Separating cold break material and wort

[MVKTR2]

My question is how do you guys separate cold break materials from your wort? In my set-up I don't have a ball valve equipped boil kettle so whirlpooling won't work unless I syphon. Would straining it make a difference? How do you handle cold break material?

Currently I dump about 75% of my boil kettle solids right into the fermenter which certainly adds to the trub on hoppier biers. Guess it doesn't hurt to mention that some cold break material is a good thing as it provides nutrients for the yeast during early stages of fermentation.

Sound off & Schlante,
Phillip

 

[Hammy71]

Are you doing extract? If so, just dump it all in. As far as the hop material goes..you can use a hop bag to contain alot of the gunk.

 

[TipsyDragon]

i whirlpool and siphon.

 

[Nurmey]

I handle it by dumping it in my primary with all the other crud that will eventually fall to the bottom.

 

[MVKTR2]

Are you doing extract? If so, just dump it all in. As far as the hop material goes..you can use a hop bag to contain alot of the gunk.

I'm AG brewing.

I handle it by dumping it in my primary with all the other crud that will eventually fall to the bottom.

That's basically what I do now. Sometimes I give it time to settle and leave the last little bit in the pot. I don't see anything wrong with it, but I know some like to leave it behind and other than siphoning/whirlpool-ballvalve drain I'm not sure how it's done. Many people swear that putting the cold break materials in the fermenter makes a difference in their head retention.

Schlante,
Phillip

 

[boo boo]

If I'm doing lagers ( which I want clean ) I'll whirpool and siphon into a sanitized fermenter and let it settle out and fianally siphon into my primary. Otherwise I'll just whirpool and siphon directly into my fermenter.

 

[Yooper]

I'm going to start using a CFC with my next brew, so I imagine in that case the cold break will be right in the fermenter. The hot break and other stuff is generally avoided by some whirlpooling, but it was hard with my immersion chiller to get much of a whirlpool going. I never really worried much about it.

 

[Bert1097]

This is what I do

 

[MVKTR2]

I really hadn't given the idea of removing break material much thought until my last brew, an attempted Krystalweizen. In thinking about how to get the bier as clear as possible without filtering I was thinking the more material I could remove the clearer it would be. Alas I didn't do much 'special' procedurally just added an extra whirlflock tablet and have it lagering in the high 20s low 30s.

It's interesting that so many brewers tend to deal with this issue so differently. I've heard people advocate dumping all break material in the fermenter while others go out of their way to remove it. I think I will try whirlpool & siphoning at some point in the future. Does removing break material aid in clarity?

Bert1097, what exactly is that a pic of?

Schlante,
Phillip

 

[Bert1097]

Bert1097, what exactly is that a pic of?

Schlante,
Phillip[/QUOTE]


Umm....cold break?

 

[oceanselv]

Removing cold break does help with clarity. Does leaving it in effect the final taste of the beer?

 

[Randar]

Removing cold break does help with clarity. Does leaving it in effect the final taste of the beer?

Have you read this?

http://brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue2.2/barchet.html

Not sure there is any evidence one way or the other except for the fact that taking out a high percentage of cold break actually hurts the finished beer...

 

[Cliff897]

My question is how do you guys separate cold break materials from your wort?

Tell them to get in separate lines.

It helps to tilt the kettle and set it up, one end on something to hold it that way when you whirl off.
That way the majority of it follows the slope.

Otherwise just think of it as a good base for your yeast cake. Nice soft fluffy pillow like bed for the dead yeasties.

 

[Cliff897]

Have you read this?

http://brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue2.2/barchet.html.

from the article:
"It is widely believed that removing all cold trub not only has no benefit, but actually might slow fermentation and harm the finished beer, reportedly giving it an onion-like flavor."

Reading that brought the old beer Haffenreffer "The malt liquor with the Imported Taste" to mind.
My god that stuff was awful~!! Tasted like onions and sour garlic.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

I chill with an IC and towards the end let it settle, then I use a saucepot to ladle it from the kettle into the carboy (using a funnel with strainer). Since it's settled and I'm ladling from the top the wort is very clear. I do dump the last bit in (it eventually gets so shallow in the kettle that using the saucepot stops being effective) so some break does get in but not that much.

A few months ago I decided to try and put even more clearerer wort in the carboy by increasing my final kettle volume by a quart or two and just leaving the extra break-laden wort in the kettle (I strain it and use it for starters, hoping the yeast like the break material). I immediately noticed some sluggishness in those fermentations. It seemed that I had to make darn sure I aerated very well. I didn't test it or anything, just an observation that could have been caused by something else.

 

[hammer1]

my technique is when the wort is cooled i have a paint strainer on my fermenter and just dump everything in then squeeze all the liquid out leaving all the gunk in the strainer then remove it then i will re-pour back into the pot i will do this several times this does two things it aerates the wort and helps cool the wort more i have done it this way for years my last few batches i didnt use Irish moss and my beers still came out crystal clear

 

[Brew-boy]

I whirlpool and after the boil I let the kettle sit for 45 mins with the lid on. I have a pipe the point 90 degrees to the valve and is set to leave one gallon behind. I get very little break material and trub this way. One gallon cost me penny's in grains so I do not care about the loss.