how much kettle trub?

[jimyoung]

Hi all!
I spent quite a bit of time searching the forums but was unable to get a good feel on this. I know that there are a lot of ideas / opinions / techniques for leaving the trub behind (or not!!). How much trub do people leave behind in the kettle with the break material?

I use hop socks, a strong boil, and a immersion chiller that works quite quickly (cool in 10-13 minutes).

After the chill to 22 degrees or so, I put my lid on the pot and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Last time, with a 10L batch I got 1.4L. 14% loss
This time (diff beer), with a 15L batch, I got 3.2L. 21% loss

This seems like a lot of liquid to me. Beersmith's default somehow is set to half a litre loss on any batch which seems really low...

thoughts? thanks!

 

[Qhrumphf]

The amount of trub is heavily batch dependent. High protein malts could leave behind more break material. Heavily hopped beers will absorb more in the hop matter. Etc. If you're trying to leave it behind, I would recommend trying a whirlpool.

 

[jimyoung]

Thanks. Ah yes, of course, I should expect it to depend on the beer.

I have had poor luck with the whirlpool method. No matter how well I get it going when it settles it's even all over. I wonder if my temp probe and spigot break the flow...

 

[feinbera]

Like you, I've found that a stir-it-a-bit-after-removing-the-chiller whirlpool doesn't really do much for me. I've started doing that 30-minute post-chilling rest with my kettle at a bit of a tilt, for a bit of a ghetto conical effect, it gathers the trub at the low side, and seems to help a bit being able to get more of the wort out before the autosiphon starts picking up goop.

 

[jimyoung]

Thanks - the tilting is a great idea, concentrates it into a smaller area. I use the spigot but think I'll try the auto-siphon to stir it up less.

 

[govner1]

I don't use an IC. Instead I use a CFC and whirlpool as I chill. I get a nice pyramid of trub in the bottom of my BK. I then pump into my fermenters & leave most of the trub in the BK.

 

[Natdavis777]

My SS spider leaves literally all hop material out. Whirlpooling leaves a good amount of break material behind. Honestly though, in my 10 gal batches, Ive had to "allow" some break material into the second carboy to meet volume, and couldnt tell the difference between batches.

I will say though, the spider helps tremendously with plate chillers.