Letting beer settle before pitching yeast

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I always rest my cooled wort before transferring to the fermenter to let the cold-break settle out, always have.

It doesn’t necessarily produce clearer beer (there are many factors at work here) but I’ve always felt it wrong to put crap in with the good stuff. For the same reason I always skim off the hot break too.

 

[The Baron]

The reason I use it is for IPA's as most have a fruity flavour you also do not get off flavours and the yeast does not need to clean up so it also speeds up the whole process.
Using it at lower temps so that it does no throw a fruity flavour/or hardly on Pale ales and blondes that have a little fruity flavour but not in bitters and ales.
I do not have full temp control i.e a fridge with inkbird so it is good at room temps again no risk of off flavours whereas other normal yeasts if room temp is high say in the summer can throw off flavours

 

[Buffers brewery]

It's a bit left field, but talking about beer clarity and clear in clear out, I couldn't help but notice the difference in the wort and subsequent beer appearance in an NEIPA that I'm currently brewing.

This is the wort as it went in to the fermentation bucket. Not clear but not opaque.

This is the fermented beer after a week fermenting.
Yes, it's had a shed load of dry hops added but I'm not convinced that's the sole reason for the dramatic colour and opacity change. There's some additional bio-chemical reaction going on that I don't know or understand.
My point is that I think beer clarity is more to do with the fermentation process than the clarity of the original wort.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

It's a bit left field, but talking about beer clarity and clear in clear out, I couldn't help but notice the difference in the wort and subsequent beer appearance in an NEIPA that I'm currently brewing.
View attachment 82986
This is the wort as it went in to the fermentation bucket. Not clear but not opaque.
View attachment 82985
This is the fermented beer after a week fermenting.
Yes, it's had a shed load of dry hops added but I'm not convinced that's the sole reason for the dramatic colour and opacity change. There's some additional bio-chemical reaction going on that I don't know or understand.
My point is that I think beer clarity is more to do with the fermentation process than the clarity of the original wort.

There are several causes of haze but in a beer like this it’s almost all from polyphenols in the dry hop addition(s) binding with the proteins from the grain. A big dry hop addition will give you a mountain of polyphenols and if you’ve used adjuncts, especially unmalted oats you already have a shedload of proteins in the wort looking to make friends.

 

[Buffers brewery]

There are several causes of haze but in a beer like this it’s almost all from polyphenols in the dry hop addition(s) binding with the proteins from the grain. A big dry hop addition will give you a mountain of polyphenols and if you’ve used adjuncts, especially unmalted oats you already have a shedload of proteins in the wort looking to make friends.

Thanks for the explanation. Always wondered what was going on during the fermentation process to cause such a dramatic change in appearance. Cheers @Hazelwood Brewery

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

I use half a Protofloc ten minutes before the end of the boil and after chilling to 20 degrees leave it to settle for about an hour. (Almost) All the crap drops to the bottom and only clear wort goes into the fermenter. I use a Brewzilla 35l with the false bottom removed else you end up pulling the wort through the crap that has settled on top of it.
The only time I don’t rack clear wort is when using Kveik yeast because If you only chill the wort to 40 degrees the Protofloc doesn’t seem to work as well and a lot of “stuff” is left in suspension instead of dropping out like it does at 20 degrees.
Picture below is wort from the Kettle after chilling to 20 degrees and leaving to settle for an hour.

 

[MashBag]

I agree IME beer clarity is more to do with a good the fermentation process than just the clarity of the original wort. SOME trub also provides nutrition and certainly in wine making there is much benefit to be had by leaving it on the lees (dead yeast) for a while.

 

[crescent city Mike]

There are a lot of yeast nutrients in that trub. Some needs to be carried over into the fermenter but just how much?, I really don't know.

 

[BrewingSolutions]

Similar system here, but no prefermenter. I use a conical, and let the wort settle for a short while before dropping the cold break off the bottom, then pitching.

 

[Agentgonzo]

Similar system here, but no prefermenter. I use a conical, and let the wort settle for a short while before dropping the cold break off the bottom, then pitching.

Interesting. Do you have a transparent conical? I have a stainless steel one so am tempted to try it on a brew. But with a stainless one, I have no idea how much to dump from the bottom valve without wasting wort

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Thanks for the explanation. Always wondered what was going on during the fermentation process to cause such a dramatic change in appearance. Cheers @Hazelwood Brewery

You've also got more yeast cells suspended in the ferment along with the hop matter.

Your wort pre pitching has no yeast cells and becomes cloudier, much like starters can start clear and then become opaque even though they aren't dry hopped.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Interesting. Do you have a transparent conical? I have a stainless steel one so am tempted to try it on a brew. But with a stainless one, I have no idea how much to dump from the bottom valve without wasting wort

I have transparent conical and the amount of cold break that gets over does vary from beer to beer. I do let everything stand post whirlpool before transfer to minimise the amount transferred.

But I don't bother dropping it out as the yeast seems to munch up the cold break that gets across and I can still get clear beer if needed.

 

[BrewingSolutions]

Interesting. Do you have a transparent conical? I have a stainless steel one so am tempted to try it on a brew. But with a stainless one, I have no idea how much to dump from the bottom valve without wasting wort

Translucent. It's a fast ferment.

 

[sifty]

Yeah I whirlfloc but bung everything (bar the real sludge on the bottom) into the fermenter straight after cooling. It all gets stirred up during active fermentation, and cold crashing drops it out. Then I siphon into a bottling bucket, leaving all solids behind. I'm not actively chasing clarity but seems pretty good usually, especially if I add gelatine a day into cold crashing.

Have wondered about the pros and cons with this method. I'm sure leaving the break in the kettle would improve clarity but also wonder if there's benefits in flavour/yeast nutrients when leaving it in...

Incidentally, I used to get chill haze, but better temp control seems to have solved that...

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Incidentally, I used to get chill haze, but better temp control seems to have solved that...

Yes drinking the beer warm does sort that out!

 

[MashBag]

I overnight chill. Then gently open the tap and leave 99% of the trub behind.
No cold crash either.
No issues.

 

[The Baron]

I whirlpool then allow to stand for 30 mins or so to allow most of the trub to settle then I get a reasonably clear wort into the FV. I have never had a chill haze problem with this or no chill method so to me clean in clean out(even though there will still be some slight trub in suspension)
I also protofloc with 1/3rd to 21ltr of a tablet I am sure I have read that too much prot/whilfloc can cause issues?

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

I used to crush my protafloc and weigh a third or a half but now I can't bothered and just chuck a whole one in

I guess it's getting left in the bottom of my pre-fermenter anyway so probably doesn't matter. Happy to be corrected if anyone knows better.

 

[MashBag]

I am reasonably sure chill haze is protein based and nothing to do with %trub.
Clean (enough) in clean out holds together for me.

 

[The Baron]

I would think that the proteins are still wort bound so yes you are probably right to a certain degree as the proteins have to be removed and the proteins if treated with whirlfloc etc should be dragged down to the bottom with all the other crap hence the time to settle out before transfer. If not a good dose of Gelatine will help to drag the remaining proteins down