Punk IPA (advise needed please)

[Meza]

@SteveH

One thing that seems to happen with small batch brewing is there's a lot of trub loss (about 20%). For some reason I am not aware of, as you go to a larger brew length the trub loss lessens. You'd think that it would stay the same (proportionally).

Anyway, here's how I get around it.

I make up my reciepe for 12L, how ever I make my brewlength up to only 10L. So I have created a concentrated wort. After the boil I put my near boiling wort (after first straining the hops out with a seive) into 2x5L FV's and cover them with cling film held on with an elastic band. I then leave the wort to cool overnight (no chill).
The following day all the protein matter will have fallen to the bottom of the 2x5L FV's. I then decant the wort off the protein matter into a 10L FV, giving me about 8L concentrated in the 10L FV. I then top up to 10L giving me my target OG. I then only have a small about of trub in the final beer, losing only about 200ml or so.

Interesting technique. How do you get the wort out of the 5l containers?

 

[MyQul]

Interesting technique. How do you get the wort out of the 5l containers?

Their like small FV's (buckets) rather than jerry can/water bottle/demi john shape. So its pretty simple to pour/decant the wort out of them and off the protien matter

I got them from here

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Plastic-...u4yXKqU6diyd-Dy8w:rk:30:pf:0&var=650547896373

 

[Meza]

Nice. I saw someone talk about brewing in trade yoghurt tubs, probably the same thing. Easy to put an airlock in the top?

 

[MyQul]

Nice. I saw someone talk about brewing in trade yoghurt tubs, probably the same thing. Easy to put an airlock in the top?

I've never used an airlock I just sanitise some cling film with star san then cover the FV with it and make sure it's held on with an elastic band

 

[Drunkula]

I consistently get 79% efficiency doing brew in a bag and I've got jaff all equipment, just pans and buckets. One day I forgot to heat sparge water and just did it cold which made squeezing the grain easier. Efficiency loss: none. I found an experiment online where they did the same thing and got the same result. You still have to heat the water in the boil so you're not really pulling a fast one on the system but if you do forget then don't worry. I've even dunk sparged and swirled the grain about with my hand with cold water. That was actually less faff than a sprinkly trickle sparge.

 

[Ghillie]

One day I forgot to heat sparge water and just did it cold which made squeezing the grain easier. Efficiency loss: none.

Cold water sparger here too. Wouldn't change it!

 

[prog99]

Cold water sparger here too. Wouldn't change it!

An array of kettles & pans ready to go at random temperatures here. Seems to work.

 

[Ghillie]

An array of kettles & pans ready to go at random temperatures here. Seems to work.

I'm certain that hot water sparging is only important for the big boys.

For an idiot in the garage with 25L of wort, cold water will do me just fine!

 

[prog99]

I'm certain that hot water sparging is only important for the big boys.

For an idiot in the garage with 25L of wort, cold water will do me just fine!

Good write up here - https://brulosophy.com/2016/04/11/sparge-temperature-pt-1-standard-vs-cool-exbeeriment-results/ lots of other good reads on the site too.

 

[Ghillie]

Good write up here - https://brulosophy.com/2016/04/11/sparge-temperature-pt-1-standard-vs-cool-exbeeriment-results/ lots of other good reads on the site too.

Yeah that's what I made my decision from. Great write ups and no bias for old/traditional ways of doing things. If it's easier and gives the same results, this guy does it!

 

[Matt Loves Beer]

Hi All,

OK, so I've got a couple of updates for you.

I've bottled up the first batch and I think it will come out at 3.9% which I'm happy with. It tasted great too. Can't wait to try the finished product.

Then I decided to do a new batch. The things I changed are:

1. Increased the grain from 1.06kg to 2kg.
2. Reduced the water down 1lt down to 10lt (mash with 6 / sparge with 4)
3. Made a mistake by mashing in with water at 77 degree (I let it cool to 68 before wrapping up and the temp at the end was 63 degrees)
4. Remembered to add the protofloc at 15mins to go

Please see pictures of the demijohn, it doesn't look great. What did I do wrong? Defiantly wasn't enough water used IMO. It so dark as well compared with the last batch.

Any help would be great.

Thanks in advance.

Matt

 

[Ghillie]

Hrm... That's a serious amount of trub, hop debris or whatever?

I lose 2 litres to trub in a 23L FV. That's just under 9% and I put EVERYTHING from the boil kettle into the FV. Your demijohn looks like you have about 40% beer and 60% trub!?

 

[Matt Loves Beer]

This morning it's actually settled down to probably half of that.

 

[Drunkula]

This morning it's actually settled down to probably half of that.

I've had a few beers like that. They've still dropped bright. Some I've had to add water to in the bottling bucket to make up the volume. I reckon it'll compact even more as it goes on.

 

[prog99]

I'd not worry too much yet. My last one looked far worse than that and after fermentation finished it dropped out to around 2cm of densely packed sediment in the fermenter. Its now clearing quite nicely in the shed.

 

[matt76]

What did I do wrong?

Matt

Next time use a plastic (i.e. opaque) FV - out of sight, out of mind

 

[matt76]

Please see pictures of the demijohn, it doesn't look great. What did I do wrong?

Any help would be great.

Thanks in advance.

Matt

What was the outcome of this in the end? Did the trub compact down eventually?

Now I'm finding my feet a bit, I've certainly noticed in my last couple of brews there a lot of this "stuff" in suspension but even just overnight it settles down to 2-3cm at the bottom of the FV.

Assuming this batch must be ready to bottle by now, if you haven't already - best of luck with it

 

[Matt Loves Beer]

Hi there, sorry for the late reply.

The turn compacted right down and I probably only lost one bottle. So I got 8 bottles out of it in the end. It was nice beer but very alcoholic! I messed up and forgot to take a reading at the start but it tasted like 8 - 9%ish.

I think for the next one I’ll meet in the middle somewhere.