Minimizing Trub in bottles

[Fransjoe]

Hey guys, wanted to know what you can do to minimize trub in bottles. I'm used to natural carbonation, and I don't have a CO2 system. What do you guys suggest to minimize trub transfer to glass besides careful pouring?

 

[BrewInspector]

Use Irish moss or whirlflock near the end of boil.

Allow the beer to ferment completely.

Cold crash if you can.

Use gelatine now if you wish.

Use a bottling bucket and bulk prime.

Avoid transfer of any trub to the bottling bucket and avoid picking up any that does get transferred when bottling.

Chill well after carbonation is achieved.

That's about all I can think of for "before the pour" bottle trub control.

Then comes the gentle, no glug pour leaving a little behind as you alluded to in your post. I watch for any lose trub to enter the neck of the bottle and stop pouring before it exits the bottle.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

^^^ all that and...

Get a good hot break and cold break. Trub is the schmutz in the bottom of the fermenter. Your best bet is to cold crash it overnight before bottling (low 30's if you can). Most of the yeast will still be in suspension. The unwanted gack will settle out. Siphon off the good stuff into your bottling bucket, add your sugar, and go for it. As the bottles warm, the yeast will wake back up and do their deed.

When bottle conditioning, you will always have some yeast dregs in the bottle, and that's perfectly fine.

 

[Fransjoe]

After cold crashing both before and after fermenting, how cold do the bottles need to be to solidify the years at the bottom?

 

[Unicorn_Platypus]

I don't like cold crashing in a vessel that is not sealed (e.g. a carboy). You will oxidize the hell out of your beer. I'd rather have a little sediment than oxidized beer.

Most of the trub generally settles to the bottom after 10 days of fermentation. Usually what you are seeing left in suspension is yeast or hop oils, not trub. (assuming you are using irish moss or whirlfloc in boil)

If you are bottle conditioning and don't have a sealed vessel to cold crash, just pour carefully ;-p

Not the answer you were looking for I know.

One other option is to use a more flocculent yeast like Nottingham vs. say US-05 (which is more dusty and doesn't clear as easily). Nottingham forms a dense layer of yeast that sticks to the bottom of a fementer or bottle (if conditioning). You could also give the beer more time in the primary (say an extra week)...yeast will settle with time. Its unavoidable to have no sediment when bottle conditioning since you are refermenting

I just made the move to kegging this year and my beer is infinitely better. I can dry hop, cold crash, and bottle directly from the keg with a beer gun. Oxidation and sediment no longer an issue. Just start kegging

 

[Unicorn_Platypus]

After cold crashing both before and after fermenting, how cold do the bottles need to be to solidify the years at the bottom?

the colder the less time it will take is general rule. If you can store your bottles at 32-35 degrees that will speed up the process. But don't store bottles cold until they are fully carbonated.

The amount of time to clear generally depends on the yeast strain and how floculant it is

 

[MaxStout]

Move the fermenter to wherever you bottle the day before bottling day, to allow time for any agitated trub to re-settle. Careful racking makes a big difference--gradually move the racking cane down as the level in the fermenter decreases, keeping the inlet an inch or two below the surface the whole time. Don't let the end plunge into the trub at the end. If you carefully tip the fermenter during the last stage of racking, you can get all but a pint or so without much trub.

After bottle conditioning is complete, refrigeration will help tighten up whatever trub is in the bottles. Of course, your results will vary depending on the yeast strain.

If it's in your budget, consider getting a Brew Bucket. It has a conical bottom that collects the trub and a valve that allows you to rack right above the trub. No racking cane to risk stirring up the trub.

 

[Fransjoe]

Move the fermenter to wherever you bottle the day before bottling day, to allow time for any agitated trub to re-settle. Careful racking makes a big difference--gradually move the racking cane down as the level in the fermenter decreases, keeping the inlet an inch or two below the surface the whole time. Don't let the end plunge into the trub at the end. If you carefully tip the fermenter during the last stage of racking, you can get all but a pint or so without much trub.

After bottle conditioning is complete, refrigeration will help tighten up whatever trub is in the bottles. Of course, your results will vary depending on the yeast strain.

