Lautering?

[penguin69]

I am running my mash and after about a half gallon of running I am still getting really small fines in the running a. Are this ok to have in the boil kettle? Not a whole lot.

 

[DerbyshireNick]

This is one of those things that people get all funny and fight about. The way I look at it is... have you ever done BIAB? have you seen how much **** gets into the boil? yet none of these BIABers are complaining about duff beer.

I wouldn't stress about it. If you are getting it as "clean" as you can I am sure you are good.

 

[penguin69]

That is what I thought but just needed another voice of reason. Thanks for the help.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

I wouldn't worry about it. As long as your boil doesn't look like your mash you should be good.

 

[Balloonknot]

Id keep running the mash up to at least two gallons, if Im still seeing it then forget it. Its not going to kill your beer. Next batch adjust your grain mill if needed.

 

[day_trippr]

If using an FB, two quarts might have barely emptied the dead space.
I'd keep going for at least double that volume to see if the wort clears better...

Cheers!

 

[MagicMatt]

Yeah 1/2 gallon seems a bit soon to stop the vorlauf....I usually do it for about 2 gallons worth.

One thing to make sure (learned this the hard way) is to use 2 vessels to collect your vorlauf runnings, this way you do not have to shut the ball valve on the MLT. Shutting the valve kills the suction that you've created and the grain bed will not stay compacted. Every time you open the valve it will redraw more grain material through the bed. Using 2 vessels to alternate collecting/pouring will eliminate the need to shut the valve once opened. Vorlauf until you get it as clear as you want (again, usually around 8 times for me @ 1qt per time = 2 gallons worth).

One thing I've started doing so I don't have to vorlauf as long is to put a nylon hop bag around the hose coming from the MLT. This way, if any small particles do make it past the grain bed, they collect in the bag which gets removed prior to boil.

 

[daksin]

Agreed that you should vorlauf more if you want less grain in the kettle, but I am one of those dirty BIABers, and I've never had an issue with getting some grain or flour in my boil. Whatever makes you happy!

 

[Natdavis777]

Yeah 1/2 gallon seems a bit soon to stop the vorlauf....I usually do it for about 2 gallons worth.

One thing to make sure (learned this the hard way) is to use 2 vessels to collect your vorlauf runnings, this way you do not have to shut the ball valve on the MLT. Shutting the valve kills the suction that you've created and the grain bed will not stay compacted. Every time you open the valve it will redraw more grain material through the bed. Using 2 vessels to alternate collecting/pouring will eliminate the need to shut the valve once opened. Vorlauf until you get it as clear as you want (again, usually around 8 times for me @ 1qt per time = 2 gallons worth).

One thing I've started doing so I don't have to vorlauf as long is to put a nylon hop bag around the hose coming from the MLT. This way, if any small particles do make it past the grain bed, they collect in the bag which gets removed prior to boil.

I did exactly this on my old gravity setup. Id run about 2 gal of then move my bucket under the hose (Which had a nylon bag over it). When it was dry, Id batch sparge and repeat. Now, I recirculate with the pump for about 10 min, which clears the wort up nicely.