"Why the heck didn't I think of that before" Category

[redwing_al]

This falls into the "why the heck didn't I do that before" category...

How many of you filter/strain your "cold break" after chilling and before the wort enters your fermenter? Dog gone it, how did I not do this before?

From now on, I'm using a strainer to keep that stuff out of the fermenter and will take at least one attempt to remove it.. I'm not wasting my yeasties on that stuff! When did I miss this little trick?! Does anyone else strain that stuff?



What is your "Why the heck didn't I think of that before" trick?

 

[wilserbrewer]

I'm lazy, and choose to let gravity do the work rather than strain wort.




Wilserbrewer
Http://biabbags.webs.com/

 

[govner1]

This falls into the "why the heck didn't I do that before" category...



How many of you filter/strain your "cold break" after chilling and before the wort enters your fermenter? Dog gone it, how did I not do this before?



From now on, I'm using a strainer to keep that stuff out of the fermenter and will take at least one attempt to remove it.. I'm not wasting my yeasties on that stuff! When did I miss this little trick?! Does anyone else strain that stuff?







What is your "Why the heck didn't I think of that before" trick?

A good whirlpool for ten to twenty minutes wbe you set up your chiller will help eliminate most of your cold break trub. Also using a spider or hop basket will do the same for hop residue. Both pellet & whole leaf.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Rev2010]

I'm not a BIAB guy but saw the title in the AG section. I strain through one of these from the kettle draining hose into my fermenter:

Works like a charm. Been using this method ever since going to AG. Keeps the hop trub and whatever other trub out of my fermenter. Also helps to additionally aerate the wort a bit more. Btw, my fermenters are the wide mouth original plastic Coopers style, so it sits right in the opening, don't even have to hold it. Probably wouldn't do much good for a carboy, but for a bucket it would work.


Rev.

 

[rlmiller10]

I'm not a BIAB guy but saw the title in the AG section. I strain through one of these from the kettle draining hose into my fermenter:

Works like a charm. Been using this method ever since going to AG. Keeps the hop trub and whatever other trub out of my fermenter. Also helps to additionally aerate the wort a bit more. Btw, my fermenters are the wide mouth original plastic Coopers style, so it sits right in the opening, don't even have to hold it. Probably wouldn't do much good for a carboy, but for a bucket it would work.


Rev.

I use one very similar to that. Mine fits in the funnel I use with my carboy. But it doesn't do much for cold break. It filters out any hop residue and some of the break as I do have to clean out the mesh a couple of times. But in the end I still ended up with 8 or 9 inches of cold break after the carboy was full.

Not that it was a problem. In a few days it was all compacted in a thin layer on the bottom of the carboy.

 

[dkevinb]

I've never filtered anything. Back in the day I was known to dump the kettle into the fermenter, and there's a lot of evidence that says that's a good way to go. My beer always came out clear. Nowadays I do a "manual whirlpool" - I stir the crap out of the kettle after chilling until I get a big whirlpool going, then put the lid on and wait 15 minutes before siphoning into the fermenter, keeping the siphon at the edge of the kettle, away from the "cone of trub". It has the added benefit of aerating the wort. i get really clear wort into the fermenter that way.

My "why didn't I think of that?" idea was from someone here about squeezing the grain bag after mashing BIAB. I use tamale steamers as brew kettles, a 5-gallon and an 8-gallon, with the steamer racks in place. It keeps from scorching the bag in the big kettle, then I pull the bag and put it in the little kettle and let it drain. Today I realized that a Homer bucket will fit just barely inside the little kettle. Next time I'm going to put the bag in the little kettle, put the Homer bucket (lid on) inside the little kettle, and sit on it, putting my mass and the force of gravity to good use.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I used ti strain on my first ,couple batches before I figured out proper water calculations. Now I don't worry about it unless it's a 5.5 batch in my 6 gallon fermenter or other similar headspace issues.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

I usually put a sanitized nylon press bag in the bucket, clamp it to the sides, and dump the whole kettle in. Pull out the bag and out comes hop gunk. Super easy.

My biggest "Why the heck didn't I think of that" moment involves star san. I've always hated the water waste involved with brewing, and I really hated needing enough water to get things like my auto siphon and wine thief sanitized.
"Hey *******! Use a spray bottle!"
:smack: Why the heck didn't I think of that?

 

[RM-MN]

I love it when people strain out the cold break and hops to gain space in the fermenter. When my beer is done fermenting that cold break and hops have compacted down to such a small layer that gets covered by the yeast that I doubt it takes up more space than a cupful. Maybe I'm not using enough hops? Remember those packets of pelletized hops? Even though wetted, the hops don't take up much more space than those little packets.

