Lots of trub/dry hop. Reduce loss?

[JustinMaster]

I am currently brewing a pliny the elder clone which called for a lot of hops; 7 oz during boil and 5 oz dry hop! As a result, I have a huge amount of trub/hop residue in my carboy... As you can tell by the picture, I have lost about a gallon to this debris. My question is, what the best way to reduce this hop/trub cake? its about 6 inches high... Cold crash? Help!

I will be priming and bottling.

(This beer has had three weeks in primary, then 4 days dry hopped in primary. NO secondary. I want to bottle in 2 days)

 

[moorerm04]

You are always going to loose some beer because of trub an yeast cake... One way to reduce some if this is to use a hop sock during your boil. This will reduce the amount of hop trub in the bottom I your brew kettle making it easier to get to your correct pre-fermentation volume. Second thing is to rack after primary. Get the beer off the yeast to dry hop, it will make it easier to cold crash the hop debris and won't have a 6" cake of yeast and hops.

 

[The_Cleveland_Brew_Shop]

Try using dry leaf hops for dry hopping as opposed to the pellet variety.

Good Luck!

Homebrewers Unite @ http://clevelandbrewshop.com/

 

[BryceL]

I would definitely cold crash it for a day or two to let that cake get condensed and make sure ask the hop particles have dropped out.

 

[unionrdr]

You can also strain the chilled wort into the fermenter as well as top off water. It also aerates as you pour it through in a circular motion. You'll get a lot less trub in the fermenter this way. Also,put your dry hops in sacks so they can be squeezed out & contain hop debris.

 

[F250]

I am currently brewing a pliny the elder clone which called for a lot of hops; 7 oz during boil and 5 oz dry hop! As a result, I have a huge amount of trub/hop residue in my carboy... As you can tell by the picture, I have lost about a gallon to this debris. My question is, what the best way to reduce this hop/trub cake? its about 6 inches high... Cold crash? Help!

I will be priming and bottling.

(This beer has had three weeks in primary, then 4 days dry hopped in primary. NO secondary. I want to bottle in 2 days)

Cold crash will help. Man, that's a lot of trub!

What yeast did this clone use?

Rick

 

[ShinyBuddha]

I use hop bags in the boil and carboy to keep out the hop vegetative material.

 

[JustinMaster]

Ok, so next time I will definatly use hop bags.

Cold crash will help. Man, that's a lot of trub!

What yeast did this clone use?

Rick

WLP 001.

Also, can I cold crash even though I want to use priming sugar to bottle carbonate? Im afraid the cold might kill all the yeast I need to bottle carb..

 

[freisste]

Ok, so next time I will definatly use hop bags.

WLP 001.

Also, can I cold crash even though I want to use priming sugar to bottle carbonate? Im afraid the cold might kill all the yeast I need to bottle carb..

Cold will not kill yeast (you can store it in the freezer for long periods), it just goes dormant. After it warms in the bottle, it will liven up and get back to work.

People cold crash all the time, it has a negligible effect on bottle conditioning.

 

[badhabit]

For this batch, cold crash for 48 hours then tie a nylon stocking to the output side of the racking cane when you transder to the bottling bucket, it will catch the hops for the most part. It may be a little slow going but it will work.

 

[JustinMaster]

Cold will not kill yeast (you can store it in the freezer for long periods), it just goes dormant. After it warms in the bottle, it will liven up and get back to work.

People cold crash all the time, it has a negligible effect on bottle conditioning.

OK great, thank you.

What are the best ways to cold crash without a freezer? I was thinking of filling a cooler with ice, and placing the carboy in that, outside (40 degrees) for 48 hours. Suggestions?

 

[ShinyBuddha]

Any place cold will work. I think a freezer would be overkill. I cold crash my beer at 38-40 degrees in my kegerator.

 

[NotSoNew2Brew]

I am reviving an old thread but I have the same question. Seems that the pellet dry hops, even though they are in a paint strainer bag, still have a good amount of particles that come out the bag, it is almost powdery, or is there a better bag to use..?

I ferment and cold crash in primary, and seems my trub from the boil is nice and firm, but the dry hops 'powderyness' moves a lot, even after two or more days of cold crash. I lose a lot of beer because of this and is my biggest gripe when I brew. I like my hops in extreme amounts. I am thinking going to a secondary and then using whole hops. Seems to me the brewers doing this way with a small metal strainer at the bottom of racking cane get a better result????

Well, I hope when I try this it will be like the slurping sound when you drink a coke from a straw and get to the bottom only leaving the ice cubes....shall see.

Another question, what if I used gelatin as I would in a keg, but instead pour in primary with the dry hops? Would that cause less movement of particles at bottom of primary. Seems that even the sucking of my racking cane makes sediment move...

Why oh why is this life so complicated....lol

 

[unionrdr]

That's why I use muslin hop socks sanitized to dry hop. No more mess.

 

[Yooper]

Yes, pellet hops tend to disintegrate. Just do your best with careful siphoning to avoid the debris- some float, and some sink. I start my siphon in the middle of the beer, lowering the racking cane as the level of the beer lowers, stopping when the beer is gone and the trub remains. It's easiest if you tilt the carboy a bit as you rack, and the beer level will be a bit higher on that one side. I use phone books, but our phone book is like 1/2" thick, so I actually use a couple of them. Anything you have to wedge the carboy a bit would work great, as long as it's steady and stable there.

 

[DickRitz]

I am reviving an old thread but I have the same question. Seems that the pellet dry hops, even though they are in a paint strainer bag, still have a good amount of particles that come out the bag, it is almost powdery, or is there a better bag to use..?

Use the nylon bags; not only are they reusable, but they have a much finer mesh that the muslin socks. The only real trick is finding a way to hang the bag above your wort while it's chilling. They tend to hold quite a bit of wort in them, so I like to tea bag hem a couple times during the boil then tie them to the top of my kettle so they drain. It works a little better for me because I use an old keg and a counter flow, but I used to do similar thing with a small kettle in an ice bath.