1st All Grain Today - I think I have an Issue... Help!!

[JJPicardo]

So I brewed my first All-Grain batch today, a Scottish Ale.

I built my own 10G Rubbermaid MLT with CPVC Manifold. (Cut slots every 1/2 inch with my Miter Saw), and built my own Copper Wort Chiller.

So anyways, I used brew365.com calculator to help with mash and sparge temperatures and hit everything dead on.

After boil and chill, I put wort in carboy. After about a half an hour it looks like I have about 2 inches+ of trub on the bottom of the carboy. I'm used to seeing this after primary fermentation, but not after a boil. The recipe I used only used 1 oz of hops, and I did not strain them, so I figured I'd see some settlement from the hops, but certainly not the amount I have now.

Can anyone give me some advice??

 

[sonex]

relax, its just the cold break on the bottom of the fermenter.

 

[Northjerzyg]

How did u transfer from kettle to carboy?

 

[JJPicardo]

How did u transfer from kettle to carboy?

Just used a funnel.

 

[lschiavo]

relax, its just the cold break on the bottom of the fermenter.

I agree. That will settle to a much thinner layer after primary.

 

[H-ost]

cold break aside, I noticed a large difference in the clarity of my beer (until after primary fermentation had taken place) when switching from extract to all grain.

 

[JJPicardo]

cold break aside, I noticed a large difference in the clarity of my beer (until after primary fermentation had taken place) when switching from extract to all grain.

I've read that some brewers try to get rid of the cold break by siphoning the wort prior to pitching. Why would someone want to do this??

 

[imrook]

I do this for a couple of reasons. 1 - I aerate the wort while siphoning from the kettle to the primary by splashing the wort. 2 - It minimizes the trub loss in the primary, which maximizes the amount of beer into the bottling bucket. It won't affect fermentation or cause any off flavors though, so don't worry about it.

 

[Lost]

There is no reason to remove cold break, it is actually good for the yeast. Some think that doing so may help clarity but I don't think there's much evidence to support this.

Edit: just dump the whole thing in the fermenter, it will be fine and crystal clear if given enough time. Brew about 6 gallons so that when all is said and done you end up with a good 5 gal.

 

[sonex]

I harvest my yeast so I try to leave as much hop and cold break behind in the kettle. I don't want to transfer unwanted hops to repitched batches. so depending on your routine leaving the hop sludge and cold break behind could be a better technique.

 

[Maltyman]

I personally never worry about cold break and always get great tasting crystal clear beers. If I plan to pitch on yeast cake, i find the greatest problem is high IBU beers. If I have a really bitter beer, I never use the yeast in the carboy again. YMMV.

 

[JJPicardo]

relax, its just the cold break on the bottom of the fermenter.

On a side note - I actually "created" this recipe myself using BrewTarget, and with the help of a Scottish Ale that had been posted on this site earlier. Any comments?

9 lb - Maris Otter
1 lb - Munich Malt
1 lb - Crystal 60L
1 lb - Special Roast Malt
0.5 lb - Amber Malt
0.5 lb - CaraPils/Dextrine
0.15 lb - Roasted Barley
0.10 lb - Chocolate Malt

(Mashed at 152 degrees for 45 Minutes)

0.5 oz Chinook (60 Min)
0.5 oz Chinook (15 Min)

Pitch - Wyeast 1728 (Scottish Ale)

 

[Lost]

On a side note - I actually "created" this recipe myself using BrewTarget, and with the help of a Scottish Ale that had been posted on this site earlier. Any comments?

9 lb - Maris Otter
1 lb - Munich Malt
1 lb - Crystal 60L
1 lb - Special Roast Malt
0.5 lb - Amber Malt
0.5 lb - CaraPils/Dextrine
0.15 lb - Roasted Barley
0.10 lb - Chocolate Malt

(Mashed at 152 degrees for 45 Minutes)

0.5 oz Chinook (60 Min)
0.5 oz Chinook (15 Min)

Pitch - Wyeast 1728 (Scottish Ale)

That looks like a good start and I like chinook hops personally although english hops are usually used for the style (not that you could really tell anyway).

I haven't plugged this in to check the OG and IBUs but keep the IBUs under 30 and the ABV can be whatever you like (depending on if you're going for a strong scotch ale, and 80/-, 60/-, etc. with the strong scotch having the most ABV).

The temptation for me always to try to cram as many specialty grains in there as possible (they all sound so good) but I've found that simpler is better. I would probably use chocolate/carafa/or roasted malt (pick one) along with a caramel 60. I personally like wheat for head retention instead of the carapils, use up to 10%. I would only use carapils in a light beer if I wanted to avoid chill haze from the wheat - since this beer is dark go with the wheat. I prefer toasted over flaked but either will work fine. Ditch the other malts (except for the base malt), they are unnecessary.

