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From Kettle to Fermentor?

Post #1 made 10 years ago
by the-erl
I've so far got about 6 BIAB's under my belt and I'm loving the whole process but along with a few other questions, for another time and thread, when it comes to moving the wort from the kettle to the FV I have a few issues :scratch: .
I haven't got an immersion chiller so I use my bath and sit my 50ltr stock pot in a cold bath, changing the water about 3 times, to get the wort to pitching temp, this probably takes about 45 mins ish.
I've tried a couple of ways of transferring to my FV; pouring through a sieve - this takes forever when you get to about 3/4 of the way through as the trub builds up on the sieve. I now use a auto-siphon which is quite good but still there is a lot of trub left with plenty of wort, so still end up using the sieve method.
I suppose I'm interested how others carry out this process and if there are any tips or better ways to do it using better trub management?
Would an immersion chiller help?
Any tips would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

erl :drink:

Post #2 made 10 years ago
by Dski
I know quite a few BIABers are proponents of no-chill. The rationale being that you don't really need to cool you beer down in a hurry to get the best results. Plenty of threads about it here, and I'm sure more experienced no-chillers (ahem Bob?) will chime in.

I can't speak for the transfer, as I just use the tap on my urn and a silicone hose. Is the excess trub in the wort transfer negatively effecting your results? It should settle out pretty well, and it's know to be a yeast nutrient. Sieving could be more trouble than it's worth.

Just my 2c...

Cheers!
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Post #3 made 10 years ago
by Lylo
Don't sweat the trub carrying over with the autosyphon it wont hurt anything. Many here actually just pour the whole kettle into the fermentor and let the trub settle out there.
AWOL

Post #4 made 10 years ago
by 2trout
The-Erl,

I feel that you really dont need to sweat the trub. I find that it does not hurt anything. But here are some trub management techniques for you.

1. During the boil, skim off the "hot break" that forms just after the hard boil starts.

2. Use a fining agent such as whirl-floc, or Irish Moss near the end of your boil. Irish Moss at 10 min left I think, and Whirl-floc at 5 min left I think. These products attract particles and help them to precipitate out of the wort and settle out to the bottom of the kettle.

3. Use the "whirlpool" technique. This is a simple process where you stir the wort into a whirlpool while cooling the wort. Keep the whirpool going for 10 min plus. This moves those particles of stuff attracted by the Irish Moss into a cone of sorts into the center of the kettle away from where your auto-siphon should be. After the 10 min whirlpool, if you let this sit for a bit the trub can settle quite well into that cone. Then siphon carefully. Oh, buy a clip that will hold the auto siphon to the side of your kettle.

trout
"All I know is that the beer is good and people clamor for it. OK, it's free and that has something to do with it."
Bobbrews
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Post #5 made 10 years ago
by Three3Beer
Any specifics on the clip for the auto siphon? Every time I brew I discover the need for said clip but never remember to look for one the next day.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk

Post #6 made 10 years ago
by Dski
Bulldog clip? I use a large bulldog clip to hold my hop bag, a hose can easily be passed through one or both arms of the clip.
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Post #7 made 10 years ago
by PistolPatch
Hi there erl :salute:,

I've written a bit on this subject already tonight but it is buried in amongst another post. Let me do a copy and paste...
2. Trub Management - If you are using whole hops and are dealing with this small kettle size, perhaps just putting a colander over the mouth of your fermentor and pouring the kettle slowly into that will do the trick? Don't be overly worried about infection if you are pitching straight away and you are working indoors. You are mainly trying to avoid wild yeasts at that stage of the proceedings.

Another option, that would result in the clearest trub and maximum wort, I think, would be to use a narrow (3/8" or 9.5 mm) syphon with a scrubby (stainless steel wool - not the rusty kind) on the end. This will give a very good result with the only disadvantage being that it is a bit clumsy. Not as much as you'd think though.

6. Clogging - Yes, it will happen if you use a fine screen over the mouth of your fermentor. A fine screen at the beginning of a gentle syphon such as suggested in 2 above is an entirely different matter. That doesn't clog.

7. Bag Porosity - Check that your bag is of the right porosity. I suspect from what I read and see on other forums that a lot of people are using bags for BIAB that are too coarse. You want 30 to 40 threads per centimetre. Either use a magnifying glass and ruler or take a photo of your cloth against a ruler with your mobile phone to count the threads.
There is a lot of value in the above. Filtering from the kettle itself is much easier than trying to filter into the fermentor. If this last sentence doesn't make sense then re-read the above points. There is an important but subtle difference.

...

One thing I don't think has been mentioned above is to use your BIAB bag as a hop sock in your brew. If you are able to do this, it is the best trub management technique of all.

:peace:
PP

[I'm going to be very erratic in the time I have available to spend here in the next three or so weeks so the above may be all I am able to contribute here.]
Last edited by PistolPatch on 08 Jan 2014, 20:38, edited 2 times in total.
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Post #8 made 10 years ago
by 2trout
The Autosiphon clip I use looks like the ones in this link.http://home-brewing.northernbrewer.com/ ... MwodgzQACA

+1 for Pistol Patches recommendation for the use of a hop sock. It really makes a big difference!

trout
Last edited by 2trout on 09 Jan 2014, 01:15, edited 2 times in total.
"All I know is that the beer is good and people clamor for it. OK, it's free and that has something to do with it."
Bobbrews
    • BME Brewer With Over 5 Brews From United States of America

Post #9 made 10 years ago
by the-erl
Thanks everyone for the really helpful points :thumbs:
1. During the boil, skim off the "hot break" that forms just after the hard boil starts.

2. Use a fining agent such as whirl-floc, or Irish Moss near the end of your boil. Irish Moss at 10 min left I think, and Whirl-floc at 5 min left I think. These products attract particles and help them to precipitate out of the wort and settle out to the bottom of the kettle.

3. Use the "whirlpool" technique. This is a simple process where you stir the wort into a whirlpool while cooling the wort. Keep the whirpool going for 10 min plus. This moves those particles of stuff attracted by the Irish Moss into a cone of sorts into the center of the kettle away from where your auto-siphon should be. After the 10 min whirlpool, if you let this sit for a bit the trub can settle quite well into that cone. Then siphon carefully. Oh, buy a clip that will hold the auto siphon to the side of your kettle.
1. I've just started skimming the "hot break" after reading "brewing better beer" by Gordon Strong.
2. I use Irish moss at 5 minutes not ten, I think I read to do this somewhere on here?
3. The whirlpool technique sounds like a good one. Again, I've read about it but not really understood how to do it or for how long so thanks, I'll give this a go next brew.

Thanks PP some great info :thumbs: I'll try filtering at the kettle end of the syphon on the next brew. I'll also be using my grain bag for the hops, what a great solution :P

Cheers,

erl
Last edited by the-erl on 09 Jan 2014, 07:03, edited 2 times in total.
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