Clearing Tank process anyone?

[WhirlingBastard]

Now that I have started AG I notice a lot of either grains or hops in the bottom of my carboy the next day. I have started pitching the next day to allow my wort and yeast to get to the same temp. Once I did this I was concered with all the trub in the bottom. So I started transfering into a new carboy. Sort of clearing the beer!

Questions:
Am I just adding another step for no good reason?
does it make your beer brighter or clearer?
does it taste better?
is it really at risk with your level of sanitation?
do you purge the clearing tank carboy with co2 so it doesnt get oxidized?

 

[Edcculus]

While it won't hurt, I don't think it helps either. Any hop, break material or grain will settle out whether you transfer it or not. IMO, you are at greater risk transferring fermented wort. I would think it would make more sense to do the traditional "secondary" or clearing tank after fermentation has completed.

 

[david_42]

Tough set of questions, I've never run across someone who did this. My guess? It won't make any difference.

 

[Revvy]

Are you not vorlaufing beofre you mash out or sparge? I get very little grain husk through my braid anyway, but if I vorlauf a couple of quarts out of my tun into a glass measuring cup and re-circulate it back a couple time until no grain comes through.

There's little to none in my kettle or my fermenter after that.

And then with trub/hops/break, of left long enough in primary or using a secondary for long enough furthers clears the beer...so "flitering" is really just an unneeded step if you are careful....or wait long enough...

That's why it really doesn't matter if you strain on the way into the fermenter or just dump the contents of the kettle whole hog into it, or chill with a chiller and rack with my auto siphon...it all clears out in the end, and is a matter of choice,

If you don't like the clarity of your beer, you aren't waiting long enough...I long primary (1-month) leave my beers alone in the bottles for at least three weeks, and whenever possible chill the bottles for at least a week, which helps eliminate chill hase and also "cold crashes" the beer and helps the sediment layer on the bottom of the bottle compress- (I found a 3 months in the fridge bottle of my beer once and upending the bottle didn't even let any bottling yeast through.)

Heck I'd say 50% of the time I forget to add moss in the kettle, and have pretty much just dumped everything in a bucket (before I got my immersion chiller and took to coling quickly and using my autosiphon) and have even had my beers described as jewel-like in color and clarity by judges.

 

[Joos]

+1 on the vorlauf.If you have grains in your carboy I'd be more worried about the flavor than the clarity.Time will make almost any beer clear.If you have boiled grains then you can get some off flavors that will never go away.

 

[WhirlingBastard]

I vorlauf three to four times and I tie a 1 gallon paint straining bag to the end of the line. I am trying to double protect myself from any grains getting into the boil.

This is more about clarity than anything. Just want to know if I am helpping in anyway of just creating another way to add infection to my beer.

 

[Revvy]

I vorlauf three to four times and I tie a 1 gallon paint straining bag to the end of the line. I am trying to double protect myself from any grains getting into the boil.

This is more about clarity than anything. Just want to know if I am helpping in anyway of just creating another way to add infection to my beer.

In my experience clarity is the same regardless of whether or not you went an extras step that none of us do...I'f you follow my suggestions in my last post.

 

[Joos]

I personally have pitched the next day by accident without any problems,but I would'nt recommend it.The fermentaion is going to kick up all kinds of stuff into your beer anyway.I think it's is not necessary,and a risk to your beer.Just my 2 cents though.

 

[amishland]

I think your not vorlaufing right.

Timberwolf is using the Northern Brewer False Bottom in a 10 gal igloo round cooler. I think a 1/2" MPT hose flare with a pretty large diameter hose coming off of it. We discussed this and he tried to let control velocity with the ball valve.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

What you are doing is employing a settling tank. It is a common practice in traditional lager houses and is recommended by Hornbusch and Noonan. I am going to start using a settling tank for my lagers as I believe that the trub and other compounds impart a vegital and generally off flavor. The key here is to use very sanitary techniques.

Lagers are a bit easier because the wort will be at 45º and not much grows there. With an ale I may be less apt to do it because at 60º a lot more nasties will be active. If you have a clean area and good sanitation techniques I think this is a fine to good practice.

A good whirlpool will get the majority of the trub removed before it gets tot he fermenter.

 

[Revvy]

What you are doing is employing a settling tank.

Hmm, I wonder if that is the same thing as the "Underback" I show in post 3 and 4 of my Labatt Pioneer Brewery Thread?

I'd never heard the term til I saw that in the museum.

 

[Saccharomyces]

What you are doing is employing a settling tank. It is a common practice in traditional lager houses and is recommended by Hornbusch and Noonan. I am going to start using a settling tank for my lagers as I believe that the trub and other compounds impart a vegital and generally off flavor. The key here is to use very sanitary techniques.

This is done for very pale, lightly hopped lagers. I would skip it for ales and stronger or darker lagers. Paranoia about sanitation, proper aeration, temperature control and a good pitching rate are key, you definitely want to keep the fermentation clean otherwise this step could only hurt you.

 

[Bsquared]

I do this step with my lagers, where I transfer my cooled wort in to a sanitized bottling bucket, and cool it down over night to 34ºF, then transfer it in to my carboy leaving behind the last 1/4 gallon or so with the precipitate. keeping it cold helps to get the precipitation to be maximal, as well if there is any contamination the cool will help keep it from expanding before pitching.

Like the posts before, I only notice a difference for light lagers.

 

[malkore]

I let hop trub and break material get in my primary. NO off flavors because of it.

I'd say you are making extra work for yourself with no real benefit.