Secondary Trub Loss and Re-racking Before Bottling

[MarkIafrate]

Hey everyone,

Took my chocolate stout that had finished primary and added 6 pounds of raspberries (frozen, thawed, then heated with some water to sanitized) as well as 10 ounces of cocoa nibs soaked in vodka with one vanilla bean. I added all the secondary additions to my 6.5 gallon glass carboy and then racked on top of it.

I noticed there was some significant trub loss from primary to secondary. Typically I would just not worry about it, but considering how much debris will fall out from secondary I'm starting to think my final volume will be really low.

I was planning on waiting two weeks for secondary and taste test to find where I like it. Then rack to a third container through a strainer. Let sit for one more week to let it all settle, and then bottle.

This is my first time doing a beer with significant secondary additions. Is this what people normally do? Does my idea sound like a good one or should I just rack from secondary through a strainer to the bottling bucket?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Mark

 

[freisste]

I don't think you want to rack through a strainer for fear of oxidation.

Is it common to have a lot of solids transferred from secondary to bottling bucket when those solids (cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, raspberries) are so large? When I rack, at least 90% of solids are left behind (and those solids are hops and yeast). I wouldn't worry, but then again I have never tried. If love to hear some words of experience on this one.

 

[MarkIafrate]

Thanks for the input. I'd also like to hear it from some others who have done this before.