Does anyone recirculate after mash

[mike neff]

I stopped recirculating my ebiab (wilsner bag BH false bottom)for my last few batches because I was nervous leaving the mash unattended (kids).Efficiency is the same and the beer always ends up clear but I’m losing almost a gallon to trub, it’s over the spigot in my BMB. Has anyone recirculated without heat after conversion is done to clear up the wort a little. I also stopped recirculating after I got my own mill so not sure if the fine crush would just keep getting pulled through the bag or would a grain bed form and filter it some. Since the heat will be off I’m thinking I won’t have to worry about recirculating to fast. Thanks

 

[Cato1507]

I stopped recirculating my ebiab (wilsner bag BH false bottom)for my last few batches because I was nervous leaving the mash unattended (kids).Efficiency is the same and the beer always ends up clear but I’m losing almost a gallon to trub, it’s over the spigot in my BMB. Has anyone recirculated without heat after conversion is done to clear up the wort a little. I also stopped recirculating after I got my own mill so not sure if the fine crush would just keep getting pulled through the bag or would a grain bed form and filter it some. Since the heat will be off I’m thinking I won’t have to worry about recirculating to fast. Thanks

I do eBIAB and have a whirlpool port on my kettle just above the boil coil.

I whirlpool during the mash to keep the grain bed stirred up, and then after the boil I whirlpool to add aroma hop additions and also to let the trub cone up in the center.

I don't use a false bottom and the trub cone really makes for a clean transfer of wort to the fermenter.

 

[McKnuckle]

Recirculating with BIAB is like a continuous vorlauf, so yes, it definitely pulls fine particulates from the wort and deposits it back on top of the grain. The wort runs nice and clear this way.

The problem is that it's hard to pull the bag and not ruin that nicely settled grain bed. If the bag is inside a basket, it works well, because the bag itself is not disturbed. Alternately - and this is what I do - you can drain the mash tun into a separate kettle for boiling. Pull the bag after draining the free wort, when the top of the grain bed is dry. This prevents small particles on the top from floating freely and exiting the bag.

Perhaps it's obvious, but squeezing is a no-no in this scenario. Just drip-drain the bag into the kettle or another container to recover what's left.

 

[A1sportsdad]

Recirculating with BIAB is like a continuous vorlauf, so yes, it definitely pulls fine particulates from the wort and deposits it back on top of the grain. The wort runs nice and clear this way.

The problem is that it's hard to pull the bag and not ruin that nicely settled grain bed. If the bag is inside a basket, it works well, because the bag itself is not disturbed. Alternately - and this is what I do - you can drain the mash tun into a separate kettle for boiling. Pull the bag after draining the free wort, when the top of the grain bed is dry. This prevents small particles on the top from floating freely and exiting the bag.

Perhaps it's obvious, but squeezing is a no-no in this scenario. Just drip-drain the bag into the kettle or another container to recover what's left.

That's actually not a bad idea. I could then use a smaller boil kettle as well since I would be done with the grains. What kind of setup do you use for recirc?

 

[fun4stuff]

I stopped recirculating my ebiab (wilsner bag BH false bottom)for my last few batches because I was nervous leaving the mash unattended (kids).Efficiency is the same and the beer always ends up clear but I’m losing almost a gallon to trub, it’s over the spigot in my BMB. Has anyone recirculated without heat after conversion is done to clear up the wort a little. I also stopped recirculating after I got my own mill so not sure if the fine crush would just keep getting pulled through the bag or would a grain bed form and filter it some. Since the heat will be off I’m thinking I won’t have to worry about recirculating to fast. Thanks

It’s really not needed after the mash either. Good case in point here for why recirculating during the mash with BIAB is not needed.

 

[LittleRiver]

... I’m losing almost a gallon to trub, it’s over the spigot in my BMB...

Are you using a hop bag or basket during the boil? If not, that will help cut down on the volume of trub. Some say it hurts hop utilization, but I've not been able to tell the difference.

Another simple way to reduce trub is to run the wort through a paint strainer bag on its way into the fermenter. Just drape the bag around the mouth of the BMB, and loosely place the lid to hold it. The flow rate of a paint strainer bag works well for this, a bag made of a finer weave may not flow fast enough. Here's a photo:


Sometimes I brew on the loading dock of my shop, because there's a really nice view there, but since there's no water there I have to carry it out. I converted an old water hose reel into a cart for carrying heavy things on those brew days.

 

[McKnuckle]

What kind of setup do you use for recirc?

