How to leave behind "sediment" after boil

[Jayfro21]

So I did my first AG last night, and I got frustrated trying to strain out the hops (pellet), cold break, hot break, etc. that I just poured it all in. My question is what is the best way to not transfer this to the fermenter? My boil pot is 35 quarts and has a drain spout installed about 1.5 inches from the bottom. It worked great until I hit the level of the spout with all the sediment, and then it kind of stopped. Advice, please!

Jason

 

[eriktlupus]

strain it through a paint filter bag. you can get em at lowes,hd etc,, bout $2 for 2 in the 1 gallon size or $3 for a fiver

i use the 1 gal size for hop bags in the boil just tie em with a bread twistie w the paper removed

 

[BrianP]

Another suggestion is to whirlpool the kettle, let it sit for 20 minutes, then siphon (with a strainer as suggested). This causes the trub to form a cone-shaped pile in the center of the pot. If you don't disturb it much, your racking will go smoother.

Others will suggest investing in a kettle with a built-in spigot or adding one to your existing kettle. I haven't added one to my 30 qt aluminum pot since the wall is so thin I worry if it will last.

I use the strainer over my autosiphon (and I use leaf hops) and I still have troubles getting a good siphon going sometimes.

 

[Spyk'd]

Hopstopper!

:cross:

 

[ajf]

Use whole hops and a false bottom.

-a.

 

[bradsul]

I like the whirlpool method myself.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I have a bucket net that fits on the top of the bucket and catches everything as I pour the wort into the primary...available at your local HBS.

 

[raceskier]

Another vote for a Hopstopper. (or a home made equivalent) Yes, I realize it may have a problem with a heavy schedule of all pellet hops. I always try to use at least a portion, usually the aroma hops, as whole leaf or plug hops. This provides a nice filter bed to help strain out the pellets. There is also some evidence that leaf/plugs give more aroma content than pellitized hops.

 

[Jo3sh]

I have a Bazooka tube in my kettle - the T-shaped one, sunggled up nice and tight to the bottom. It filters hops and break out really nicely, but it doesn't like pellet hops much. For my next batch, I'm going to experiment with a nylon mesh bag to try to contain at least some of the hop goop.

 

[BierMuncher]

That's why I won't install a spigot on my keggle.

I used to use a paint strainer wrapped around my chiller and siphon from inside the pool.


Now I'm more inclined to whirlpool, let sit 30 minutes and then siphon around the gunk.

 

[teu1003]

I know this sounds ridiculously easy, but I run everything into a carboy and sit it on the kitchen counter. Then I clean all my mess, put everything away, etc. During this hour or so, all the trub settles. Then I just rack/splash/aerate clean wort into a second carboy (or bucket) into which I first dump my yeast slurry.

 

[Jekster]

I have been dealing with this a lot lately as well. My question though is how much does it actually influence the taste of the brew? Or is it just more of an issue with having huge trub in your primary?

 

[brewhead]

i use a hop bag for the hops:

warning: there are those who would say that the hop bag decreases hop utilization. i have never encountered that problem, but if you are worried add a couple more hop pellets or a pinch more hop leaf.

the problem i have with a hop stopper is what do you do when it clogs? it's in wort. you can't really reach down there and unclog it reasonably. i know some that use it and do so without any problems, but i could never get over the fact that if/when it clogs what do you do?

 

[RedSun]

I'll second the hop bag. Maybe the utilization isn't as good, but it's gotta be a bit below my threshold. I whilpool after and wind up with much less sediment than in the old days.

 

[Didymus]

I have been dealing with this a lot lately as well. My question though is how much does it actually influence the taste of the brew? Or is it just more of an issue with having huge trub in your primary?

Also interested in this answer. We dont do any sediment removal at all.

 

[korndog]

I have a Bazooka tube in my kettle - the T-shaped one, sunggled up nice and tight to the bottom. It filters hops and break out really nicely, but it doesn't like pellet hops much. For my next batch, I'm going to experiment with a nylon mesh bag to try to contain at least some of the hop goop.

I have the same setup, but have found it does nicely with pellet hops. I have a 90 degree elbow that puts it right on the bottom too. I use a minibrew conical and when I do my first dump, it's very clean. When I didn't use the screen to try whirlpooling, I had major gunk when I dumped from the conical.

 

[Orfy]

 

[teu1003]

Also interested in this answer. We dont do any sediment removal at all.

You will get differing views on this. Maybe I'm just stubborn, but I refuse to believe that a two inch layer of brew crud in my fermenter doesnt affect the taste of the beer.

Long before I ever knew who Jamil was, I formulated my recipes for 6 gallons knowing that if I wanted 5 gallons into bottles or a keg, it couldn't include boil trub or ferment trub. Jamil confirms this. His recipes are for 6 gallons because he expects to leave a half-gallon behind in both boil-kettle and fermenter.

 

[cheezydemon]

I use pelletized hops and I want them in my primary. Hop particles have been proven to actually help beer clear because the protiens in solution can attach themselves to the hop debris and float to the bottom.

Pellet particles tend to stay on the bottom, but if I am the least bit concerned, a hop bag over the end of my syphon hose (outgoing) catches most of it.

I firmly believe that the 1/2 gallon left in the bottom of the brew pot is the most concentrated and yummiest of the wort. I'll be damned if I will just leave it.

