brewed with 4 oz of hops and had no more losses than you see here.

Of course this does require a pump, keggle and a few stainless fittings and valves.

phatuna said:

Dump 100% of your wort into your fermenter, trub and all. it settles out after 3 or 4 weeks.

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Thanks Tuna, I was starting to wonder if I was all alone in doing this. I've never worried about hop junk or hot break material. It all ends up in the trub anyways and as long as you leave that behind at bottling/kegging, no worries!

Brew on!

I must admit that when I am doing a heavily hoped beer, I will begin to release my wort out of my keggle through a mesh bag. I let it pass through the mesh until it begins to clear at which point I remove the bag and rack away.