What to do post-boil?

[moto748]

Reading several threads lately about attempts to install a whirlpool system of some sort, along with the envy I always feel when I see these pix of posters' beautifully clear wort sitting a hydrometer jar got me thinking.

I have no whirlpool, and my wort is generally pretty cloudy, although I never saw that as a big problem. But my practice has always been to open the tap in the boiler and empty it into the FV (plastic bucket) as soon as the boil is finished. And it may well be that it did that partly to actually get most of the sediment out of the boiler, to facilitate boiler cleaning.

Would I be better off to just give the wort a good stir at the end of the boil, and then leave it for half an hour or so before draining it into the FV? And it also struck me that if there was any hop-stand to be done, why couldn't I incorporate that at that stage, and do that in the boiler too? The idea being to leave more of the hop debris etc behind in the boiler.

Sorry if this all sounds like very obvious stuff, but I am just trying to refine my technique.

 

[Nottsbeer]

I pretty much do as you are thinking...leave post boil for 15-30 mins to let anything that can to settle then open the tap. I try to leave as much trub behind but always end up tipping the boiler slightly to get as much wort as possible, thus inevitably get some gunk, but not much. As you say, it's also a perfect time for a hop stand.

Do you use a hop spider/bag to reduce gunk in your boiler? I have a spider which works great for me and is no hassle to clean. Obviously, if you ever get to use hop leaves, these are great for sifting out gunk after the boil, tho maybe you need a bazooka for that?

I think my wort if clear, but not as clear as those I've seen here. Happily all have cleared up nicely by the time I drink them

 

[moto748]

Thanks, Notts, you are confirming my thinking there. I don't know why this didn't occur to me earlier, really. I just bug my hops into bags. I have a range of different types of bags, made of different materials. By default, most hops I buy seem to be pellets these days, I suppose retailers find them more convenient.

 

[Nottsbeer]

I stopped brewing around 2001 when everything was leaf. When I started again this year I was like...what's happened to my hops . My local shop only sells pellets....one day I'll buy some leaves again with an online order.

 

[An Ankoù]

I stopped brewing around 2001 when everything was leaf. When I started again this year I was like...what's happened to my hops . My local shop only sells pellets....one day I'll buy some leaves again with an online order.

Pellets have their place and I'm sure they're great for commercial brewers. They're also more stable in storage. But, by and large, we don't operate at commercial volumes and, in my opinion, they produce a lot of waste. I've gone back to buying leaf for my go to hops: fuggles, goldings, magnum, even cascade as they provide a filter bed and you can add the late hops as pellets and then sparge the hop bed if you brew a bit short. When I have to use pellets throughout, I always contain them in fine-mesh bags. The late hops go in in a cut of leg from a pair of tights! As for whirlpools, on a large scale, I'm sure they work, but I with a 25 litre batch, I not prepared to leave two or three litres behind.

 

[marshbrewer]

Post boil I'll;

• chill
• create a whirlpool with a big sanitised spoon
• leave for 30mins to an hour

I end up with really clear work going into the FV. For some recipes, I pause the chill around 75° C for a hopstand.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

I always leave my wort for a couple of hours to settle before emptying into my FV.

I also use leaf hops. I use pellet only when I can’t get leaf and when doing a late dry hop (where oxygen caught between leaves could spoil the beer).

I also recirculate through the mash, this helps clear the wort too.

 

[ColinGee]

I always use whole-leaf hops in a hop spider, 1/2 protafloc @10mins.

Post-boil I create a strong whirlpool with a spoon then let stand for 20-30 mins. I chill using a counterflow so the wort is always full temp at this point.

My wort out of the kettle is always very clear. I even empty the majority of the remainder into a large jug to let it settle then skim whatever clear wort I can get.

I always get great separation of the solids from the wort. Not sure what specifically that's down to; good hot break, use of protafloc, but I'm sure not using pellets is a key factor.

 

[Tanglefoot]

Post boil I remove hop spider, leave the pan to cool ( usually afternoon by this point and take dogs for a walk ) before a hopstand at 80c.
Stand for an hour then cool to pitch temp with wort chiller.
I pour it via via the pan tap from a table to an fv on the floor to aerate it, straining through a grain bag to catch any hop debris.
I complete empty the pan and cold crashing seems to take care of any remaining trub.

 

[Awfers]

What sort of kettle do you have?

I use a coiled wort chiller. Once the beer is at pitching temp, I swirl it around to create a make-shift whirlpool and remove the chiller to let the wort "spin" in the kettle. This creates a nice pile of hot break and hops in the center of the kettle, with most of it remaining behind when I drain in to the fermeter.

 

[moto748]

Some very helpful comments, which only serve to confirm what I had thought. It seems so obvious, I don't know why I didn't think of it before.

Anyway, I am putting this into operation with the brew I'm making today. Hopstand bag has gone in, a good stir, and leave. Will do this a couple of times. Then to decant into FV, hopefully with a lot less gunge!

I don't chill, so the pitching will wait until tomorrow.

 

[moto748]

Of all the hops I have, and that's a fair few now, only one (1) is leaf, rather than pellet. I don't think shops want to stock leaf. I suppose if I really needed it, I'd have to go for mail order. But even if you do that, you see "2020 harvest", which never seems good to me,

 

[moto748]

I even empty the majority of the remainder into a large jug to let it settle then skim whatever clear wort I can get.

I've done this too. But I'm still throwing away a fair amount that used to go into the FV. Doesn't mean I'll end up with *that* much less beer, though, cos hopefully losses will be less. But ATEOTD, of course, I'm ending up less in my bucket than usual.

Clarity over quantity!

 

[Alastair70]

The Brülosophy exBeeriments suggest that kettle trub actually helps fermentation and clarity. German Pils write up here.
I‘m more concerned about the GF filter getting clogged during final transfer than what actually ends up in the fermenter. That’s going to get cold crashed and probably fined anyway once fermentation finishes. I give everything a good swirl and leave for 15 minutes before final transfer to make sure that part of the process is as painless as possible.

 

[moto748]

I actually poured a small amount of trub back in, but I've certainly left the vast majority of it behind, compared to previously.

 

[moto748]

It's all good!



Much clearer than usual, good gravity too! In fact I added a bit more water after that.

Like I said, ending up with less in the bucket, but more of that 'usable', I suppose. In theory I suppose BHE has got a bit worse, but not in practice. I'm not comparing like with like relative to earlier brews of 15 litres (say) in the bucket, but an inch and a half of trub in the bottom.

Anyway, target FG is much more important than volume in my book. If I can meet the target FG, or possibly even get slightly over it, opening up the option of added more water if I want, that's the main thing for me.