cooling wort - hot and cold breaks....!?

[mak]

Just noticed this on art of brewing site:

The forced cooling also has the further advantage of producing a "cold break" where more protein is precipitated leading to a cleaner taste in the finished beer. Please note it is important to have run off the wort via a BRUPAKS HOP STRAINER before using this wort chiller otherwise you will put all the proteins, coagulated during the "hot break", back into solution.

I think this is saying not to cool in the boiler but to transfer this first into a FV leaving the hops behind? I don't do that, I just cool in the boiler and then run into the FV. Should I be putting into the FV first?

 

[Dieseljockey]

At the end of a boil I open the valve and run the wort into a FV to cool.

 

[Swazi]

Hmmm, that's news to me. I've always used my immersion chiller in the boiler and only run the wort off once it was cooled. Not had a problem with my brews. It seems an experiment is now on the cards...

 

[31bb3]

I always cooled on the boiler for the proteins to collagulate and get trapped by the hops and filter now I have the plate chiller I have to run it straight through the chiller into fv then drop the wort off the break material once settled

 

[Loetz]

Hmmm, that's news to me. I've always used my immersion chiller in the boiler and only run the wort off once it was cooled. Not had a problem with my brews.

I think that this is standard procedure. I'm not sure where Brupacks gets that.

 

[oldjiver]

I leave my brew to settle in the boiler and when the hot break has all dropped into the hops (about 1 hour)I run into the FV. I cool the FV in the sink or bath, and pitch as soon as possible. It appears completely clear but I find I get a big wad of cold break floating to the surface with the first yeast action. I lift this out with my big nylon strainer, and leave to ferment as usual. My beer is glass clear.

 

[Loetz]

I leave my brew to settle in the boiler and when the hot break has all dropped into the hops (about 1 hour).

What is your wort's temperature an hour after boiling? I'm really paranoid about minimizing the time between boiling and pitching my yeast, but maybe I shouldn't be.

 

[PD]

On flame out I add any aroma hops required and switch on the immersion chiller for 45 mins to an hour. Remove the chiller, put lid on boiler and leave for one hour approx, everything drops to bottom and when drained to fermenter the drowned hops and bazooka screen help filter the break material out and most is left behind. My wort is mixed vigorously then and at this time its usually cool enough for yeast to be pitched.....Not had any problems with that yet. Perhaps a little break material gets through but it drops to bottom during fermentation with all the other crap and is left behind when I rack to second FV
Nice clear beer.

 

[oldjiver]

I leave my brew to settle in the boiler and when the hot break has all dropped into the hops (about 1 hour).

What is your wort's temperature an hour after boiling? I'm really paranoid about minimizing the time between boiling and pitching my yeast, but maybe I shouldn't be.

It doesnt drop that much, just enough to stop the thermals moving the hot break around. I cool in the sink in about an hour, and pitch. So 2 hours total. I understand that "bad" oxydization occurs above 80c and good oxydization below that, (Palmer) so there is good reason to cool quickly, but I have never had any problems, and never used a cooler. I did try ice in a bag once, but having read about the amount you need for effective cooling I gave up!

 

[PD]

Within the hour I get from boiling to around 30C.
Leave it another hour. drain it into fermenter with a long drop, plenty of vigorous mixing and the temp is then fine for pitching.
I've never minded pitching yeast when temps are around 26C as long as its going down....

 

[Loetz]

You guys are probably doing it right. I imagine that I'm just being paranoid.

 

[mak]

Interesting stuff... so DJ you don't use a cooler at all?

PD I think I will try the one hour rest after cooling. Sounds a good idea.

 

[boozy_shoes]

I tried an experiment along these lines last time I brewed.

Up until this one I always:
Drained the boiler straight after the boil and had 2L pop bottles full of ice waiting in the FV to pour the hot wort onto then left to cool before using a paint mixer on a drill to aerate and then pitching.

This one I:
Put the ice bottles in the boiler straight after the boil, left to cool down then using the height of the kitchen worktop, drained the cold boiler into a FV on the floor to try and acheive the aeration before pitching.

I can't comment yet on any differences as the beer is in secondary at the moment but I'll write up any findings if there are any. There was never anything wrong with how I did it before and I was always making nice clear beer; but I'd just seen one too many immersion chillers in boilers rather than FV's and it got me thinking.

Isn't a bit of break material meant to be good in the FV as it intially acts as a yeast nutrient??

 

[oldjiver]

Interesting stuff... so DJ you don't use a cooler at all?

PD I think I will try the one hour rest after cooling. Sounds a good idea.

(Do you mean OJ?)
No, I used to make just 10 litre brews in a large pan that went directly into the sink with a running tap, so I didnt use a cooler then. Now I make larger brews in my 23 litre boiler, that wont go in the sink. So rather than drain into the FV and have to rack again I let it settle in the boiler and get clear wort after an hour which I cool in the FV which does fit in the sink. Works well for me.

 

[fbsf]

I think he meant DieselJockey...

 

[mak]

Yes I did but thanks OJ :thumb:

 

[oldjiver]

Yes I did but thanks OJ :thumb:

Thats OK "M"