Brew / Bottling buckets and that last 1" before trub

[El Nino]

Hey guys,

Well I bottled my first 2.5 gallon batch yesterday, and ran into trouble at the last 1" before the trub. It looks like delicious beer, but any time I tried getting that last bit, way too much trub was sucked up by the auto siphon.

I'm well aware that people say don't get too greedy and try siphoning that last inch anyway, but damn, that's another bottle or 2 of beer I could have! I can now feel the pain of someone having to dump an entire batch of beer, because I was already frowning about dumping that last inch before trub.

I was pretty set on using glass carboys for fermenting, because I like to watch the yeast in action.. BUT I was wondering if anyone had any experience with brew buckets, will the racking arms for those allow you to get that last bit without sucking up trub? I swear there was at least 1.5 bottles worth that coulda been saved if the siphon didn't suck so much (literally) haha

 

[Smellyglove]

Hey guys,

Well I bottled my first 2.5 gallon batch yesterday, and ran into trouble at the last 1" before the trub. It looks like delicious beer, but any time I tried getting that last bit, way too much trub was sucked up by the auto siphon.

I'm well aware that people say don't get too greedy and try siphoning that last inch anyway, but damn, that's another bottle or 2 of beer I could have! I can now feel the pain of someone having to dump an entire batch of beer, because I was already frowning about dumping that last inch before trub.

I was pretty set on using glass carboys for fermenting, because I like to watch the yeast in action.. BUT I was wondering if anyone had any experience with brew buckets, will the racking arms for those allow you to get that last bit without sucking up trub? I swear there was at least 1.5 bottles worth that coulda been saved if the siphon didn't suck so much (literally) haha

My tip would be get less trub into the fermentor. Then all that trub will just be yeast. You can for example let it sit for a while in the kettle after cooling, use carrageenan, pour as clean as you can wort into the fermentor, then you can pour the rest of the trub into a sanitized bottle or whatever, let the trub settle in the bottle in a fridge over night, then decant from that bottle clear wort into the fermentor to top it up. This way you're leaving trub before fermentation while also maximizing volume without trub.

 

[whiskeyjack]

Yea I get scared of sucking up to much as well. If size is an issue just do a quarter gallon larger to make up for it. If you feel like you are abusing the alcohol by dumping that last little bit, I feel your pain.

 

[LittleRiver]

...pour the rest of the trub into a sanitized bottle or whatever, let the trub settle in the bottle in a fridge over night, then decant from that bottle clear wort into the fermentor to top it up...

I did that on my last brew, it worked like a charm.

 

[bleme]

One of the main reasons I cold crash is that it tends to compact and stiffen up the trub layer some so I can siphon down a little further. Some yeasts will get as thick as peanut butter!

 

[JohnSand]

You might also try gently tipping your fermenter and propping up one side. I put a small plate under the back and siphon from the front. That way I'm pulling from the deep end. When I used a MrBeer LBK, I fermented it tipped up at the spigot end to let the trub settle in the back.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I prefer a standard racking can with a clip on it that fastens to the vessel and the cane slides up and down with accuracy.

Does the auto siphon have a clip that holds it steady?

With the cane clipped, you can accurately lower the siphon as
Well as tip the vessel and leave very little behind without sucking up
Yeast cake.

Auto siphon clamp

http://www.brewinternational.com/au...bXbRdbWzIWmxcGVeFDX510dWH98x64fBoCHNcQAvD_BwE

 

[JohnSand]

Good point Wilser. I use a clamp too.