I bought the Anvil pump. I already had tubing, camlocks, and an unused ball valve sitting around.

Here's one of my contraptions on the left. It's a 4 gallon stainless pail sold for dairy farm applications. I installed a rotating pickup tube and spigot to facilitate this. In this picture, the bag is inside a basket so you can't see it. But I've done it without the basket as well.

On the right is a 2.5 (ish) gallon stainless kettle that gets the boil done.

 

[A1sportsdad]

View attachment 669302

I bought the Anvil pump. I already had tubing, camlocks, and an unused ball valve sitting around.

Here's one of my contraptions on the left. It's a 4 gallon stainless pail sold for dairy farm applications. I installed a rotating pickup tube and spigot to facilitate this. In this picture, the bag is inside a basket so you can't see it. But I've done it without the basket as well.

On the right is a 2.5 (ish) gallon stainless kettle that gets the boil done.

Thanks for the pic. Worth a thousand words. I've got to do something like that. I have to figure out what to use under the lid to distribute the return flow a bit.

 

[kh54s10]

I recently got into eBIAB and using an immersion chiller I ran the pump to keep the wort moving. It chilled much faster than usual. I also recirculated during the mash. It was cloudy for the first few minutes then ran clear. My Unibrau has a basket so pulling it did not disturb the bed much. I have always bagged my hops in a 5 gallon paint strainer bag unless a very small amount and end up with less than 1/2 inch layer of trub at the end of fermentation.

 

[McKnuckle]

I have to figure out what to use under the lid to distribute the return flow a bit.

I have no special gadget for that. I pull the silicone hose through the lid just enough to immerse it below the surface of the wort. I don't want any unnecessary aeration during the mash. I brew mostly German lager and wheat styles, so I try to minimize O2 in the mash as well as on the cold side. (Poor man's LoDO).

 

[A1sportsdad]

I have no special gadget for that. I pull the silicone hose through the lid just enough to immerse it below the surface of the wort. I don't want any unnecessary aeration during the mash. I brew mostly German lager and wheat styles, so I try to minimize O2 in the mash as well as on the cold side. (Poor man's LoDO).

I though hot side aeration was only an issue once you have boiled the wort and you are now about to cool.

 

[McKnuckle]

Low dissolved oxygen brewing is a recently unearthed rabbit hole. Definitely too big a topic for this thread! (There's a sub-forum under All-Grain Brewing for it on HBT.)

 

[mike neff]

Thanks for the tips. Gonna try the strainer bag or maybe

Are you using a hop bag or basket during the boil? If not, that will help cut down on the volume of trub. Some say it hurts hop utilization, but I've not been able to tell the difference.

Another simple way to reduce trub is to run the wort through a paint strainer bag on its way into the fermenter. Just drape the bag around the mouth of the BMB, and loosely place the lid to hold it. The flow rate of a paint strainer bag works well for this, a bag made of a finer weave may not flow fast enough. Here's a photo:

View attachment 669301
Sometimes I brew on the loading dock of my shop, because there's a really nice view there, but since there's no water there I have to carry it out. I converted an old water hose reel into a cart for carrying heavy things on those brew days.

Im gonna give the paint strainer bad a shot. I tried once with the Depth Charger but it was a nightmare. It got clogged after half gallon. I’m closing in on my 60th batch and last 15 or so have been without recirculating. The end result is the same but the amount of trub is bothering me for some reason.

 

[mike neff]

Recirculating with BIAB is like a continuous vorlauf, so yes, it definitely pulls fine particulates from the wort and deposits it back on top of the grain. The wort runs nice and clear this way.

The problem is that it's hard to pull the bag and not ruin that nicely settled grain bed. If the bag is inside a basket, it works well, because the bag itself is not disturbed. Alternately - and this is what I do - you can drain the mash tun into a separate kettle for boiling. Pull the bag after draining the free wort, when the top of the grain bed is dry. This prevents small particles on the top from floating freely and exiting the bag.

Perhaps it's obvious, but squeezing is a no-no in this scenario. Just drip-drain the bag into the kettle or another container to recover what's left.

This will be my second option after the paint strainer bag as i still have leftover kettle from my 3v days. Although i might just switch to the bag in the cooler method and I can mash in and forget about it . This trub and my kids are driving me crazy lol.

 

[mike neff]

Updating an old post. Last Few batches I waited an hour after cooling/whirlpool to transfer. That’s more like it. It never affected the beer but my trub line was always above the entire spigot After fermentation.