1st BIAB in Progress...More Sediment than Expected...

[Bassman2003]

Hello,

I am brewing a hefe today using BIAB. I had been batch sparging for about ten years. After an equipment failure I decided to try BIAB. So I purchased a bag and winch from Mike here on the forum and away I went today.

I am brewing a hefeweizen and I hit my numbers exactly. I like the process but I noticed some kludge in the kettle. Not what I was expecting. The bag seemed to work very well but the very fine stuff that I usually see after my second batch sparge was on the "pizza tray" sort of thing I made to keep the bag off of the element. The stuff was on the under side of the tray as well as some floating after the bag was removed.

I did a step mash using a recirc pump.

So...Is there a way to deal with this in the BIAB world?

Or have you found that it does not matter for the finished beer?

I also noted I had nowhere near the hot break at the beginning of the boil. I usually have to work the element a few times to get the thing to calm down.

Anybody know what that is a symbol of?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[DonH]

with BIAB you get alot of crud! seriously. especially if you squeeze the bag. Let it settle in the primary I go as far as filtering my beer into the keg also BUT most settle in the carboy! you can try to whirlpool also at the end of the boil, helps alot.

happy brewing!
-Don

 

[LLBeanJ]

Don't fear the kludge. As Don stated, it will all settle out in primary. In fact, there is some compelling anecdotal evidence that suggests the more trub you put in the fermenter, the clearer your beer will be in the end.

 

[aidan]

It all settles out in the fermenter and the beer is no worse for it and may actually end up being clearer than beer fermented with minimum trub -Kettle trub in fermenter – could it actually be beneficial?

 

[Bassman2003]

Thanks for your replies. I will be interested to taste this beer and compare it to my previous hefes. My main concern is flavor and heating element burning. I don't like boiling all of the stuff that I used to leave behind in the mash tun. I noticed a tad bit of burning odor at the end of the boil and when I started to drain I can see why! I could not believe the amount of stuff floating around in the wort after flameout. Not the best for hot water heating elements.

Is this due to the wheat or the pils malt? The bag has such a fine mesh I am surprised at how much got through.

 

[GearDaddys]

I have 2 BIAB batches in the keggerator now.. I had almost 0 trub on each batch.. I used a hop spider on both, so that reduced some, but I was shocked how little trub I have.. I'm using a different brand bag than some of you are using, but the bottom of my kettle is way cleaner than it ever was with extract boils w/ specialty grains.. (Perhaps that was because of the super low quality grain bags I was using for the extract kits)..

 

[Brew_G]

I got a ton of gunk in my carboy on my first BIAB yesterday, even with siphoning around a lot at the very bottom of my brew pot. Not much I could do about it, and I'm expecting to just have a lot of trub settled out once fermentation is done. Not sure there's any other option to "clean" it up than maybe double-bagging it.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I got a ton of gunk in my carboy on my first BIAB yesterday, even with siphoning around a lot at the very bottom of my brew pot. Not much I could do about it, and I'm expecting to just have a lot of trub settled out once fermentation is done. Not sure there's any other option to "clean" it up than maybe double-bagging it.

Or getting a tighter weaved bag. Where's your bag from?

 

[Bassman2003]

It is kind of strange as the bag has a very tight mesh. I am looking at making a SS pot with the bottom cut out and replaced with a false bottom. The idea of setting the grain bed like fly sparging and then lifting out the pot sounds like a better way towards leaving the sediment behind.

I watched a YouTube video of a guy making hefeweizen with BIAB and I thought I had a lot of sediment! He had about 6 inches of trub in the bottom of his carboy after transferring. I am sold on the process but the trub has to be controlled for electric setups.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Part of that is definitely the wheat, wheat is pretty protein heavy. Lot more hot break and cold break will be had with a hefeweizen.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I watched a YouTube video of a guy making hefeweizen with BIAB and I thought I had a lot of sediment! He had about 6 inches of trub in the bottom of his carboy after transferring. I am sold on the process but the trub has to be controlled for electric setups.

6 inches seems rather excessive to me. Not sure how much, volume-wise, that translates to. I typically lose about 1/2 gallon to trub in the fermenter and make no effort whatsoever to leave any behind in the kettle, as I just dump the whole lot in the fermenter.

 

[DurtyChemist]

Did you do a protein rest around 120-130 degrees Fahrenheit? It might help to break up some of those proteins leading to trub. You could consider buying one of the favored bags from a vendor in this section.

 

[Brew_G]

Or getting a tighter weaved bag. Where's your bag from?

Good point.

I got mine at my LHBS, but I can't recall what company made it. I did a double crush on the grains at the store, so there was a good amount of fine "flour" in the mash. I don't know if proteins from oatmeal would contribute to additional trub, but I had 1.25 lbs of it in the recipe.

 

[Owly055]

This really isn't excessive......... it will ultimately settle out nicely. It bothered me at first also.... enough that for a few batches, I ran my wort through the grain bed (in the bag), using it as a filter until It ran clear.......... but soon realized the absurdity of doing this.