Lastly, I think scottish beers should taste like a good scotch (Laphroig anyone?) - peaty! The style guidelines will tell you that the peat flavor in the beer should come from the water but I don't live in Scotland and my water isn't peaty. So I say use some peat smoked malt. How much will depend on how smokey you want the beer.

Edit: and do a full hour mash. Why rush the process?

 

[joety]

You mentioned cutting the manifold with a mitre saw, which I have to assume has a 1/8' kerf. I think most people use a thinner blade, such as on a hack saw. Did you have any issues with grain in the boil?

 

[JJPicardo]

You mentioned cutting the manifold with a mitre saw, which I have to assume has a 1/8' kerf. I think most people use a thinner blade, such as on a hack saw. Did you have any issues with grain in the boil?

EXCELLENT QUESTION. Honestly, I don't know. I definitely couldn't see grain in the boil, but I have to wonder if there was small particles of grain in the wort. Honestly though, I can't see this is avoidable, even if the manifold hole size was smaller....

 

[lschiavo]

EXCELLENT QUESTION. Honestly, I don't know. I definitely couldn't see grain in the boil, but I have to wonder if there was small particles of grain in the wort. Honestly though, I can't see this is avoidable, even if the manifold hole size was smaller....

I think you would notice if you were getting grain in the boil. It is avoidable. If my sparge is running a little chunky, I put a hop bag over the end of the tube.

 

[JJPicardo]

I think you would notice if you were getting grain in the boil. It is avoidable. If my sparge is running a little chunky, I put a hop bag over the end of the tube.

What would make me notice grains during the boil??? Would something be obvious???

 

[imrook]

The manifold is only partly responsible for straining out grain particles. The grain husks themselves actually become a much finer strainer than the manifold ever could be. It does take a little while for the grain bed to settle and become an effective filter, thus the first bit of wort out of the MLT typically has grain particles in it. This is why people vorlauf. Having said all that, I made the Cream of Three Crops Ale before I built my MLT and just used paint strainer bags to separate the grain from the wort. Lots of particles in there. To date, it's the clearest beer I've made and it tasted great. Given that you actually have a manifold and were filtering through the grain bed, you're fine.

 

[JJPicardo]

The manifold is only partly responsible for straining out grain particles. The grain husks themselves actually become a much finer strainer than the manifold ever could be. It does take a little while for the grain bed to settle and become an effective filter, thus the first bit of wort out of the MLT typically has grain particles in it. This is why people vorlauf. Having said all that, I made the Cream of Three Crops Ale before I built my MLT and just used paint strainer bags to separate the grain from the wort. Lots of particles in there. To date, it's the clearest beer I've made and it tasted great. Given that you actually have a manifold and were filtering through the grain bed, you're fine.

I'm assuming it's IMPOSSIBLE to strain 100% of the grain. Correct???

 

[Mindhop]

I place a straining bag over my manifold and it seems to do a great job and no stuck sparges.

 

[Lost]

The manifold is only partly responsible for straining out grain particles. The grain husks themselves actually become a much finer strainer than the manifold ever could be. It does take a little while for the grain bed to settle and become an effective filter, thus the first bit of wort out of the MLT typically has grain particles in it. This is why people vorlauf. Having said all that, I made the Cream of Three Crops Ale before I built my MLT and just used paint strainer bags to separate the grain from the wort. Lots of particles in there. To date, it's the clearest beer I've made and it tasted great. Given that you actually have a manifold and were filtering through the grain bed, you're fine.

Exactly!

Once the grain bed settles there will be little if any grain particles in the wort coming out of the manifold.

 

[Mindhop]

Lost, will using a bag over the manifold affect the outcome at all?

 

[Lost]

Lost, will using a bag over the manifold affect the outcome at all?

It would in no way prevent a stuck sparge, that usually is caused by draining too rapidly.

It is probably an effective filter but, frankly so too is the grainbed. Collect the first quart or so of the runnings and gently dump that back in the mash. Once the grain bed is set the wort should run clear. Obviously if you stir or otherwise disturb the grain bed you will have to do this again.

Edit: point is, it doesn't hurt but it probably doesn't help either and it is one more thing to clean.

 

[Mindhop]

Thanks. Sorry to steal your thread JJ

 

[JJPicardo]

Thanks. Sorry to steal your thread JJ

Are you kidding? No worries at all. Information is 99.9% of what makes this hobby successful for someone. Thanks for contributing!

 

[Mindhop]

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