Lil' Sparky is tha Man!

Lil' Sparky · Jan 7, 2008

If it's prior to chilling, then it's hot break. I think that has more to do with it. I don't think the hops have anything to do with the break, which are coagulated proteins from the wort. I noticed MUCH more cold break after switching to a CFC.
How did you like it otherwise?

Doc Thirst · Jan 7, 2008

Lil' Sparky said:
If it's prior to chilling, then it's hot break. I think that has more to do with it. I don't think the hops have anything to do with the break, which are coagulated proteins from the wort. I noticed MUCH more cold break after switching to a CFC.
How did you like it otherwise?

I love it (both the CF and the suspended bag). I once heard that the hops also have the added benefit of working as a scrubber for this type of solid protein. By not allowing the hops to flow freely in the boiling wort, you don't get that benefit. Perhaps I was mis-informed or misunderstood. This protein seemed to start showing up about the same time I switched to the bag, so the explanation made sense.

If it were hot break, would it not clear up as it passed through the chiller? I still must not have a good handle on the hot/cold break science. My beers are coming out clear by the time they make it through the 2nd into the keg and I'm hitting my gravity so as I mentioned it's not effecting me adversely, but I'm really curiously.

Lil' Sparky · Jan 7, 2008

The hot break doesn't just go away when you chill the wort. It's still there. I'm not sure about the "scrubbing" effect from the hops. I hadn't heard of that.

The bag I use is giant. It almost sits on the bottom of my keggle, so the hops are able to easily roll in the boil. If they were more confined I might be concerned. Even with 3 oz pellets and 8 oz leaf hops for the 08-08-08 brew, the hops were able to roll around, although the bag was getting a little full at the end. I haven't had any hopping/bitterness problems since I've been using it, anyway.

RockfordWhite · Jan 7, 2008

Hmm...has anybody used one of these who does electric brewing, because i fear that the possibility of the bag hitting the heating element would not have good results

Lil' Sparky · Jan 7, 2008

Yeah, I guess you'd have to make sure the bag didn't hang down that low.

Doc Thirst · Jan 7, 2008

Mine hangs about 2/3 of the way down in the keggle, any lower and my valve sucks it up. I still need to add a siphon tube to my ball-lock.

Lil' Sparky · Jan 7, 2008

Doc Thirst said:
Mine hangs about 2/3 of the way down in the keggle, any lower and my valve sucks it up. I still need to add a siphon tube to my ball-lock.

How do you get all the wort out of your keggle then? I've still got like 2 gallons below where my ball valve sits.

Doc Thirst · Jan 7, 2008

Lil' Sparky said:
How do you get all the wort out of your keggle then? I've still got like 2 gallons below where my ball valve sits.

Tilt. Its a pain, I still have to leave behind 1/4 gallon give or take. Its not the bucks worth of copper keeping me from it, its the drive down to the hardware store.

Lil' Sparky · Jan 7, 2008

Well, in that case...

Get your butt down to the HW store!!!

Isley · Jan 7, 2008

I really wish I would have seen this before New Years...

It would have helped with my last batch (brewed on Jan 1st) quite a bit. Used 9oz of hops and had to abandon the bottom gallon or so as I couldn't siphon anymore out as I was plugging up the autosiphon and line.

This has been added to the project list...

BlindLemonLars · Jan 7, 2008

Isley said:
It would have helped with my last batch (brewed on Jan 1st) quite a bit. Used 9oz of hops and had to abandon the bottom gallon or so as I couldn't siphon anymore out as I was plugging up the autosiphon and line.

Welcome aboard Isley! Yeah, I know my carboys are a bit fuller now that the hop sludge is contained. BierMuncher does another paint strainer trick, where he puts the bag around the chiller, and racks from inside, leaving all the cold break behind. That might be worth a try too.

Chriso · Jan 7, 2008

Makes me wish I had an immersion chiller.

I'm just waiting for my first batch to get infected because my CFC wasn't clean enough. I've just been storing it with the inner copper tube full of StarSan, then dumping the SS out right before hooking it up. Does SS eat away at copper?

Can't wait to build one, though, because it's still LESS to go through the CFC. Plus if I ever get an IC, I'm set!

ScubaSteve · Jan 8, 2008

Actually, I have read storing it that way can cause problems...but what do I know...I don't have a CFC. You're probably better off storing it really dry. Then just be sure to clean with pbw after brewing, and run starsan thru before use. I was really looking hard at a chillzilla, but I'm glad I stuck with an IC. I used a modified version of Jamil's whirlpool chiller last brew and cooled 5 gallons from boil to 70F in 9:45. Good enough for me....

Doc Thirst · Jan 8, 2008

My ritual:

1. Run SS through CFC
2. Chill Wort
3. Run hot water through CFC
4. Run SS through CFC
5. Blow out CFC with CO2
6. Store for next batch

Repeat

denimglen · Mar 24, 2008

Sorry to bump this up...

I can't find the paint straining bags in my country but I'm trying to find something similar.

What are the dimensions of the bag and how fine is the mesh?

Cheers and beers,

Glenim.

BlindLemonLars · Mar 24, 2008

denimglen said:
I can't find the paint straining bags in my country but I'm trying to find something similar.

What are the dimensions of the bag and how fine is the mesh?

