Homebrew Question

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wamille
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Homebrew Question

Post by wamille »

I want to get as much trub out of my beer as possible before putting into the secondary fermentator as I've heard it picks up astringent flavors by sitting too long on the trub. I was wondering about letting the wort set in the carboy for two days to let the sediments settle, but then pouring the wort back into the kettle to boil to kill any possible contaminents, cool, put into the secondary fermentor, and pitch the yeast. Is this crazy? I am making very high-gravity beers and am getting A LOT of trub in my fermentors and want to remove as much of it as possible. I also thought that the second boiling would allow me to add more hops and other additives. Any advice would be appreciated.

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wottaguy
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RE: Homebrew Question

Post by wottaguy »

Well...personally, I wouldn't take the risk of having the sweet wort go sour while letting it sit for 2 days. I'm not saying that it can't be done, but it should be done under cold and sanitary conditions, the conditions of which the average home brewer usually can't afford to have. And still there's no guarantee that the wort will not sour.

What you can do to minimize the trub, is by chilling in your boil kettle and get the wort colder that you usually do..60 deg f or less....then cover the kettle up to prevent bugs and stuff from getting in...then wait for about 1.5 to 2 hrs to let the trub settle to the bottom on the kettle. Once settled, you can siphon the wort from the top down very carefully, taking only the clearest wort for your primary fermenter.

This is basically what I do when brewing up a batch...but i usually don't wait more that an hour to start racking. I have learned to keep most of the trub behind in the kettle and to not worry about it when some does appear in the fermenter. You'll never get it all out, and some of it is beneficial to the yeast.

You can also try whirpooling in the kettle, but we don't know what kind of brewing setup your running...

Just my thoughts on your question....i'm sure that others can add to it.

Hope this helps,

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jawbox
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Post by jawbox »

From my experience, chill wort as fast as you can to create a good cold break. Siphon off as much clean wort as possible, some trub will be transfered to primary. Ferment in primary for 7-10 days then rack to secondary. A couple of weeks on trub isn't going to hurt anything unless you are making delicate flavored lagers.

Reboiling wort and recooling is a waste of time. I also wouldn't leave the wort for a few days without yeast in there, you are just giving the spoiling organisms a head start on the yeast. Once your beer has soured is not going to be recoverable, yes you would kill the organisms by reboiling but the beer would already be tainted at that point.

IN a nutshell
Chill fast
whirlpool
primary with yeast
transfer to secondary after 7-10 days. Leaving trub behind.
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brewmeisterintng
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Trub Worries

Post by brewmeisterintng »

I usually don't worry about the trub as I primary for a week and transfer to a secondary leaving the trub behind. One idea that no one has mentioned is to transfer to the primary, wait a few hours for the trub to settle and then transfer the wort off the trub before the yeast is pitched. If you can crash cool the wort in a chest freezer, even better.
Personally I don't get excited about trub. My beers are always clear and taste great.
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Legman
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Trub

Post by Legman »

I agree with the rest, reboiling would be a waste and you may end up with a sour wort without the presents of yeast. Don't be too anal about getting a bit of trub into the fermenter. It's just going to happen.

Chill as fast as you can, whirlpool and siphon off as much clear wort you can and pitch your yeast.

I don't even use a secondary and I've had no problems with off flavors at all. I always leave it in the primary for 3-4 weeks then keg. No problems and a lot less work. When I keg, siphon off carefully. My beers always come out clean, clear and taste good.
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brewmeisterintng
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Secondary Fermentation

Post by brewmeisterintng »

As I have said before, I only secondary to reclaim the good yeast before it has sat around too long.
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Post by yaturaz »

You can try using a false bottom in your kettle or do like I have a few times and filter through a straining bag into your fermenter, You will probably need two of them to do it right. When one fills up change it out. Make sure you sterilize them though.
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