Way to transfer wort from stove top to fermenter

[Saunassa]

So I just finished brewing my second beer, a Hanks Hefeweisen extract kit. I used a whirlfloc tablet and new immersion chiller. Damn that chiller is worth every penny. So I slowly poured the wort into fermenter until I could see the trub at bottom of kettle. Is that a good way she nce I did see some pour into fermenter or should I use my syphon so I can leave more trub behind?

 

[NGD]

Chillers are a nice step forward.

Using a siphon is probably preferable, but myself and plenty of others pour directly in. Some guys just pour the trub and all in. If anything your helping re-oxygenate the wort to help the yeast.

 

[catdaddy66]

I pour mine into the fermenter after cooling and I let ALL the trub go with it! It's quicker and gets oxygen in the wort. The trub is really inconsequential within 2-3 weeks and actually can be good for the yeast (or so I've heard). A siphon would be slower but also a good option. The beer should clear really well, trub or no.

 

[IslandLizard]

If you want clear(er) wort let it sit in the kettle for 10-30 minutes after chilling, most trub will precipitate. Then either rack or pour into your fermentor. Aeration is good at that point. Once the trub starts to come with it, stop the transfer.

I even reclaim the wort from the trub under my mantra: No wort left behind!
It's typically 2-3 quarts, occasionally more. It gets re-pasteurized and added to the fermentor an hour (or longer) later.

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

I chill it down in the kettle in the sink and then dump most all of it into my bottling bucket. Let sit for 20-30 minutes to let everything settle to below the spigot as much as it can and open the spigot and let it splash into the fermenter. I will tilt the bucket once the wort level is low to try and get all the good stuff but leave the trub under the spigot level in the bucket.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Like the other posters have said, I just pour all of it right into the fermentor, trub and everything. The perceptible difference between trub and no trub is still up for debate, but I haven't seen anything that confirms it one way or another.

 

[Saunassa]

I used my wife's big 10 gallon pot but only started boil with 4 gallons because I was not sure how electric stove would work. I then topped off with 2 gallons in fermenter vigorously poured in to help aerate and mix before adding yeast.
I think if I do a brew with more then ounce of hops i may use the siphon to see what that does.

 

[NGD]

If you want clear(er) wort let it sit in the kettle for 10-30 minutes after chilling, most trub will precipitate. Then either rack or pour into your fermentor. Aeration is good at that point. Once the trub starts to come with it, stop the transfer.

I even reclaim the wort from the trub under my mantra: No wort left behind!
It's typically 2-3 quarts, occasionally more. It gets re-pasteurized and added to the fermentor an hour (or longer) later.

Do you have a link to a description of how you do this? I’ve tried a few different things to reclaim as much wort as possible. From various filters to letting the wort sit and slow pouring. They all seem to have a similar point of diminishing return.

 

[IslandLizard]

Do you have a link to a description of how you do this? I’ve tried a few different things to reclaim as much wort as possible. From various filters to letting the wort sit and slow pouring. They all seem to have a similar point of diminishing return.

I use those large, very fine mesh "hop bags" from the local brew store. Mine were branded LD Carlson. Or sew your own bags from fine mesh voile material. ~200-300 micron pores is fine enough. If you use good sanitation with everything that touches the reclaimed wort, you could probably skip the pasteurization step at the end of the collection method. When in doubt, I'd recommended to pasteurize and rechill quickly under sanitary conditions.

• Transfer as much clear wort to the fermentor as possible, leaving as much trub (and some wort) behind in the kettle
• Place that (sanitized) bag in a large funnel over a large (gallon) jug or jar (I use gallon-size plastic mayonnaise jars)
• Pour or scoop the trubby wort into that bag
• Place a spoon with the convex (bulging) side up under the bag in the funnel to help lauter it
  
• Most wort will filter out quickly, but the thicker the sludge gets, the slower it lauters
• Just move the bag or massage it with a large spoon, and more wort will come out
• In the end you can squeeze or twist the bag to get the last wort out
• Let the jar sit for an hour (or 2). All the fine trub that made it through the mesh will collect toward the bottom of the jar
• Pour the clean wort off the top into a pot, leaving most of the fine trub behind
• Heat wort to 160F and keep there for 5 minutes to pasteurize
• Chill wort and add to fermentor

Notes:
I've routinely reclaimed 2-4 quarts of wort from 5-6 gallon batches that way.
All my boil hops are bagged in the same fine mesh bags for I use a plate chiller.
If you don't bag your hops, 2-step filtering may be needed, first coarse, then fine.

 

[homebrewer_99]

My pot has a spigot. I whirlpool and let it sit for 5 minutes before racking to the primary. I attach a nylon net to the bucket. It catches the break and the hops.

The clearer the wort going into the primary the cleaner the yeast to harvest and reuse.

 

[Saunassa]

If this is as much fun as it has been so far (feel like a mad scientist and cook) I think i will look into one of those clad 8 gallons with the port for a spigot and a net. I had pulled my chiller, stirred to make a whirlpool and then turned around and poured it out, DOH!

 

[IslandLizard]

i will look into one of those clad 8 gallons with the port for a spigot

You mean a kettle with a "cladded" or multi-layer (tri-ply) bottom?

