New to using Whirfloc tabs and not happy

[bferullo]

So I just started using Whirlfloc tabs to clarify. My recipie was desiged to be 5.5 gallons so that after trub I would be left with about 5 gallons.

I ended up using 1/2 of a tab with 5 minutes left in the boil. I had lots of coagulation and used the "whirlpool" technique with my autosiphon.

I am looking for any technique pointers. I ended up with only 4.5 gallons of wort due to all the junk left on the bottom of the kettle. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks for any input. I have been dinged in the homebrew club competitions on my clarity so I was looking to use these to help, but if it means losting that much yield they aren't worth it.

 

[SC_Ryan]

Brew 6 gallon batches

 

[nebben]

It helps the beer clear after it fermented, IIRC. The hot break material you're talking about is normal.

Did you do AG, extract, hops in bag...etc.?

 

[bferullo]

all grain, no hop bags. I don't have enough room in my kettle to account for too much more volume. My boil volumes are almost 6.5 gallons and its all kitchen stovetop brewing.

 

[Gfei]

I would highly recommend using a hop bag, it will cut down on the crap left over in the pot at the end of the boil.

 

[bmbigda]

Did you use a lot of hops? A lot of that could have been hops man. I use a 5 gallon paint strainer bag with a SS washer inside sink the hops. Take one of those black paper clips and clip the bag to you stove's hood.

If you hardly used any hops, then I have no idea. I have made some hoppy @ss 5.5 gallon batches and get 5 gal into the keg.

Good luck

 

[scinerd3000]

plan on 5.5 gallon batches to end up with ~5 gallons of beer. You will lose ~.25 gal in the boil kettle and ~.25 racking into the bottling bucket from the fermenter. Depending on the beer and hops you may lose more

Personally i loath hop bags- i used them for a while and they are a pain. Its one extra thing to have around and it cuts down on utilization because there not floating around in the boil as much. They come in handy for whole hops but for pellets i dont think its worth it. And yes for whirlpooling assuming you do it correctly, be prepared for a huge cone of $hit in the bottom.

 

[bferullo]

I use to use hop bags, but most people said you get better utilization without them. My last few batches have yielded 5 gallons no problem, it was just this batch that caught me off gaurd with the whirlfloc and 4.5 gallons. I bet after my trub loss it will even closer to 4 gallons...at least a used s04 which has a good tight yeast sediment.

Do you guys think I should go with 1/4 tablet?

 

[Scimmia]

The whole point of irish moss/whirfloc is to coagulate more proteins in the boil, so yes, you will have more trub in the kettle. Some people say that the trub is "fluffier" with whirfloc than with regular irish moss, so that may be what you're seeing.

I don't know what all of the talk about hop bags is for, it's completely off topic.

 

[bmbigda]

The whole point of irish moss/whirfloc is to coagulate more proteins in the boil, so yes, you will have more trub in the kettle. Some people say that the trub is "fluffier" with whirfloc than with regular irish moss, so that may be what you're seeing.

I don't know what all of the talk about hop bags is for, it's completely off topic.

He's getting a excessive amount of *something* on the bottom of his kettle, which is eating up his batch size. If you brew a 5 gal with 5 oz of hops, there's going to be an excess of break material at the bottom. However if you use a bag, you can pull the hop refuse out at the end of the boil, and let the wort drop out of it.

 

[barleyhole]

I use a whole whirfloc tablet and never had clear beer until I used them over irish moss. I certainly noticed that the kettle has a lot more trub with the cold break and more trub after primary (helped probably by dumping too much of the break into the fermenter).

I think at some point, you are going to take the loss from protein coagulation and settling either after the boil, or in the primary. It seems you have to calculate boil size taking into account factors like thermal expansion, hops additions, etc. if you actually want to pour 5.5 gallons into primary.

I typically top my fermenter off if I need to get to 5.5, and usually end up close to my target gravity. If you can estimate roughly near the end of boil how much water you may end up with in primary (if your kettle has a gauge this may be simple), you can take a gravity reading and see how topping off to 5.5 will affect reaching your target and add some DME if needed. Or just do a 6 gallon batch!

 

[Austin_]

Just pour the whole kettle in to the primary, let it ferment out, then cold crash. When you crash it the junk will tighten up at the bottom. Don't worry about what goes in to your primary. Worry about what comes out. My $0.02.

 

[Cliff897]

After Chilling, I tilt my kettle give it a few minutes to let the big bits of trub settle out, then I use a little stand off on the bottom of my racking cane.
That way I maximize the fluid recovery.

But the whirlfloc will operate on the crap in your wort in the primary fermenter to a very great degree.