Hello everyone
I've got three or four BIAB brews under my belt now but there's a wee part that always confuses me (I hope I've got this in the correct part of the forum)...
When I'm doing the boil, I've always put the hops in hop bags but still had quite a lot of sludge in the bottom of the kettle (i just have a big pot, no tap). Today I tried just sticking the hops straight in then when I was transferring to the FV, I used a sanitized bag in the FV to act as a kind of filter.
Really what I want to know is what to people do to minimize the amount of sludge and maximise the amount of wort going into the FV.
Cheers folks.
Post #2 made 11 years ago
Hi hoggyafc
What kind of hops do u use ?
I use pellets and use a voile hop sock to contain them and get very little hop sludge at all.
The majority of the trub in my kettle comes from break material ect. It's surprising how much wort hops soak up so I squeeze my sock after the boil to get as much as possible out.
Are you using muslin as hop socks? I have a few muslin bags and dry hopped with them once and they weren't anywhere near fine enough to contain all the pellet debris.
Balli.
What kind of hops do u use ?
I use pellets and use a voile hop sock to contain them and get very little hop sludge at all.
The majority of the trub in my kettle comes from break material ect. It's surprising how much wort hops soak up so I squeeze my sock after the boil to get as much as possible out.
Are you using muslin as hop socks? I have a few muslin bags and dry hopped with them once and they weren't anywhere near fine enough to contain all the pellet debris.
Balli.
Post #3 made 11 years ago
Hi Balli
It's all leaf that I've been using. I've been putting the hops into what I think are muslin bags up until today (same kind of material that those support bandage things are made of). I'll keep going with that as it was all a bit messy today but I'll try to get hold of voile bags.
Thanks for the advice.
It's all leaf that I've been using. I've been putting the hops into what I think are muslin bags up until today (same kind of material that those support bandage things are made of). I'll keep going with that as it was all a bit messy today but I'll try to get hold of voile bags.
Thanks for the advice.
Post #4 made 11 years ago
Check or do the following I reckon hoggy...
Bag Porosity - As balli mentioned, check that your BIAB bag (and/or hop bags) are 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. What do you get?
Filter at syphon inlet, not outlet - Use a scrubby (stainless steel wool - not the rusty kind) on the end of your syphon inlet. 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. (Also note that a 3/8" syphon gives a much gentler transfert than a 1/2" one.).
Filtering at the other end of the syphon tends to cause a lot of clogging especially if done through a bag.
Also, on the next few brews, once ou have checked that above, measure the volume of your sludge (we call that KFL Kettle to Fermentor Loss) by pouring it into a jug. Then tell us what yo8ur VIF (Volume into Fermentor) was. It's quite possible that your sludge amount is perfectly normal.
PP
Bag Porosity - As balli mentioned, check that your BIAB bag (and/or hop bags) are 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. What do you get?
Filter at syphon inlet, not outlet - Use a scrubby (stainless steel wool - not the rusty kind) on the end of your syphon inlet. 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. (Also note that a 3/8" syphon gives a much gentler transfert than a 1/2" one.).
Filtering at the other end of the syphon tends to cause a lot of clogging especially if done through a bag.
Also, on the next few brews, once ou have checked that above, measure the volume of your sludge (we call that KFL Kettle to Fermentor Loss) by pouring it into a jug. Then tell us what yo8ur VIF (Volume into Fermentor) was. It's quite possible that your sludge amount is perfectly normal.
PP
Last edited by PistolPatch on 23 Feb 2014, 15:41, edited 1 time in total.
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Post #5 made 11 years ago
Great, I'll do that. Not planning a brew for a couple of weeks now but I'll definitely do that.
Post #6 made 11 years ago
hoggyafc,
The (sludge) "break materiel" Looks nasty and unappetizing so we naturally want it out of our beer. Well that break material is good for the fermentation process. You don't have to worry when you transfer raw wort into the primary fermentation vessel if sludge slips in. Trube or (break material + hops) is full of nutrients and food that the yeast love! It's natural to want to transfer clear wort but when some sludge goes in the bucket look at it as food and forget about it!
After fermentation the beer should be clear and bright. It's healthy because of the sludge, trube, break material you let slip in. Clear beer doesn't taste any better than hazy beer. It just looks better!
First things first. (Sludge) is break material. Not just hops! You want the break materiel to form to collect the proteins that cause cloudy beer. The (hot) break material basically comes out of nowhere. If you had no hops in the boil you still will see break materiel in the end.Really what I want to know is what to people do to minimize the amount of sludge and maximize the amount of wort going into the FV.
The (sludge) "break materiel" Looks nasty and unappetizing so we naturally want it out of our beer. Well that break material is good for the fermentation process. You don't have to worry when you transfer raw wort into the primary fermentation vessel if sludge slips in. Trube or (break material + hops) is full of nutrients and food that the yeast love! It's natural to want to transfer clear wort but when some sludge goes in the bucket look at it as food and forget about it!
After fermentation the beer should be clear and bright. It's healthy because of the sludge, trube, break material you let slip in. Clear beer doesn't taste any better than hazy beer. It just looks better!
Last edited by BobBrews on 24 Feb 2014, 03:55, edited 1 time in total.
tap 1 Raspberry wine
tap 2 Bourbon Barrel Porter
tap 3 Czech Pilsner
tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV
http://cheesestradamus.com/ Brewers challenge!
tap 2 Bourbon Barrel Porter
tap 3 Czech Pilsner
tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV
http://cheesestradamus.com/ Brewers challenge!
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- SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America
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Post #7 made 11 years ago
Thanks Bob
I had wondered about the break too. I've got be honest the beers so far have been tasting awesome, I'm just trying to get a feel for how other people add their hops and transfer their wort. I presume the that during fermentation the break in the FV just falls out with the trub?
Interestingly, a commercial brewer was telling me that the only reason they had to start producing clear beer was as a direct result of the invention of the glass beer glass.
I had wondered about the break too. I've got be honest the beers so far have been tasting awesome, I'm just trying to get a feel for how other people add their hops and transfer their wort. I presume the that during fermentation the break in the FV just falls out with the trub?
Interestingly, a commercial brewer was telling me that the only reason they had to start producing clear beer was as a direct result of the invention of the glass beer glass.
Post #8 made 11 years ago
hoggyafc,
Cheers!
Nice! I never thought of that but it just may be true! Yes. After fermentation the hot break and cold break sink to the bottom of the fermenter. That is one reason I give three weeks or more before I transfer from the primary to my awaiting keg. No secondary is necessary.Interestingly, a commercial brewer was telling me that the only reason they had to start producing clear beer was as a direct result of the invention of the glass beer glass.
Cheers!
Last edited by BobBrews on 24 Feb 2014, 05:06, edited 1 time in total.
tap 1 Raspberry wine
tap 2 Bourbon Barrel Porter
tap 3 Czech Pilsner
tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV
http://cheesestradamus.com/ Brewers challenge!
tap 2 Bourbon Barrel Porter
tap 3 Czech Pilsner
tap 4 Triple IPA 11% ABV
Pipeline: Mulled Cider 10% ABV
http://cheesestradamus.com/ Brewers challenge!
-
- SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America
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Post #9 made 11 years ago
Nothing like a technological innovation like clear glass to make our life/brewing more difficult! 
"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
Bobbrews
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