IRT the size, if you see yourself brewing all grain, 5-6 gallon batches in the future, consider buying a 10 gallon kettle not an 8. It gives you the needed extra headroom. I have an 8 gallon and need to top up during the boil with 3rd runnings, to prevent the wort from splashing out. The 8 still works fine though, just a minor detail really, since I brew in the kitchen, and can heat that extra wort up on the stove, even boil it down before adding.

 

[NGD]

@IslandLizard Thank you for the detailed reply. Going to give this a try next time i brew. Hopefully this was helpful to the OP as well.

 

[flars]

I've gone to this set up to be able to harvest clean yeast from the fermentor.

Pour all of the boil kettle contents into the bucket holding a fine mesh bag. Lift the bag to finish draining the wort from the hop debris collected in the bag.

 

[Saunassa]

You mean a kettle with a "cladded" or multi-layer (tri-ply) bottom?

IRT the size, if you see yourself brewing all grain, 5-6 gallon batches in the future, consider buying a 10 gallon kettle not an 8. It gives you the needed extra headroom. I have an 8 gallon and need to top up during the boil with 3rd runnings, to prevent the wort from splashing out. The 8 still works fine though, just a minor detail really, since I brew in the kitchen, and can heat that extra wort up on the stove, even boil it down before adding.

Yep one of the multilayer bottoms. As far as a 10 gallon kettle my wife has an 11 gal bayou and I have used it on the stove top but just a little too big, works but I don't like having the heat so high and is unwieldy and slow to heat. If nothing else an 8 gal with thicker steel should work better on the stove.

 

[IslandLizard]

Yep one of the multilayer bottoms. As far as a 10 gallon kettle my wife has an 11 gal bayou and I have used it on the stove top but just a little too big, works but I don't like having the heat so high and is unwieldy and slow to heat. If nothing else an 8 gal with thicker steel should work better on the stove.

An 8 gallon kettle is not all that much smaller than a 10 or 11 gallon one. The Bayous are relatively tall, which can be a bit awkward on a stove. A low stove hood can interfere as well.

Don't get me wrong, I love my 8 gallon tri-ply Heavy Duty kettle, it's awesome wherever I use it, mostly on a 3500W induction plate.

The thicker tri-ply bottom won't flop under high heat as the thinner single layer bottoms do.
Are you boiling on a glass top stove?

 

[Saunassa]

No, using a regular coil top stove. Would like a flat top but with kids not willing to pay for one yet. But I can see darkening from where the coils would be below the pot and that's why I am thinking multi ply bottom.

 

[madscientist451]

I used to use a siphon, but its quicker and easier to just pour it in.
I dump the whole thing in except If I'm making a beer with a lot of hops.
I usually adjust my volumes and recipe to account for 2-3 quarts of sludge left in the kettle. If I need some starter wort, I'll pour the kettle sludge into a sanitized glass jug and let it sit. After a few hours the sludge amount is usually reduced by 1/2 and I'll pour off the wort.

 

[IslandLizard]

I've gone to this set up to be able to harvest clean yeast from the fermentor.

Pour all of the boil kettle contents into the bucket holding a fine mesh bag. Lift the bag to finish draining the wort from the hop debris collected in the bag.

Such a simple and elegant solution to separate the hops from the wort!

How much hot and cold break make it through into your fermentor? They add sludge to your yeast cake.

 

[flars]

Such a simple and elegant solution to separate the hops from the wort!

How much hot and cold break make it through into your fermentor? They add sludge to your yeast cake.

How much break material makes it through seems to vary. Sometimes the harvested yeast forms a heavy paste in the pint jar that is hard to swirl back into beer cover. Other times with the same yeast, but different recipe the yeast does not compact as hard. The lack of compaction could be due to break material making it through or the ingredients of the recipe produced less break material. So I'm not sure.

 

[IslandLizard]

How much break material makes it through seems to vary. Sometimes the harvested yeast forms a heavy paste in the pint jar that is hard to swirl back into beer cover. Other times with the same yeast, but different recipe the yeast does not compact as hard. The lack of compaction could be due to break material making it through or the ingredients of the recipe produced less break material. So I'm not sure.

The amount and kind of break is surely related to the grains used. The amount of break transferred to the fermentor can be controlled in various ways. Yeast cakes from wheat and rye beers are always thicker and stickier, paste like, due to a heavier load of proteins, I reckon.

By leaving the trub behind on the bottom, then finely filtering and letting it settle out separately from the main wort, I've reduced the trub in harvested yeast greatly. In the fine mesh filter bags I end up with a pint or more of thick clay-like sludge (condensed trub), consisting mostly of break matter and that fine hop dust.

 

[frankvw]

Don't get me wrong, I love my 8 gallon tri-ply Heavy Duty kettle, it's awesome wherever I use it, mostly on a 3500W induction plate.

Great if you have that sort of thing! I'm in South Africa, where equipment is scarce and expensive and, in many parts, kitchens are modest, electricity is limited and expensive, and people have little or no surplus disposable income to spend on a hobby. Not to mention the fact that just about every brew starts with substituting what we need with what we can get here.

So we make do with what we have and enjoy the challenge. Hence the partial boil thing.