Separating Trub Before Primary

[VachonBrewCo]

Hey guys, hopefully this isn't a double post but my computer messed up. I just racked my IPA into the secondary and lost about 1 gallons to the trub (7oz hops) plus 1 oz dry hop.

I wanted to avoid this event, so when I brewed my Vanilla Cream Ale yesterday, I siphoned the wort into the primary leaving behind the 2oz of hops and whatever lactose didn't dissolve. Was this a mistake? Is it going to have a major impact of the flavor of my beer?

Thanks!

 

[C-Rider]

Not really. Some people pour everything into the fermenter, some screen. I use this screen which fits perfect in a 5,6 or 6.5 gallon bucket. It's a paint strainer you could get from a painters supply shop or on line.

[url=https://www.homebrewtalk.com/photo/paint-strainer-60936.html] [/URL]

 

[RM-MN]

If you pour everything from the boil pot into the fermenter and leave it alone until the yeast are done (completely done, not just at final gravity) the trub will settle to the bottom of the fermenter, be covered by the yeast that settles out, and form a compact layer that you can rack above for bottling or kegging. How long it takes depends on the yeast you use and the temperature. I usually leave my beer in the fermenter for 3 weeks and bottle but the one I left longer had so little sediment in the bottle it was hard to see.

 

[IslandLizard]

Trub loss is unavoidable, but a gallon sounds excessive. I understand that when racking from bucket or carboy, it is very difficult to leave just the hop debris behind, as it is a loose liquidy mass. You could tie a fine mesh hop bag to the bottom of your racking cane to keep the coarser stuff behind.

To avoid those problems later, I find it better to try to keep as much of the hop pulp (mixed with break material) in the BK as possible. Using a filter screen of some sort at the bulkhead outlet or over the dip tube helps to strain the wort better. Among methods commonly used are a false bottom, SS scrubby, hop spider, hop basket, hop taco, bazooka screen (not very effective with pellets), etc. Whirlpooling can be effective too if you can get it to work. A "braid" does not work, it clogs too fast.

For example, I gathered the hop mass from my BK after brewing a hoppy IPA (7 oz of pellet hops in 5 gal) and it accumulated to almost 2 quarts! And this was pretty dry stuff, with not much wort left in it.

So to answer your question regarding your Cream Ale, you did the right thing, leaving the hops behind. Most hops have done their work although there is some question if late and flameout hop additions need extra time to give you all of their best. Look for some threads on flameout hop additions and (extended) hop stands at lower temps after some chilling.

Question:
Why did you rack your IPA to a secondary? Was the only reason to free up your primary? If the dry hopping was done the next step would be packaging.

I think most of us here add dry hops 7 days before packaging, and typically 1-2 weeks after primary fermentation has completed, allowing the yeast that time to condition the beer. This means instead of racking to a secondary, racking to keg or bottling bucket seems the more logical workflow.

Again, many of us don't use secondaries anymore unless we add fruit, wood or other adjuncts or need a long conditioning/aging period. That secondary should be a tight vessel (small head space) to minimize air exposure. Flushing that head space with CO2 is also commonly done.

 

[VachonBrewCo]

Question:
Why did you rack your IPA to a secondary? Was the only reason to free up your primary? If the dry hopping was done the next step would be packaging.

There were two reasons.
1) yes, I needed to free up me primary for my cream ale.
2) the recipe said "dry hop at 7 days/1 week before secondary.

I'm new to brewing, so when the recipe calls for a secondary. I figured I'd follow it. Plus I obviously want the beer to be as clear as possible, and I heard that a secondary helps with clarity.

I've been looking into a 10 gallon false bottom BK. I really appreciate your advise! Thank you!

 

[eltorrente]

In general - trub does nothing at all to the flavor/clarity of your beer. Only bother taking it off the trub if you plan on aging for a long time - then just bottle it and age in bottles instead of tranferring to a secondary. It isn't worth a dime of money or any effort to prevent trub from entering your fermenter.

In the future, money permitting, just buy another carboy if you need one to brew another batch.

Transferring to secondary introduces oxygen into your beer, which will eventually cause your beer to go stale. Best thing is to keep it in the primary until you are ready to bottle. Just dump the hops straight into the primary after the krausen has dropped, then bottle after another 5-7 days or so.

Just because a recipe says to use a secondary, doesn't mean you have to do it. It simply isn't necessary. I understand you need the carboy for another batch - but in the future it would be far better to simply buy another carboy and leave it in primary.

 

[IslandLizard]

I gathered it had to do with lack of fermentors. Get another primary (a bucket will work) so you can have 2 batches staggered. Forget racking to secondary, there is no benefit but there are some dangers, like infection, oxidation, and even stuck fermentation if done too early.

2 days of cold crashing in a fridge at around 35-38°F, after the dry hop period is done, works wonders to clear the beer. It settles a lot of the suspended yeast but leaves enough for bottle carbonation. This works better than a "secondary" in the corner at room temps for 2 weeks. Plus...you don't want to wait to long to drink that highly aromatic IPA. Time takes its toll on the nose effect.

To prevent the possibility of stripping aromatics as the yeast drops out, I am going to experiment to cold crash (to clear the beer) before dry hopping, on my next batch. I've made hop teas too, instead of dry hopping, but was not thrilled with the results yet. Needs perfecting a lot.

 

[eltorrente]

The ideal way of dryhopping is to get a kegging system.

I have one and it's made everything so much easier and better. After 2 weeks in primary, I cold crash at 35degs for about 3 days, then I transfer into a CO2 purged keg and onto the dry hops. This ensures no oxidation in transfer, and clear beer onto the dry hops. I store it at room temp for a day or two, then drop it to 50-55 degs for a couple weeks, then down to 35 for another week - leaving it on the hops the entire time. Tons of aroma, and super clear beer that way.

A kegging system is well worth the money - plus you can carbonate to exact levels, no priming sugar, and no sediment in bottles (if you bottle from the keg). If you have some extra money, it's well worth it.