 

[TexasWine]

I'm a "dump it all from the kettle to the bucket" kind of guy, so no filtering or straining here. And my beer is crystal clear. Though I do use a hop bag during the boil which catches a majority of the hop debris. I just pull it out when the boil is over.

As far as a why didn't I think of that moment. Not too long ago someone suggested using a large pitcher to transfer the hot wort from the kettle to the bucket rather than fumbling around with a heavy kettle full of boiling temp liquid. Doh! Finally used the pitcher method this weekend.

 

[Rev2010]

I love it when people strain out the cold break and hops to gain space in the fermenter.

I don't do it to gain space, I have plenty in my fermenters. I do it because I want to and it seems to make some sense to me. I don't think anyone here has yet said it's a necessary thing to do. Condescend much?


Rev.

 

[Safa]

I don't do it to gain space

....So his comment wasn't directed at you?

Touchy much?

 

[Rev2010]

Touchy much?

No. The only person that mentioned fermenter space in this thread is PricelessBrewing, and he said he doesn't do it anymore unless he puts a 5.5g batch into his 6g fermenter. Still don't see a reason to mock him for it.


Rev.

 

[kh54s10]

I tried straining the first few batches. WHAT A PITA!!!!!

Now everything goes into the fermenter. Gravity and careful straining takes care of the rest.

My beers compare favorably to any I have ever tried so I feel no need to go through the extra work.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Just dump it all into your fermentor. It does not affect clarity. If anything, the extra junk helps to clear the beer more than straining it out.

 

[brokebucket]

I strain my wort coming out of the kettle and in to the fermenter, but I do it for aeration, and the fact that my kettle would be a complete mess to dump....it would end up all over the side of the kettle (and my leg).

Awesome link though, Lando. That was a great little read!

 

[Devin]

I don't filter. As others have mentioned, I do a manual whirlpool after chilling and let it sit. I definitely get some trub and gunk in the fermenter, but from what I have read, that is a good thing for the beer in the end, as Lando pointed out.

 

[241]

I highly recommend whirlpooling. Once you do it, you will wonder why you didn't do it before.

 

[balrog]

I've never filtered anything. Back in the day I was known to dump the kettle into the fermenter, and there's a lot of evidence that says that's a good way to go. My beer always came out clear. Nowadays I do a "manual whirlpool" - I stir the crap out of the kettle after chilling until I get a big whirlpool going, then put the lid on and wait 15 minutes before siphoning into the fermenter, keeping the siphon at the edge of the kettle, away from the "cone of trub". It has the added benefit of aerating the wort. i get really clear wort into the fermenter that way.

Gaak. Another siphon step. Must. Get. Autosiphon.

My "why didn't I think of that?" idea was from someone here about squeezing the grain bag after mashing BIAB... Next time I'm going to put the bag in the little kettle, put the Homer bucket (lid on) inside the little kettle, and sit on it, putting my mass and the force of gravity to good use.

Behold the power of the a$$


I myself subscribe to the double screen strainer pictured previously, altho the article of Trubby vs NoTrubby is intriguing...

 

[Rev2010]

I myself subscribe to the double screen strainer pictured previously, altho the article of Trubby vs NoTrubby is intriguing...

I don't believe the double strainers we use filter out cold break. I only strain to remove the hop goop and adjuncts like the coriander used in my Wit's, I don't recall ever seeing clumps of cold break matter and I do still get a layer of compacted trub at the bottom of the fermenter. So I guess the question really is how much the hops make a difference in the fermenter vs. cold break trub. But Googling some more info about Cold Break it seems the general synopsis is so long as you rapidly cool your wort the cold break won't be able to re-precipitate back into the beer causing chill haze regardless if it's left in the kettle or not. But then we have the no-chill craze, are those no-chill brewers able to make clear beer? Seems in the world of brewing best or recommended practices are constantly changing to contradict earlier versions. All I know is I'm very happy with the beer I make so that's all that really matters.


Rev.

 

[ol-hazza]

I had one of those moments last night before i managed to get to sleep, and this just reminded me of it. Good work.

My idea, which I doubt is original (i feel like there should be some trumpets etc blowing)

is to bottle one soda bottle of beer along with my regular glass bottles so that i can give it a bit of a squeeze and keep track of carbonation, saving myself drinking under carbed beer when i'm being impatient.

 

[passedpawn]

I had one of those moments last night before i managed to get to sleep, and this just reminded me of it. Good work.

My idea, which I doubt is original (i feel like there should be some trumpets etc blowing)

is to bottle one soda bottle of beer along with my regular glass bottles so that i can give it a bit of a squeeze and keep track of carbonation, saving myself drinking under carbed beer when i'm being impatient.

