Too much post fermentation trub

[archthered]

I made a massive RIS, 14ish%, and was going to keg it. However there is way to much gunk in the bottom of the carboy, see picture. This is actually less than there was, when I transferred it to a secondary there was more and I tried to get rid of it as best I could but as you can see that didn't go well. At any rate I have no idea how to get rid of it without losing a lot of beer and I imagine if I put it in the keg it would be undrinkable so I would appreciate any tips on how to get rid of it. On that note I would also love any tips on how to avoid this much gunk next time.

 

[TheStuFactor]

It’s probably just trub and yeast. Next time, adjust your batch size to compensate.

 

[ProblemChild]

force transfer to another carboy and purge with CO2. Bulk age for a while longer. A RIS takes a while to be ready anyway.....

 

[kh54s10]

Hard to see in the picture. To limit trub I use a paint strainer bag to contain the hops. For a massive beer you get more trub. So, either accept that you will package less beer, or compensate by brewing for a bigger volume.

How long was it in primary before you transferred. If it was for a short time, going longer will allow more sediment to drop out of solution and for the trub layer to compact more. Did you siphon carefully to keep from sucking up trub.

How long has that beer been in secondary? I would bulk age that beer for a couple of months. By then the trub layer should compact quite a bit.

Cold crashing it will drop more sediment and might also help compact the trub.

 

[WestMichBrewer]

I made a massive RIS, 14ish%, and was going to keg it. However there is way to much gunk in the bottom of the carboy, see picture. This is actually less than there was, when I transferred it to a secondary there was more and I tried to get rid of it as best I could but as you can see that didn't go well. At any rate I have no idea how to get rid of it without losing a lot of beer and I imagine if I put it in the keg it would be undrinkable so I would appreciate any tips on how to get rid of it. On that note I would also love any tips on how to avoid this much gunk next time.

I'd bottle a beer that big anyway.

 

[kh54s10]

I'd bottle a beer that big anyway.

Too early in the morning, I missed that. Yes, for me I would not want to tie up a keg for a year or 3.....

That one will not really be ready to drink until at least October.

 

[archthered]

How long was it in primary before you transferred. If it was for a short time, going longer will allow more sediment to drop out of solution and for the trub layer to compact more. Did you siphon carefully to keep from sucking up trub.

Fermentation started 1/7, I split the volume for fermentation since I expected to lose alot to blow off otherwise, the two halves were recombined on 1/19 and then sat for another week. Then I cold crashed and transferred to a secondary with a siphon, I tried to limit the amount of trub that came with it but since I planned on a lengthy secondary period I erred on the side of not losing beer.

How long has that beer been in secondary? I would bulk age that beer for a couple of months. By then the trub layer should compact quite a bit.

After this point the details are fuzzy, my kids got stuff on the pages that have my notes, so I'm not as sure of exact dates. I let it sit in the secondary for two more weeks at cold crashing temps with the hope of eliminating more trub. I then racked it to another carboy and added oak and scotch. Again I tried to eliminate taking up too much trub and even rigged a bit of a mesh filter but that didn't (and wasn't really supposed to) solve all the issues. It has been sitting in my laundry room ever since.

force transfer to another carboy and purge with CO2. Bulk age for a while longer. A RIS takes a while to be ready anyway.....

I don't have anything set up for a force transfer, all my transferring is gravity powered.


This is my first beer that is quite so big and I was expecting it to take longer than others but I am kind of amazed at how little the trub has compacted and I thought perhaps that was a bit abnormal and maybe there was something to be done about it. But it looks like the theme here is just let it sit longer. I was hoping to have this ready for a thing coming up soon but I'd rather wait than throw out half of it etc.

 

[kh54s10]

I am baffled. This has been transferred twice already. I would expect almost no trub at this point. Maybe a light dusting of settled yeast cells.

For a 14% RIS brewed in January, I would not really expect to be drinking it before July! My RIS was just getting nice at 6 months (a test bottle). At 9 months I started drinking them. 2 years later I finished the last bottle....

 

[archthered]

So I'm not crazy, this is unusual. At least I know that now.

 

[kh54s10]

So I'm not crazy, this is unusual. At least I know that now.

I do think it is unusual. Most of the sediment should drop in primary, You then did a secondary, so you should have lost most of the rest. Then you transferred again to add the oak and Scotch By this time there should be almost no sediment left, only some yeast cells dropping out of solution.

The only thing that I can think that would move that much debris is sucking up the trub when siphoning from one vessel to the next.

 

[Jwood]

Honestly doesn't look abnormal to me, its hard to tell from the picture but it looks like a normal amount of debris even post transfer.