Trub hanging in middle of kettle

[MattHudds]

Hello,

The other day I brewed a 10l stovetop batch, and remembered the Britewort at 10 mins this time.

The proteins seemed to clump together really nicely. However, when cooled, and I went to syphon into my FV, this material was just kind of hanging around in the middle of the kettle. I tried to avoid it with the autosyphon, but still got a load in, so then ended up cutting my losses and dumping the lot into the FV.

Is this normal, and are there any tips for when this happens? The last brew I made (where I actually forgot the Britewort) settled really nicely during cooling and I got a really clear wort into FV.

 

[Brewnaldo]

Hello,

The other day I brewed a 10l stovetop batch, and remembered the Britewort at 10 mins this time.

The proteins seemed to clump together really nicely. However, when cooled, and I went to syphon into my FV, this material was just kind of hanging around in the middle of the kettle. I tried to avoid it with the autosyphon, but still got a load in, so then ended up cutting my losses and dumping the lot into the FV.

Is this normal, and are there any tips for when this happens? The last brew I made (where I actually forgot the Britewort) settled really nicely during cooling and I got a really clear wort into FV.

Only really posting to say im really interested if theres any insight to this. It happens to me frequently and does my head in because I am looking at crystal clear wort, layered with absolute nonsense that I cant avoid via syphon or tap.

 

[smcc]

did you try to whirlpool it this will usually help drag it down and form a cone in the middle of the kettle. Alternatively you could put a fine mesh seive sanitised on top of the fermenter to catch anything this has the additional benefit of extra aeration going into the FV.

 

[matt76]

@MattHudds these are small fluffy particles right?

This is just the hot and/or cold break proteins coagulating

In my experience it won't hurt the beer if you literally up end the kettle and pour the lot into the FV - that's what I used to do in my early days.

Now there are arguments about clearer beer in your glass starts with clearer wort in the FV. Also all that trub in the FV is a massive pain if you want to harvest the yeast. I also found I was getting a lot of crud (not just yeast) in my bottles.

For all the talk of whirlpooling and getting this cone of crud at the bottom of the kettle, all I can say is it's it's never worked for me!

What I do now is one I've chilled the wort I leave the kettle (lid on!) on the kitchen side - 1 hour might be enough, I usually wait 2, 3 or 4 hours. Over time, all that crud - break material and hops -will settle to the bottom.

Once you're ready you can carefully and gently syphon (or even pour very gently) the crystal clear wort off the top and into your FV.

I also do 10L-ish batches and I consider every drop precious - so I then collect the crud in sanitised bottles (1 X 5L or 2 x 2L) and put them in the fridge to settle out for a day or two. Then I gently pour the clear wort into the FV to top up, usually getting an extra 1-2L in the FV.

As long as everything is properly sanitised (which it should be anyway) then there shouldn't be any significant risk of infection - I've never had an issue.

I've been doing it this way for 18-24 months, including when I used to do it in a pot on the kitchen hob. Only difference nowadays is I have an electric all in one system with a tap at the bottom. Magically the crud always seems to settle just below the level of the tap!

 

[MattHudds]

Great, thanks for the replies. Yep, it's the fluffy stuff! Next time I'll perhaps try both a bit of a whirlpool and waiting a little longer before transferring to FV. I gave it an hour this time, but probably just need more patience.

I did actually do the santised 2l bottle in the fridge for a few days on my last brew which got me another litre, but this time I already had so much fluff in the FV I didn't bother!