Are you a skimmer ?

[PD]

In all grain brewing one of the most impressive sights is the brew approaching the boil point.
Just before those big rolling bubbles break through the surface foam and the brew appears to be trembling with anticipation....
However that scum seems to be a bit of a problem and I've been wondering if it effects the clarity of my resulting beers.
So on the last few brews I've become a skimmer.
As the boil approaches the surface of the beer is covered with a white and brown creamy foam, very pretty to look at. but as far as I can make out its composed of all the debris from the mash, from the grains etc held in a suspension of bubbles. If left it will eventually fall back into the brew and should be carried through to the fermenter where after fermentation it should drop to the bottom out of harms way.
I've got myself a slotted stainless steel spoon from Morrisons and as the boil approaches I've been taking this scum off and dumping it into a bowl. Its quite thick and a few minutes of careful skimming across the surface removes it all.
The brews I have done this to so far appear to be cleaner and brighter when being served, whether its my imagination or not I'm not sure but I am leaning towards the side of its doing good, so I will continue to skim the surface off.

Anyone else do this ? or do you rely on it falling out during fermentation ?

 

[RobWalker]

i'm not, but it was once the norm. i do intend to make some bread with it one day.

edit: thought you meant the krauzen. go away, i'm tired. bah.

 

[jonnymorris]

I've thought about it but not bothered. The hope is that most is caught in the hops/filter when draining the boiler.

 

[rpt]

I've only done 2 AG brews and I really noticed the scum on the second. I also noticed the amount of crud left with the hops at the bottom of the boiler so I assumed that was where the scum went. I'll have to wait and see how clear the beer is.

 

[calumscott]

One of the more interesting nuggets I came away with from the Hooky brewery tour was the concept of skimming.

1. They don't in the copper.
2. They do at the start of fermentation before they start to top crop the yeast for the next brew.

And they do it because there is a LOT of crap that makes it out of the mashtun into the boiler and on to the fermenters. It all gets lifted to the top as the brew settles, and the fella tells me that it's bits of grain that made it through the false bottom, hops that made it through the hopback etc etc that they didn't want hanging around. As it could have an effect on consistency or introduce astringent off-flavours.

From that I took:

1. They boil all the post mash stuff up so skimming the copper is pointless.
2. I never get any post mash "bits" doing BIAB so I don't worry about that making it to FV.
3. Do I care if hops make it through the filter into FV? No, infact I'm likely to add more!!

I can't see me starting to skim. Although the scum you get on Aleman's Effin Oatmeal Stout is impressive! :lol:

 

[Hirsty]

What would be easier and safer for you is to whirlpool at the end. The trub and hop debris will collect in the middle and bottom of the kettle and thus not be drag into your bottle/cask. To whirlpool, simply just stir with your sterile spoon.

 

[keith1664]

I don't think there's any particular reason for it other than not wanting all that crud in my beer... but I'm a skimmer.

 

[tommillski]

One of the more interesting nuggets I came away with from the Hooky brewery tour was the concept of skimming.

1. They don't in the copper.
2. They do at the start of fermentation before they start to top crop the yeast for the next brew.

And they do it because there is a LOT of crap that makes it out of the mashtun into the boiler and on to the fermenters. It all gets lifted to the top as the brew settles, and the fella tells me that it's bits of grain that made it through the false bottom, hops that made it through the hopback etc etc that they didn't want hanging around. As it could have an effect on consistency or introduce astringent off-flavours.

From that I took:

1. They boil all the post mash stuff up so skimming the copper is pointless.
2. I never get any post mash "bits" doing BIAB so I don't worry about that making it to FV.
3. Do I care if hops make it through the filter into FV? No, infact I'm likely to add more!!

I can't see me starting to skim. Although the scum you get on Aleman's Effin Oatmeal Stout is impressive! :lol:

I did the tour this weekend just gone and also found this really interesting! I'm certainly going to look out for the crud in the fermenter for my next brew

 

[shuggie159]

A while back I had a senior moment. I got myself really confused re: brewlength / boil duration etc. and having boiled the beer (and skimmed it) and cooled it, I then decided that I hadn't hit my OG and that I would need to reduce the volume, so I boiled it again. Yup you've guessed it; I got all the foam before boil again, so I decided that skimming made no sense. I'm done with that one!

 

[the complete angler]

I made my 3rd AG brew last weekend which was a dark beer and there was a huge brown foamy head as the wort approached boiling point so I skimmed it all off, I opened the FV this morning to take a gravity reading and the beer inside was much clearer than the 2 previous brews, so I think I shall continue to skim all my brews in the future

Mike

 

[fbsf]

I've done both - skimmed and not skimmed, and I can honestly say it doesn't seem to make a jot of difference to how my brews turn out!

 

[PD]

Its the mocha / brown colored scum I'm referring to that's on the surface just prior to the boil.
Its a thicker consistency than the white bubbly scum, I presume because its got more detritus mixed in with it.

Also for those boiling " on the edge " i.e. those who's boilers are nearly filled to the top with the beer, skimming means that you will be present and paying attention at the most critical of times, and will be in a position to avoid " boil overs " more easily.
Being there and having a small spray bottle of cold water can stop an awful lot of mess in your brewery.... :thumb:

Whether it makes any great deal of difference to the clarity of the beer, more trials are needed. But it only takes a couple of minutes to do and it can't do any harm......can it. ?

 

[graysalchemy]

I have never skimmed I find that after half an hour it has gone. I always assumed that this material formed the hot break nad subsequently came out in the cold break. I have taken to skimming my yeast so as to remove the dirty brown scum before top cropping the yeast. I also drop the beer into a secondary after a week so removing the trub.

Having said all that I don't know if my beer is any better for doing it.................................... I can't remember what my old brews tasted like :lol: :lol:

 

[graysalchemy]

Its the mocha / brown colored scum I'm referring to that's on the surface just prior to the boil.
[/i] ?

Because i put my hops in before the boil starts (First Wort Hopping) all I get at the beginning is all the hops so any scum that there is is mixed in with the hops. :thumb: