Got a good few BIAB's completed. At the end of the boil I always have trouble getting clear wort in to the cube. I NO chill. I have tried various ways using my large spoon to rotate the wort and create a good whirlpool but always seem to extract hot break and other undesirables in to the cube.
Could someone please explain the whirlpool process and when it should be completed post boil.
Thanks.
In love with Galaxy at the moment!
Post #2 made 13 years ago
I find that it wont work just after flameout while the pot is still hot because the break is still coming to the surface and rolling. I usually do 2 or 3 whirlpools. One about 10 minutes after the start, then a second a little later and see if there is still any break coming to the surface, if there is I do a third whirlpool and let it settle again. I know the first one or two are probably just a waste of time, but its become a tradition.
I whirlpool till i get a deep vortex in the centre of the pot and keep it going for a minute. I usually get a pretty tight trub cone on the bottom by the end. Im not sure how this affects my cold chilling temp, but I haven't had an infection doing it this way yet.
I whirlpool till i get a deep vortex in the centre of the pot and keep it going for a minute. I usually get a pretty tight trub cone on the bottom by the end. Im not sure how this affects my cold chilling temp, but I haven't had an infection doing it this way yet.
Re: Whirlpool
Post #3 made 13 years ago
I really haven't had any major success with whirlpooling. My last brew was the first that I have no chilled and I simply transferred everything across to the cube. My fridge gave a few problems so my cold crash didn't really come down as low as I would have hoped, but the beer came out pretty hazy. are there any issues associated with transferring the trub and racking of it from the cube?
Post #4 made 13 years ago
I dump everything from the kettle into the cube as soon as I shut the heat off. By the time the wort has cooled to pitching temp, all the junk settles out and you can simply transfer the clear wort to your FV. (I always use a tsp of irish moss 10 minutes before end of boil).
If you also ferment in your cube I would assume that by the time fermentation is complete everything will have settled to the bottom. I believe stux ferments in his cubes, perhaps he can speak to this? (I am about to try my first fermentation in the cube.)
If you also ferment in your cube I would assume that by the time fermentation is complete everything will have settled to the bottom. I believe stux ferments in his cubes, perhaps he can speak to this? (I am about to try my first fermentation in the cube.)
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Post #5 made 13 years ago
I don't ferment in my cubes 
What I do do is decant the clear wort off the trub when I pour the cubes into my fermenters.
Recently I have been experimenting with different whirlpool regimes and kettle flocculents. I just used Polychlar BrewBrite last night for the first time. Interesting results. Very clear wort.
So, my advise, if you are using whirlfloc. add your whirlfloc tablet (1 tablet for 50-100L, half for 25-50L ) at 10-15 mins.
Then at flameout, just put the lid on and leave your kettle for 10-20 minutes for the flocced stuff to settle.
Come back, lift the lid, and do a whirlpool.
You pretty much put your spoon in your pot and start stirring, strong and stronger until you have a nice whirlpool forming, then let it go with the lid on... let it settle for another 10 minutes.
I then siphon down from the top down, and i can see a nice cone of trub which collapses as the wort level drops... but since I'm siphoning from the edge, not so bad.
After all my cubes are filled I pour the kettle trub into a bucket, and then I pour that bucket through a sieve into another bucket/pot etc...
I then pour the sieved kettle losses (and any end of boil hydrometer sample) into a sanitized 5L glass flaggon and pop it in one of my fridges to keep for a few days...
Later the trub and wort has separated and I decant the liquid off the trub, boil it up, and make my starter.
I find I can recover 30-50% of the kettle loss
What I do do is decant the clear wort off the trub when I pour the cubes into my fermenters.
Recently I have been experimenting with different whirlpool regimes and kettle flocculents. I just used Polychlar BrewBrite last night for the first time. Interesting results. Very clear wort.
So, my advise, if you are using whirlfloc. add your whirlfloc tablet (1 tablet for 50-100L, half for 25-50L ) at 10-15 mins.
Then at flameout, just put the lid on and leave your kettle for 10-20 minutes for the flocced stuff to settle.
Come back, lift the lid, and do a whirlpool.
You pretty much put your spoon in your pot and start stirring, strong and stronger until you have a nice whirlpool forming, then let it go with the lid on... let it settle for another 10 minutes.
I then siphon down from the top down, and i can see a nice cone of trub which collapses as the wort level drops... but since I'm siphoning from the edge, not so bad.
After all my cubes are filled I pour the kettle trub into a bucket, and then I pour that bucket through a sieve into another bucket/pot etc...
I then pour the sieved kettle losses (and any end of boil hydrometer sample) into a sanitized 5L glass flaggon and pop it in one of my fridges to keep for a few days...
Later the trub and wort has separated and I decant the liquid off the trub, boil it up, and make my starter.
I find I can recover 30-50% of the kettle loss
Fermenting: -
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Post #6 made 13 years ago
Thanks for that - very good advice. I'll give it a try tomorrow when I do another brew. I have been whirlpooling with a spoon but have not been leaving the hot wort for anything like 20 mins. I have also not be syphoning, i have been using the tap on my urn. I'll try the syphoning approach as well.
