Going from gas RIMS to elec. BIAB. Capturing cold break?

[twobears]

I am getting rid of my current natural gas fired RIMS system and going with an electric BIAB system. My plan is to outfit my kettle (I am a fabricator and pretty handy with a TIG welder) with a pick up tube as well as a whirlpool tube. The idea is to have the whirlpool tube pointed toward the pickup tube so any hot break, hop sediment, or any other small particulates that dont collect in the center of the pot will be blown away from the pickup tube (hopefully the turbulence wont disrupt the flow much). This can be made possible via 3-way valve in which, after a 10 minute whirlpool session, the valve can be opened to allow some of the wort to continue the whirlpool while the rest goes through the wort chiller. I know what youre thinking, water will take the path of least resistance. Thats what throttling valves are for.....Anyway, when there is just a few quarts left in the pot the valve can be changed to run the rest of the wort through the chiller. This SHOULD work (not 100% sure but it makes sense) to keep the hot break and any hop sediment (I use a hop bag) left behind. What I am wondering is, what would be a good way to capture cold break? My thought is to use a large sight glass between the chiller and fermenter with 2 or 3 stainless scrubbies in it and a flow screen on the "downstream" end of it (mainly to keep the scrubbies from trying to get sucked into the plumbing). This wont capture 100% of cold break but from what I understand, a little bit of cold break in the fermenter is important for yeast health. Thoughts?

 

[FuriousE]

Why is it important to you to capture any of the break? Many people - myself included - dump everything into the fermenter. There no evidence this is detrimental to the beer - and in fact there is some evidence that it is beneficial, and helps the beer to clear faster.

Maybe you're using a plate chiller and that won't work for you - just thought I'd put that out there as an option!

 

[twobears]

I was under the impression that a beer will NOT be as clear unless you capture the cold break. Especially in lighter beers, pilseners and lagers. I have never worried about it in the past or even at the present. I am putting together a new system and just want to dot my "I"s and cross my "T"s is all. Trying to think of every little detail ahead of time so there are no after thoughts or "scab-ons" to the system later. Always striving to make better beer, each batch better than the last. Cold break is something I have never addressed in the past, thought it might make the beer better if I do address it. By the way, I am using a plate chiller but that shouldnt matter should it. It doesnt do much good to capture cold break before the chiller when the wort is still hot.

 

[FuriousE]

Here's an interesting article that might help you decide: http://brulosophy.com/2014/06/02/the-great-trub-exbeeriment-results-are-in/

 

[twobears]

Here's an interesting article that might help you decide: http://brulosophy.com/2014/06/02/the-great-trub-exbeeriment-results-are-in/

Well, Ill be dipped! Great article, thank you.

 

[Sturzwellebrau]

Here's an interesting article that might help you decide: http://brulosophy.com/2014/06/02/the-great-trub-exbeeriment-results-are-in/

Thanks for linking to this article. It is just what I needed. I just brewed my first AG with biab yesterday, and had some concerns as to all the trub in the fermenter, even after whirlpooling. But it looks just like the pics in the article, so I have high hopes that it comes out clear and tasty.

 

[FuriousE]

Thanks for linking to this article. It is just what I needed. I just brewed my first AG with biab yesterday, and had some concerns as to all the trub in the fermenter, even after whirlpooling. But it looks just like the pics in the article, so I have high hopes that it comes out clear and tasty.

I do it that way all of the time, and always have clear, tasty beer. I'm glad you enjoyed the article - I wish I could take any credit for it!

 

[Black Island Brewer]

There are other points of view on trub separation, based on research as well. http://morebeer.com/brewingtechniques/library/backissues/issue1.4/barchet.html

 

[FuriousE]

Interesting article, although it seems to make the assumption that the break is bad and go from there. I've done it both ways (not letting any trub into the fermenter, and putting it all in) and I can't taste any difference, so I don't worry about it. I would of course encourage people to try both ways and do whatever makes sense for them!