dumping trub...

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Beernewb

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Messages
225
Reaction score
0
two weeks in to my beer de garde, i dumped trub...

started with a bunch of foam, almost like the head of a beer, then came the beer, no gooey yeast sediment that I've cleaned from my carboy, etc. just really cloudy wort with some hop residue.

really disappointed here, this was only supposed to be a "week or so" primary fermentation, followd by 4 weeks of lagering. i took a hydrometer reading earlier in the week and got a 1.036, so i increased the temps slightly.

Is this all I should expect for trub this far along?
 
picture is attached

IMG_0933.jpg
 
sorry, yes...i guess i I was expecting more of the grayish gooyey matter that's on the bottom of my carboy after a few weeks...this just started as foam and then looked like cloudy beer with some hop residue. After two weeks in a carboy, all my brews had some serious yeast cake--i guess that's what i was expecting. This is my first ale/lager hybrid, so I wasn't sure what to expect compared to my ales in glass carboys.
 
So you left it in primary for two weeks (not bad) but have very little trub? What were your recipe and fermentation temps like?

Also, what yeast(s) did you use?
 
Sorry, I'm really not sure what it is that you're asking. But if you post your recipe and some more information about your brewing process - and maybe restate your question to help people like me who are hard of thinking - then I'm sure we'll be able to help out. :mug:
 
Bière de Chute - Extract Kit. A Belgian Oktoberfest... you must be joking!? Nope! This biere de garde (or more aptly, "Beer of Fall") reaches back into history to draw out great complexity and depth from a simple bill of ingredients. Straddling the line between a lager and an ale, this beer combines the best of both worlds with restrained fruity esters and a smooth lager-like character. A fusion of toasty, bready and nutty malt flavors with spicy yeast and peppery alcohol make Bière de Chute readily drinkable and utterly dangerous. Prost a Francais!

Recommendations:

Primary fermantation: 66°-69°F, approx. 1 week

Secondary fermentation: 32°-34°F, 3-4 weeks

Kit Inventory

Specialty Grains

0.5 lbs. Briess Carapils
Fermentables

6 lbs. Amber Malt Syrup
1 lbs. Pilsen Dry Malt Extract
1 lbs. Priming Sugar
Boil Additions

1 oz. German Tradition (60 min)

Wyeast #3725 Biere De Garde - Private Collection July-Sept. Optimum temperature: 70-95° F.

og was 1.066, after 8 days it was still 1.036, so i decided to leave in primary longer than the instructions in an effort to bring it closer to 1.017 before lagering and raise the temp to 70 for the past 5 days. it was between 66-68 per the instructions.


So you left it in primary for two weeks (not bad) but have very little trub? What were your recipe and fermentation temps like?

Also, what yeast(s) did you use?
 
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

So, you didn't get a lot of trub, so what?
Are you comparing it to previous brews?

It just goes to show you that you're dealing with living microorganisms, not making coolaid, or just mixing inorganic chemicals together...Once you add living creatures to the equation then you are dealing with a wildcard factor....No two fermentations, even with identical ingredients, and the same batch of yeast, are ever the same....

It could be anything...one fermenter could even be 1 degree warmer than anyother brew...


Remember, living things are not predictable...think swmbos and teenagers...
 
no, it is a hybrid i guess, i actually asked about this issue earlier--the instructions saying 66-69, the yeast saying 70-95. NB said i'd be fine 66-69 for a week or so before dropping temps, but my sg came no where near the target in that timeframe.

If you were using a lager yeast at room temp, it probably wasn't very happy. Is that what you're saying you did?
 
tough love..lol..

yeah, i understand that, but my issue is more with the yeast. i questioned this earlier on with NB as well as the boards here because the recipe called for primary fermentation of "around a week" at 66-69...yet the yeast indicated best temps were 70-95.


my concerns turned out to be valid since i'm still way above my target SG and it's been longer than "around one week"...it seems things are progressing super slow. I'm learning....I posted the question here for several reasons, one being the fact that i don't want to waste all my beer dumping trub and taking hydrometer readings since i am already wayyy outside the primary paramenters and still nowhere near the SP i want to be out to begin lagering.


??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

So, you didn't get a lot of trub, so what?
Are you comparing it to previous brews?

It just goes to show you that you're dealing with living microorganisms, not making coolaid, or just mixing inorganic chemicals together...Once you add living creatures to the equation then you are dealing with a wildcard factor....No two fermentations, even with identical ingredients, and the same batch of yeast, are ever the same....

It could be anything...one fermenter could even be 1 degree warmer than anyother brew...


