SO MUCH SEDIMENT!!! What can I do?

I'm trying to get some ideas on how to reduce the amount of trub that I end up with in my beers. As of now, I just pour the wort through a strainer after being chilled, and then I pour the fermented wort through a strainer again just before bottling. The sediment isn't typically much of a problem, but every so often I brew up a batch with so much sediment hanging out at the bottom that I lose 1/2 to 1 gallon worth of a 5 gallon batch. What else can I do to reduce/eliminate the sediment? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

I would be really careful about straining the wort before bottling. That will introduce oxygen into the wort and that can lead to a lot of off flavors. Siphoning is really the best idea to go to your bottle bucket. My auto siphon has a cap on the bottom that helps keep a lot fo the sediment out when going to the bottling bucket.

Time between brewing and bottling is the best thing for reducing sediment in your beer. I'm guessing that you're not giving it enough time to clear. How long do you go before you bottle?

Agree - you need patience to be able to see the process through. And straining is not, in my opinion, the answer anyway. Careful siphoning will be much more effective because you are leaving all the trub untouched at the bottom of the fermenter.

Marko73 said:

I would be really careful about straining the wort before bottling. That will introduce oxygen into the wort and that can lead to a lot of off flavors. Siphoning is really the best idea to go to your bottle bucket.

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I use an auto siphon but have the end of the tube go into a strainer (don't know if that makes a difference for what you're talking about).

ChshreCat said:

Time between brewing and bottling is the best thing for reducing sediment in your beer. I'm guessing that you're not giving it enough time to clear. How long do you go before you bottle?

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I tend to wait about 2.5 to 4 weeks before bottling.

What kind of yeast are you using? Some compact down better than others.

I typically use Nottingham yeast and most of the time it compacts down really well, but not every time.

Your biggest problem is pouring the beer from your fermenter after it is done fermenting. You want to use a siphon so that you don't disturb the trub at all. No matter how careful you are with pouring, you're still going to get a LOT more trub that way.

In addition, pouring the beer is going to incorporate a lot of oxygen, which is something you want to avoid.

If you don't want to buy an autosiphon, search for $3 autosiphon here. I have an autosiphon but I built the one described in that thread, and it works great.

um........

lowend said:

I use an auto siphon but have the end of the tube go into a strainer (don't know if that makes a difference for what you're talking about).

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Though, running it through a strainer at bottling is going to introduce a lot of O2 as well.

Step 1: Get an autosiphon
Step 2: Rubberband a hop bag to the end (sanitize)
Step 3: PROFIT!!!

A hop bag on the end of your autosiphon makes your life much easier. I love to just dump hops in boiling wort and not strain on the way to primary and dry hop in the secondary. Works every time.

Vic_Sinclair said:

Step 1: Get an autosiphon
Step 2: Rubberband a hop bag to the end (sanitize)
Step 3: PROFIT!!!

A hop bag on the end of your autosiphon makes your life much easier. I love to just dump hops in boiling wort and not strain on the way to primary and dry hop in the secondary. Works every time.

Click to expand...

How did I never think of this?! Thanks for the great idea

You can also adjust your recipe to 5.5 gallons. That way after siphoning, you end up with 5 gallons of good clear beer and don't have to worry so much about the trub/yeast cake. Autosiphon is good money spent.

I guess most of you didn't catch it, but I DO have an autosiphon.

Vic_Sinclair said:

Step 2: Rubberband a hop bag to the end (sanitize)

Click to expand...

Now just to make sure that I have this clear, you mean to attach the hop bag to the end of the autosiphon that goes into the fermenter (not the bottling bucket)?

lowend said:

I guess most of you didn't catch it, but I DO have an autosiphon.


Now just to make sure that I have this clear, you mean to attach the hop bag to the end of the autosiphon that goes into the fermenter (not the bottling bucket)?

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Yes.

If I have a ton of hop debris, I do that, but most often the debis settles out to the bottom so I just siphon from above that.

lowend said:

I guess most of you didn't catch it, but I DO have an autosiphon.

Click to expand...

No, I caught it, but needed two steps to conform to the three-step business plan that ends with "PROFIT!!!".

Now just to make sure that I have this clear, you mean to attach the hop bag to the end of the autosiphon that goes into the fermenter (not the bottling bucket)?

Click to expand...

Yes. The intake end.

Trub in the bottled beer? mmm chunky

Marko73 said:

I would be really careful about straining the wort before bottling. That will introduce oxygen into the wort and that can lead to a lot of off flavors. Siphoning is really the best idea to go to your bottle bucket. My auto siphon has a cap on the bottom that helps keep a lot fo the sediment out when going to the bottling bucket.

Click to expand...

+1 Careful is right my friend.

I used the hop bag on the other end ( into bottling bucket) and it worked just fine.

brewdude25 said:

I used the hop bag on the other end ( into bottling bucket) and it worked just fine.

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How much sediment did you eventually end up with in your bottles (and in the hop bag)?

If you leave the beer in the fermenter for 3-4 weeks, the trub will compact more. I typically see it reduce from a gallon to under a quart.

If you can siphon from your boil kettle to your fermenter, you will get much less trub and break material to settle in your fermenter. Leave as much as you can in the boil pot.

Linc

Step 1: Get an autosiphon
Step 2: Rubberband a hop bag to the end (sanitize)
Step 3: PROFIT!!!

+1

I do this on my way to the secondary and it works just fine. I have a long bag that touches the bottom on my carboys and still sticks out the top so I don't have to worry about fishing it out later.

lowend said:

How much sediment did you eventually end up with in your bottles (and in the hop bag)?

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There is a tiny amount in the bottles, but i caught a good amount in the hop bag. Maybe an ounce? I just figured it would be easier than risking getting the bag stuck in the bottom of the carboy.