Thanks again.
Thanks again.
Post #7 made 13 years ago
I use the tap when emptying and its fine. Like Stux there is a nice tight cone which collapses as the liquid level reaches it. I half close the tap near the end to slow the flow and keep the trub cone near the centre rather than breaking up and heading to the tap.
10 to 20 minutes is a good time to leave the wort to cool down and stop the convection current in the pot (which causes the proteins to keep rising to the top)
10 to 20 minutes is a good time to leave the wort to cool down and stop the convection current in the pot (which causes the proteins to keep rising to the top)
Post #8 made 13 years ago
if I had a tap I would probably use it 
Fermenting: -
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Post #9 made 13 years ago
I feel silly, but what is a cube?
*
http://brewgeeks.com It's Dry Hopped and Fully Attenuated!
** My BIAB Brewday **
http://www.brewgeeks.com/a-biab-brewday-tknice.html
http://brewgeeks.com It's Dry Hopped and Fully Attenuated!
** My BIAB Brewday **
http://www.brewgeeks.com/a-biab-brewday-tknice.html
Post #10 made 13 years ago
N/C (no chill) cube! The American version:
The 7 gallon one is @ $10.00 at Wally World. I drain the kettle into it right after flameout, tip it on each side for @ 10 minutes each to sterilize any airspace, and then set it on the bench with the spigot in the drain position.
Come back in a day, or a week, or a month, drain it into a fermenter, and pitch your yeast. No immersion or plate chiller necessary, knocked almost an hour off my brew day.
--Todd
Come back in a day, or a week, or a month, drain it into a fermenter, and pitch your yeast. No immersion or plate chiller necessary, knocked almost an hour off my brew day.
--Todd
Last edited by thughes on 10 Mar 2012, 08:45, edited 3 times in total.
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Post #11 made 13 years ago
Re: the cube...
I shoot for 6 gallons at end of boil volume. The way the cube works is that all the junk settles to the bottom, just below the level of the spigot. Then I can just drain clear wort into the fermenter.
Unfortunately this leave @ a full gallon in the cube (mix of hot and cold break, hops, etc.). I plan for this loss with my brewing calculations but then take and strain this remaining mess to (usually) recover @ 1-1.5 qts of clean wort and use this for my starter.
I shoot for 6 gallons at end of boil volume. The way the cube works is that all the junk settles to the bottom, just below the level of the spigot. Then I can just drain clear wort into the fermenter.
Unfortunately this leave @ a full gallon in the cube (mix of hot and cold break, hops, etc.). I plan for this loss with my brewing calculations but then take and strain this remaining mess to (usually) recover @ 1-1.5 qts of clean wort and use this for my starter.
WWBBD?
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- SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America
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Post #12 made 13 years ago
No chill methodtknice wrote:I feel silly, but what is a cube?
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/i" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... article=56
Fermenting directly in the cube (which I don't do
)http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/i" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... rticle=197
Last edited by stux on 10 Mar 2012, 17:24, edited 5 times in total.
Fermenting: -
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Post #13 made 13 years ago
Well stux, I have not fermented in the cube up until this point for 2 reasons:stux wrote:No chill methodtknice wrote:I feel silly, but what is a cube?
http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/i" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... article=56
Fermenting directly in the cube (which I do don't do
1) Those aquatainers have a molded handle which makes for a rather difficult cleaning chore should the krausen get up inside that portion of the interior.
2) I had no way to oxygenate the wort before pitching the yeast
So.......I acquired a few 6 gallon round winpaks (no nooks/crannies for the "yuckies" to hide at cleaning time) and I also ordered an oxygenation system so I can bubble pure oxygen through the wort before pitching the yeast.
The only remaining concern I have is how much final volume of fermented beer I am going to lose to the junk (break, hops, etc.) in the bottom of the cube. Perhaps I will have to do a better job with managing that junk in the kettle and attempt to only get clean wort into the cube, compensating with my calculations accordingly.
I have a brown ale I brewed last weekend sitting in a winpak now and likely will brew something (BB's Vienna Malt Bomb?) later this week. As soon as the oxygenation system arrives I'll get started on this experiment and report back with my findings.
---Todd
PS: Pat, maybe we should split this off into a more relevant section?
Last edited by thughes on 10 Mar 2012, 22:59, edited 3 times in total.
WWBBD?
-
- SVA Brewer With Over 100 Brews From United States of America
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Post #14 made 13 years ago
Added the right URL to my previous post
Fermenting: -
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Cubed: -
Stirplate: -
On Tap: NS Summer Ale III (WY1272), Landlord III (WY1469), Fighter's 70/- II (WY1272), Roast Porter (WY1028), Cider, Soda
Next: Munich Helles III
5/7/12
Post #15 made 13 years ago
Well, I gave it a go as instructed above, but the results where not brilliant. Although I finally got more clearer beer in to my fermenter (19ltrs), from my cube, which was a very good result for me. Will try again during my next brew. Thanks for all the above advice.
