Keeping Trub Out of Keg

[Clint Yeastwood]

The dry stout I made will have to be kegged soon. I used hop bags, but there will still be a big yeast cake and a certain amount of hop debris in the bottom of the plastic bucket.

What's the best way to minimize the trub that goes into the keg at this stage, now that it's too late to manage it in the kettle?

 

[Jag75]

Time , cold crash if you have the ability to do so.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I have the technology to cold crash. I guess I'll do that. Thanks.

 

[glick]

You could put a binder clip on the racking cane to keep the tip just above the trub layer.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Right now I am using buckets with faucets. I keep the lids on to disturb the CO2 as little as possible.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

A tip if you ferment in PET carboy, bucket or some such: install a spigot near the bottom, makes transfers a walk in the park compared to mucking about with canes...
Edit: saw your latest post now...
Then I guess racking carefully, cold crashing and then just accepting some gunk will find it's way in to the keg.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

That is exactly what I do. I have a vinyl hose I put on the faucet. Sucks up trub, though.

I guess I should focus on cold crashing and floating dip tubes and not worry about it.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

I don't really take any precautions, and I naturally carb my kegs with priming sugar.
I normally have to pour a normal sized drinking glass - a pint of yeasty beer before it comes clear of any residual yeast and proteins on the bottom.
Can't say I am really bothered by it, how close to the bottom are your spigot? And are you greedy when racking? I adjust my batch sizes to " sacrifice" the last liter or so in the bucket to not get excessive trub in the kegs.

 

[mac_1103]

Put something under the side of the bucket or carboy where the spigot is while cold crashing. If you wait long enough, the yeast/trub cake will be tight enough that you can then gently tip it the other way when racking without getting much of the gunk into the receiving vessel. I think it was hotbeer who suggested this in another thread.

 

[Immocles]

Try angling the fermenter a bit. I ferment in fermonsters and bmb with spigots. The bmb generally has enough room to not suck much of the cake through the spigot, outside of what inevitably settles into the spigot. The fermonster seems to have more trouble with that, but when I move that fermenter a couple days before packaging, I wedge that side up a bit so it resettles away from the opening as much as possible. Extremely low tech and doesn't solve the problem completely, but it helps. I cant say that I have much in the way of yeasty sediment at the bottom of my kegs. Theres some, sure, but besides the first and last pint I pull, the beers are clear with nothing unwanted floating/settling in the glass.

Cold crashing does help, but be aware of the vacuum it causes as the temperature drops.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I try to minimize the crud that goes into the keg by watching as I tilt the bucket. I leave a big blob of yeast and hops behind.

Maybe I should not worry about it. It's not a really big problem, I can cold crash, and I now have a bunch of floating dip tubes.

Dealing with the crud in the kettle is a bigger issue. It stops up the kettle faucet. My understanding is that the Braumeister does not whirlpool well because of the pole in the middle of the machine.

A clever person with a lathe could make a pole that unscrews without breaking the kettle's seal, though.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Put something under the side of the bucket or carboy where the spigot is while cold crashing. If you wait long enough, the yeast/trub cake will be tight enough that you can then gently tip it the other way when racking without getting much of the gunk into the receiving vessel. I think it was hotbeer who suggested this in another thread.

Very smart.

 

[Broken Crow]

I know a lot of folk don't like the idea of it, and sanitizing and purging is tedious, but have you considered inline filtering of any kind?
Things like these:
https://www.morebeer.com/search?search=filterI've tried a few different options myself, and they all work from 'OK' to 'excellent', but owing to disability I just don't like the amount of physicality.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I became very infection-shy back when I used to brew, so anything that involves a lot of stuff going into and out of the beer makes me nervous. I guess I should get over that.

 

[Broken Crow]

I became very infection-shy back when I used to brew, so anything that involves a lot of stuff going into and out of the beer makes me nervous. I guess I should get over that.

Me too.. but I was also trying to test my sanitation practices. I figured if I ever messed up a batch it would give me a learning experience that costs less in the long run and future utility than the cost of a lost batch now.
Not trying to sell you on it, but if your considering... this is the vid I watched than finally gave me the confidence to try it:

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Thank you. Will check it out.