Remember, living things are not predictable...think swmbos and teenagers...
 
i don't want to waste all my beer dumping trub
Sorry, could you explain what you mean by "dumping trub"? I really don't know what that is, or why you'd do it.

i want to be out to begin lagering.
When you say "lagering", do you mean bottle conditioning? Lagering is a long process of keeping beer at low temperatures so that lager yeast can ferment properly, but you seem to be using ale yeast, so I don't really think you're lagering at all.

Is your concern that your beer is not yet at its final gravity? If so, I wouldn't worry - it can take a couple of weeks or more, though upping the temps to the mid-70s can help. A temperature of 95F would seem much too high. I'd be reluctant to have a beer anywhere in the 80s, as you'd risk some skanky off-flavors.
 
1.Brewer's follow all different schedules for dumping trub and or yeast. My general plan is to dump trub after the initial ferment has started to slow down. This removes a majority of the trub, the main item we are trying to eliminate. Then after a few days I may or may not harvest yeast and dump any remaining trub. Sometimes there is only one dump, sometimes a few. Some brewers who use a hop back find they have so little trub it is not worth doing a dump at all. Some lager brewers do a cold settling (usually overnight) where they actually dump trub (hot and cold break) before adding the yeast. When dumping people might use our FIL90 sanitary filter. It fits into a stopper which fits into the ferment lid. Thus when air is pulled back in to the fermenter during a trub drop the air is sanitary. Dumps done as fermentation subsides are less risky because of the continued CO2 production from the fermenting wort. Some customers fit a balloon onto a hollow rod and insert that into the stopper before doing dumps. The balloon fills up with CO2 and then when you dump out the bottom CO2 is sucked back in instead of air. Some brewers hook up to their CO2 system when doing a dump to force in CO2 as a replacement gas instead of air. There are many ways to use a stainless conical effectively! Hope that helps.

2.No, I don't mean bottle conditioning, lagering for 3-4 weeks after the primary fermentation is what this recipe calls for-I understand it is an ale yeast, but this is a bier de chute or bier de garde type recipe that involves a primary fermentation at room temperature and then a secondary fermentation at 32-34 degrees for several weeks. Apologies in advance if I am not using the proper lingo here, I assumed dropping the temps that significantly for a few weeks was considered lagering to some degree, if even fora short period.

3. thanks,yeah, I understand now it could take a few weeks or more. the recipe called for "around a week" so i was a little concerned with my SG so high. I've fermented ales before for several weeks, so i know what you mean about patience being the key. this is my first beer with a two step process, I guess i just wanted to make sure i was on the right track with some of the more experienced brewers in here.

Sorry, could you explain what you mean by "dumping trub"? I really don't know what that is, or why you'd do it.


When you say "lagering", do you mean bottle conditioning? Lagering is a long process of keeping beer at low temperatures so that lager yeast can ferment properly, but you seem to be using ale yeast, so I don't really think you're lagering at all.

Is your concern that your beer is not yet at its final gravity? If so, I wouldn't worry - it can take a couple of weeks or more, though upping the temps to the mid-70s can help. A temperature of 95F would seem much too high. I'd be reluctant to have a beer anywhere in the 80s, as you'd risk some skanky off-flavors.
 
I use conicals and routinely use the dump valve. I have noticed that different beers have different sludging (?) characteristics. I don't worry about this anymore. I do an early dump to get the break out, and one or two more. If it's coming out thin like your sample, I stop immediately. After crash cooling, I usually get a thick slug.

As far as your attenuation, I would guess that you fermented too low for your yeast. Biere d'Gaurde and Saisons need to be really dry to be good. You might have to pitch some dry yeast on that beer.

KD
 
Thanks for the help...

i have a picture of my hydrometer in the bier de garde just like the one in your gallery...lol..nice...I proceeded to beak it right after this picture, $7 right down the tubes, no pun intended...I'm going back to plastic.

see below.



I use conicals and routinely use the dump valve. I have noticed that different beers have different sludging (?) characteristics. I don't worry about this anymore. I do an early dump to get the break out, and one or two more. If it's coming out thin like your sample, I stop immediately. After crash cooling, I usually get a thick slug.

As far as your attenuation, I would guess that you fermented too low for your yeast. Biere d'Gaurde and Saisons need to be really dry to be good. You might have to pitch some dry yeast on that beer.

KD

IMG_0911.jpg


IMG_0909.jpg
 
Thanks for the help...

i have a picture of my hydrometer in the bier de garde just like the one in your gallery...lol..nice...I proceeded to beak it right after this picture, $7 right down the tubes, no pun intended...I'm going back to plastic.

see below.

Nice pictures. Where do you live?
 
still in the primary stage, thanks to that reading...the recipe is in this thread. no starter, wyeast smack pak warmed up on my apple tv (approx 80 degrees) for 20 hours--package was ready to blow a gasket when i opened it.

That's a very high FG. What were your temps and what recipe did you use? Did you use a starter?
 
Back
Top