If it's in your budget, consider getting a Brew Bucket. It has a conical bottom that collects the trub and a valve that allows you to rack right above the trub. No racking cane to risk stirring up the trub.

I actually have a two 5gal system that has 2 buckets, one will be my primary fermenter (2 weeks), the other one will be a secondary fermentation (2 weeks) then use the first one as a bottling bucket for the syrup additive for carbonation (dissolved corn sugar). Leave 2 to 3 weeks in bottles before chilling and enjoying. I'll be taking gravity readings between the transfers. Any suggestions?

 

[BrewInspector]

Most homebrewers have gotten away from doing a secondary. There is really no needed to transfer to secondary. You risk contamination and will likely induce oxidation with no discernable benefit.

Just leave it in primary the entire time until you are ready to bottle then transfer to your bottling bucket.

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

If you bottle I think the only surefire way is careful pouring unfortunately.

I don't cold crash but I rack from fermenter to bottling bucket and try to leave as much debris in both containers if possible, avoid shaking, agitating while in use. I find that after two weeks of carbing the bottles at a bit higher than room temp and then a week or two at about 50-55 most of my beers have a pretty solid, hard-to-disturb if you are careful sediment layer in the bottle.

I have had the hilarious occasion where a friend pours one for themselves and walk over to me with some brown nasty looking beer and I'm instantly like "Didn't leave that last 1/4 inch eh?" Seems unavoidable. My kettle does have a bazooka tube in the bottom so I at least leave most of the hot-side stuff in the kettle.

Also I don't know how many batches you've done but I have found my finesse with the racking cane has gotten way better since I started allowing me to leave the entire yeast cake in the fermenter, which I think controls the sedimentation in the bottles somewhat. Can't do anything but learn from experience on that one.

 

[Fransjoe]

I don't have a racking cane, so the question would be if I put the fermenting bucket at an angle so the trub cake leaves the bucket spigot clear, move to a secondary for a week at the same angle, and then transfer to a bottling bucket, would that help reduce the trub? Or should I still cold crash before bottling?

 

[IslandLizard]

if I put the fermenting bucket at an angle

I think I read somewhere that doesn't work very well, the yeast/trub cake slides forward again. Someone suggested putting an elbow on the inside to raise the level you're draining from. The higher that level, the more beer you may be leaving behind.

I don't have a racking cane

Get one!
You also need 4-6 feet of vinyl tubing that fits the cane snugly.

Make sure the cane includes an inverter tippy that redirects the inflow to coming from the top rather than the bottom. This is to prevent or reduce sucking up trub. If you use fermentation buckets, also get a bucket clip, to hold the cane along the bucket wall.
I think they also make carboy clips for a similar purpose, although a rubber carboy cap would probably be better and is more versatile.

Start racking from the middle of the fermenter, lowering the cane as the beer level drops. Prevent sucking air at all times. Tilt fermenter toward the end of the racking procedure to keep the beer well deep. It sometimes helps to have an extra set of hands available, but everything can be done by one person and 2 hands.

I prefer regular racking canes over auto siphons, as the latter may cause oxidation due to sucking air, especially when they start to fail.

move to a secondary

This was mentioned earlier. Use of secondaries is not needed and are a main cause of (unwanted) oxidation, and possible infections. Leave in primary until ready to bottle.

Or should I still cold crash before bottling?

If the beer isn't clear enough a week after fermentation has ended, yes, cold crashing for a few days to a week, especially with the help of some gelatin, does wonders to clarify the beer.

 

[BrewInspector]

Think of it this way (regarding use of secondary)
Why are you doing it? To get clear beer is the usual answer by most. The stuff on the bottom has already settled out of the beer. More will fall out over time adding to what is already there. If you transfer it to another container, the same stuff will fall out of the same beer and settle on the bottom. There is less there since it is in a new container but the same total amount of material will accumulate whether in a single container or two.

The other reason to transfer is to avoid off flavors created by the beer remaining on the bed of dead yeast. This is not an issue at Homebrew levels unless you intend to leave it there for months.

 

[IslandLizard]

This ^