 

[rabidgerbil]

You will get differing views on this. Maybe I'm just stubborn, but I refuse to believe that a two inch layer of brew crud in my fermenter doesnt affect the taste of the beer.

Long before I ever knew who Jamil was, I formulated my recipes for 6 gallons knowing that if I wanted 5 gallons into bottles or a keg, it couldn't include boil trub or ferment trub. Jamil confirms this. His recipes are for 6 gallons because he expects to leave a half-gallon behind in both boil-kettle and fermenter.

Odd that you quote the Pope, but you only do it for part of what he says. He also says that he puts his wort into the fermenter, crash cools that, racks it off of all of the hot break AND cold break, and then pitches his yeast. This allows complete control over pitching temp, and also gives you the cleanest wort possible when you pitch. This probably has lot to do with the fact that he does not believe in a secondary for anything except mead. The one thing that is absolutely necessary for this method is to have good sanitation, as the wort is going to sit, unpitched, for a day or two as you crash cool and rack off to another primary.

One final note, not to be and EAC, but your use of a double negative in your second sentence invalidates your point. You said that you refuse to believe that it doesn't, in other words, you believe that it does. I think you mean to say that you "refuse to believe that it does", or that you "believe that it doesn't".

 

[Sea]

Cheezy, You've obviously been brewing for a while, would you say that you've never had any unwanted flavors you would attribute to the large amout of trub?

 

[Jo3sh]

One final note, not to be and EAC, but your use of a double negative in your second sentence invalidates your point. You said that you refuse to believe that it doesn't, in other words, you believe that it does. I think you mean to say that you "refuse to believe that it does", or that you "believe that it doesn't".

Actually, he's right. Some people might say that leaving the hop goo in the fermenter has no effect on the flavor of the beer; he refuses to believe it.

He refuses to believe that it does not affect flavor. He does believe that it does affect flavor. That's why his recipes and procedures are structured to remove it.

 

[brewt00l]

Chalk up another Irish moss/Whirlpool/strainer brewer.

With good whirlpooling, very little trub even makes it into my strainer.

 

[rabidgerbil]

Actually, he's right. Some people might say that leaving the hop goo in the fermenter has no effect on the flavor of the beer; he refuses to believe it.

He refuses to believe that it does not affect flavor. He does believe that it does affect flavor. That's why his recipes and procedures are structured to remove it.

If he is planning on leaving behind 1/2 gallon in the fermenter, being the trub and what not, then it got INTO the fermenter in the first place, and since he does not mention racking from the primary to another after allowing settling, before pitching, then he must NOT believe that having that stuff in the fermenter makes a difference.

 

[bradsul]

If he is planning on leaving behind 1/2 gallon in the fermenter, being the trub and what not, then it got INTO the fermenter in the first place, and since he does not mention racking from the primary to another after allowing settling, before pitching, then he must NOT believe that having that stuff in the fermenter makes a difference.

You will have that trub in the fermenter regardless, that is mostly yeast.

 

[Doog_Si_Reeb]

This may be a stupid question, but what do you guys do to whirlpool? Stir, or do you have cool gadgets that do it?

I cooked up a PM Irish Ale yesterday and was thinking about how to leave the crud behind but get most or all of the good wort out of the brewpot.

 

[budbo]

This may be a stupid question, but what do you guys do to whirlpool? Stir, or do you have cool gadgets that do it?

I cooked up a PM Irish Ale yesterday and was thinking about how to leave the crud behind but get most or all of the good wort out of the brewpot.

http://www.ihomebrewsolutions.com/TheHopStopper.html :rockin: I almost exclusevily use leaf hops and this little doohickey is awesome, no waiting, no junk in the CFC (The hops act as a filter before the screen, and it cleans up with a spray nozzel (I have the stainless one) No need to sanitize because it lives in the boil and if I do use pellets (sometimes the pellet sludge gets into the screen seams)or spices that get inside the screen it adds 3 min to the clean up to pop the screen and spray it out. I still consider this one of my best and most time saving investments.

I also use a wort wizard that makes it even better since it forces the wort through the filter.

 

[Brew-boy]

Damn dude we are Home brewers not English professors.

 

[bradsul]

This may be a stupid question, but what do you guys do to whirlpool? Stir, or do you have cool gadgets that do it?...

I just use my super fancy plastic brewing spoon. I use a CFC so I get the whirlpool going quickly without frothing it up (don't want to hot-side-aerate), let it coast to a stop on it's own and then gravity drain through my CFC.

I get no hop sludge in my fermenter (I use all pellets). My picture farther up shows the result. A nice solid hop cone (helped out by irish moss in the kettle) and clear wort with nothing but cold break going into the fermenter.

 

[PseudoChef]

I used the PVC-collar/hop bag this past saturday with 6 oz whole leaf hops. Worked like a charm. I now need my wort to be as sediment-free as possible before I put it through my Shirron.

 

[Kaiser]

This may be a stupid question, but what do you guys do to whirlpool? Stir, or do you have cool gadgets that do it?

I whilpool after chilling and used to use a spoon that I left in the boil to sanitize it.

Now I'm using the oxygen wand and oxygenate the wort while I get the whirlpool started. This removed the need for the spoon and the O2 wand needs to be sanitized anyway.

Kai