Really? I'd think ANYWHERE that sold house paint would have them...specifically, they would be near the roller trays and stirring sticks. They are very cheap.

I'd say they're about 1' x 2', with an elastic band around the opening. They are quite fine, this ad says 75 micron.

Paint Strainers

EdWort · Mar 24, 2008

Lowe's sells them too. I used one yesterday. Worked like a charm.

One thing, I have a lined PVC glove that I use to handle pulled pork, briskets, etc. I washed & sanitized it and then used it to squeeze the hop bag and all its goodness when I pulled it out at the end of the boil.

denimglen · Mar 25, 2008

BlindLemonLars said:
Really? I'd think ANYWHERE that sold house paint would have them...specifically, they would be near the roller trays and stirring sticks. They are very cheap.

Awesome, thanks.

I've yet to try places that supply only to the industry, they might be a better shot.

ScubaSteve · Mar 26, 2008

Crap. It seems the pics can't be viewed anymore. I have a photobucket account....we just had our first kid and I started a new album. Naturally, I made it private...but I naively made ALL my albums private at the same time; forgetting that my pics were linked to this forum. I have since made it public, but it seems the photos are still inaccessible. Sorry guys! If you really want to see pics, let me know and I will repopulate.

Danek · Mar 26, 2008

denimglen said:
Sorry to bump this up...

I can't find the paint straining bags in my country but I'm trying to find something similar.

What are the dimensions of the bag and how fine is the mesh?

Cheers and beers,

Glenim.

I couldn't find paint straining bags either, and the guy at the hardware store looked at me like I was stupid when I asked. But then I remembered I have a net curtain left over from when I made my brew-in-a-bag bag, and that it would be perfect for making a hop sock. So if you have no luck with finding paint strainers, you can use net curtain fabric (or "swiss voile" as I believe it's called). I think using swiss voile in brewing was an Australian idea originally, so it should be readily available at least somewhere in the antipodes. If you google BIAB or brew-in-a-bag you should be able to find out the exact material.

Spyk'd · Mar 26, 2008

ScubaSteve said:
Crap. It seems the pics can't be viewed anymore. I have a photobucket account....we just had our first kid and I started a new album. Naturally, I made it private...but I naively made ALL my albums private at the same time; forgetting that my pics were linked to this forum. I have since made it public, but it seems the photos are still inaccessible. Sorry guys! If you really want to see pics, let me know and I will repopulate.

You could always just load them into your HBT gallery and re-link them. Then they'd always be there, regardless what happens to Photobucket.

Cheers!

:mug:

EdWort · Mar 26, 2008

ScubaSteve said:
Crap. It seems the pics can't be viewed anymore. I have a photobucket account....we just had our first kid and I started a new album. Naturally, I made it private...but I naively made ALL my albums private at the same time; forgetting that my pics were linked to this forum. I have since made it public, but it seems the photos are still inaccessible. Sorry guys! If you really want to see pics, let me know and I will repopulate.

You can put all your beer pics here for free.

http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/

denimglen · Mar 27, 2008

Danek said:
I couldn't find paint straining bags either, and the guy at the hardware store looked at me like I was stupid when I asked. But then I remembered I have a net curtain left over from when I made my brew-in-a-bag bag, and that it would be perfect for making a hop sock. So if you have no luck with finding paint strainers, you can use net curtain fabric (or "swiss voile" as I believe it's called). I think using swiss voile in brewing was an Australian idea originally, so it should be readily available at least somewhere in the antipodes. If you google BIAB or brew-in-a-bag you should be able to find out the exact material.

Thanks, I've seen the BIAB on some Aussie websites but forgot all about it when researching hop bags.

I've found some drain filter nylon mesh, it's made to go around those plastic drainage pipes that you bury in the ground with the holes in them, that's probably what I'll use if all else fails.

Anthony_Lopez · Mar 27, 2008

I would like to see this pics as well...

Lucky Dog Brewing · Mar 27, 2008

I'd like to see them :mug:

BMW-LDB

BierMuncher · Mar 30, 2008

10 minutes and $9.00 at Lowe's and i'm ready...

One note....the auger bit I'd intended to use didn't do so well. Get yourseslf a simple paddle bit...it's much easier.

I wanted a threaded PVC coupler so the worm clamp would have something to grip and therer'd be no chance of slipping off.

Easy peasy and ready to go...but first...

I needed to figure out how to keep first wort hopping my batches so I simply drained off my first gallon into a seperate bucket to allow the hops to steep while the kettle was filling. Then I'd drop the hop rig into the kettle and pour in those runnings.

BierMuncher · Mar 30, 2008

Under full boil

Nice clear wort...4 points over my target on this 60 schilling blonde

And this is using a simple racking cane with no filter of any kind...

Can you say clear, cold break?

Dr_Deathweed · Mar 30, 2008

those pictures bring a tear to my eye... except for the one with your keggle in it. I winced at that one

BierMuncher · Mar 31, 2008

deathweed said:
those pictures bring a tear to my eye... except for the one with your keggle in it. I winced at that one

Tears of joy do doubt...

Liquidicem · Mar 31, 2008

Looks good. I just made one up the other day. Haven't had a chance to test it out yet. Maybe this weekend.

Lil' Sparky is tha Man!

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