H.W.

 

[Brew_G]

Here's a picture of my chocolate oatmeal stout that's currently in my primary. It's been about 50 hours since I pitched my yeast from a 1.3L starter.


Pretty hefty amount of sediment, but I'd imagine that it will compact a bit more while the yeast flocculates.

 

[Brew_G]

 

[SDJay]

View attachment 236656

Nice touch with the Ultra in the background

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Nice touch with the Ultra in the background

I will assume that it's full of homebrew, and he was too lazy to remove the label so as not to judge his character thereby.

 

[DoWBrewer]

I do BIAB on an electric system in my basement because setting up the equipment outside was taking too much time. I do a few things to cut down on the sediment.

First, I don't double crush. I recirculate my mash to increase my efficiency and to do step mashing, but you could just add more grain if you are not getting enough efficiency.

Second, I add .5 pounds of rice hulls for every BIAB batch. It lauters better and seems to retain some of the sediment. I hope that helps.

 

[Brew_G]

Hah! Nice catch.

In my defense, that bottle has been down there for a couple years - a holdover from a party a long time ago. That said, I admit to having quaffed a few Ultras in my younger years!

 

[MaxStout]

Here's a picture of my chocolate oatmeal stout that's currently in my primary. It's been about 50 hours since I pitched my yeast from a 1.3L starter.
View attachment 236655

Pretty hefty amount of sediment, but I'd imagine that it will compact a bit more while the yeast flocculates.

My BIAB batches look like that the first few days. After a few weeks gravity does its thing and it tamps down to about an inch thick on the bottom of a 6.5 gal acid carboy. I lose about 1/2 gallon on average.

 

[Owly055]

Nice touch with the Ultra in the background

I enjoyed that also...........though I must admit that I have no idea what "ultra" is... presumably "ultra light". I would not expect a great deal more compaction..........Note that the yeast is "boiling", and a great deal of sediment is in suspension. This amount of sediment is not at all out of line......nor is it a problem.


H.W.

 

[aidan]

Just wondering would fining with gelatine do anything to compact the trub?

 

[wilserbrewer]

Pretty hefty amount of sediment, but I'd imagine that it will compact a bit more while the yeast flocculates.

That looks fairly typical I would think, been a while since I used glass fermenters.

If you really want to get a compact cake, cold crash at 32 degrees for a couple weeks.

Not mandatory by any means, but works a charm if you want to bother.



Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[wilserbrewer]

Just wondering would fining with gelatine do anything to compact the trub?

I always thought gelatin drops the yeast out of the liquid beer, not sure it helps compact the yeast / trub ?



Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[Brew_G]

My BIAB batches look like that the first few days. After a few weeks gravity does its thing and it tamps down to about an inch thick on the bottom of a 6.5 gal acid carboy. I lose about 1/2 gallon on average.

I figured it would compact a bit. I'll be heading out of town and I plan on leaving this in the primary for about 2.5 weeks unless it looks like it needs a little more time once I get back.

I enjoyed that also...........though I must admit that I have no idea what "ultra" is... presumably "ultra light". I would not expect a great deal more compaction..........Note that the yeast is "boiling", and a great deal of sediment is in suspension. This amount of sediment is not at all out of line......nor is it a problem.

The churning has finished already, so all that sediment that was swirling around has settled out. At this point, it's got to be at least 90% settled. I'm not terribly worried about it. It's all a big learning curve for me, so as long as the beer is good, I'll be happy.

 

[Brew_G]

That looks fairly typical I would think, been a while since I used glass fermenters.

If you really want to get a compact cake, cold crash at 32 degrees for a couple weeks.

Not mandatory by any means, but works a charm if you want to bother.



Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

I don't have a pipeline yet, so I'd like to get this bottled without waiting too terribly long. Besides, I'm not sure I could convince the wife to give up all that fridge space! I might be able to open up a basement window and really cool it down in there, but it would only get so cold.

Sorry to the OP for hijacking the thread!

 

[Bassman2003]

No worries. I am talking with Jay from NorCal to make me a custom mash basket to do BIAB. I would rather do a fly sparge type approach with a false bottom to keep the sediment away from the heating elements. I don't mind the trub in the fermenter it is just about the wort scorching as I brew a lot of hefeweizen and dunkleweizen.

 

[DoWBrewer]

No worries. I am talking with Jay from NorCal to make me a custom mash basket to do BIAB. I would rather do a fly sparge type approach with a false bottom to keep the sediment away from the heating elements. I don't mind the trub in the fermenter it is just about the wort scorching as I brew a lot of hefeweizen and dunkleweizen.

I have a false bottom for BIAB setup. It is only because it is also my three tier mashtun. It works really well. I use an induction burner and http://www.homebrewstuff.com/2000-w-ss-heat-stick-w-weldless-gasket-kit.html. I recirculate with a pump (I installed a ball valve in the lid of my mashtun). It really increases my efficiency and is great for step mashes would be nice for hefeweizen and dunkleweizen.