Yep, that's been done lots before.

You could go the full monte though, like I did. Also not original, but not common for sure! Not hard to make.

 

[ol-hazza]

Glad to see that my thinking is on track.
Do you use the force carbonation calculator to see the relationship between psi and volumes of CO2?

 

[passedpawn]

Glad to see that my thinking is on track.
Do you use the force carbonation calculator to see the relationship between psi and volumes of CO2?

Yea. There's lots more info here: Pressure gauge mounted in bottle cap

 

[balrog]

Yea. There's lots more info here: Pressure gauge mounted in bottle cap

O

M

G

But it really begs the question: why isn't it wired to serve a publicly available website to monitor progress during a boring day at work?

 

[passedpawn]

O

M

G

But it really begs the question: why isn't it wired to serve a publicly available website to monitor progress during a boring day at work?

That is the room I work in. I can see it during my workday. No wires necessary.

 

[passedpawn]

Here's some things I did create that I thought were novel. Maybe it will give you all some ideas.

 

[EthanH]

Here's some things I did create that I thought were novel. Maybe it will give you all some ideas.

Great ideas. A few questions...

1. What's going on with the keg top in the first photo?
2. Did using the shredder for grain really work?
3. Don't I recall reading that you quit the pool-chilling method after a mishap?

 

[dkevinb]

Here's some things I did create that I thought were novel. Maybe it will give you all some ideas.

The bottling bucket with 2 spigots is a great idea. I'm going to have to try that.

 

[passedpawn]

Great ideas. A few questions...

1. What's going on with the keg top in the first photo?
2. Did using the shredder for grain really work?
3. Don't I recall reading that you quit the pool-chilling method after a mishap?

In order of your questions:

Simplest (?) Keggle Cutting Jig
Yes.
I now have a plate chiller and a pump, but I do still use the pool for the chilling water. Video .

 

[TexasWine]

But then we have the no-chill craze, are those no-chill brewers able to make clear beer?

Crystal clear. But I'm sure you already knew that. Was drinking my Pliny clone last night. No chill, dumped everything into the fermenter, and did primary only ferment. Went straight from primary to keg. It was incredibly clear.

 

[EthanH]

In order of your questions:

Simplest (?) Keggle Cutting Jig
Yes.
I now have a plate chiller and a pump, but I do still use the pool for the chilling water.

Thanks for the responses. Again, interesting ideas.

I wish I had some ideas of my own to contribute, but I'm pretty sure HBT is where all my ideas came from.

 

[ol-hazza]

Ok so my next genius idea is on a lower level than what you guys are dealing with, but managed halve my chilling time give or take. I used to use a swamp cooler, then upgraded to copper immersion.

What took me far too long to figure out was that they can be combined, and have the exit water running into the swamp cooler (once it has cooled down a bit), works a charm.

Bet im not the only person to have ever done it though.

 

[Safa]

Build a second copper coil and put that in the cooler full of ice water upstream of your wort. Saw a guy do that and he cooled 10 gallons like it was nothing.

 

[mikeprooo]

my aha moment was after I was tired of searching for a way to hook my chiller to the faucet. Its a newer style and couldnt find the fittings. I went to lowes and got a submersible pond pump, hooks right up to the chiller and i put it in a bucket of ice water or the left side of my double sink. Works awesome!

 

[BR_]

I used a screened funnel for a bit but it clogged often. I've since stopped filtering but started wondering if I could use my brew bag as a filter ... It's pretty fine. Anyone doing that?

 

[redwing_al]

Friday I used a piece of gutter I had laying around to redirect water from my chiller into our basement sump system... It was awesome!

 

[ol-hazza]

I used a screened funnel for a bit but it clogged often. I've since stopped filtering but started wondering if I could use my brew bag as a filter ... It's pretty fine. Anyone doing that?

Yeh i did that once. It was just too fine and it took a long while to get the wort through, having to scrape away with the spoon to help it, and with no noticable positive effect on the end result

 

[Oberon67]

From now on, I'm using a strainer to keep that stuff out of the fermenter and will take at least one attempt to remove it.. I'm not wasting my yeasties on that stuff! When did I miss this little trick?! Does anyone else strain that stuff?

Careful... you might fall into your equipment and strain yourself...

 

[BandonBrewingCo]

If you live in a snowy area, 15 mins before end of boil, fill a bucket with spigot with snow/ice.
Use normal tapwater for the first 15L or so, this is your hot water for cleaning
As the next few liters come out, create ice cold water with the snow/ice
When the tapwater is no longer killing the wort temp, your ice water bucket is now feeding your chiller.

Saves water, creates hot water and cools your water pretty, pretty, prettay fast