Clear Beer

[dicko]

I have just done a brew with 1/2 ale malt and 1/2 pilsener malt and a tad of crystal and I did a stepped mash protien rest at 50 degc for 20 mins then stepped up to 66 degc for 60 mins.
I then began the boil and if you look at the pic below you will see how much "crud" I ladled of the top of the wort prior to the boil starting.
My question is;
Is this normal for this amount of break material to be present as it was floating around like lumps of custard as the boil was starting and will it make for a clearer beer.
BTW I used 1/2 a wirflock tablet for the last 10 mins of the boil

 

[dicko]

Hi Guys and Girls,

This post went through "unopposed" yesterday, :lol: 92 views no replies.

I thought I would bring it back to the top in the hope that someone might have a view as to wether I have done the right thing in skimming the crud off the top of the wort. My aim is to achieve clarity in my brews.

I have only done two protien rests and both times I had all this crud at the hot break.

Cheers

 

[Darren]

Howdy Dicko,
Lookslike the right amount of break material to me. Not sure if it will make for a clearer beer though. I think the best way to clear your beer is to transfer to a sanitised container after the boil. Cool to pitching temps overnight. Then transfer to a new fermenter the next day and then pitch your yeast. This removes all the hot and cold break.
BTW tried your Rye porter on the weekend. Nice drop!
cheers
Darren

 

[roach]

Dicko - the break material in the piccy is about the same as what I normally skim.

THREAD HIJACK
Darren - there are a few nay sayers out there that are opposed to delaying the yeast pitching to the next day as there is a significant increased risk for infection. in your experience have you ever had an infection through the method you describe, and what do u do to minimise the risk??

 

[dicko]

Hi Darren,
Thanks for the comments,
I was concerned after i skimmed it off that I may have removed some "goodies" needed for the fermentation.
I would like to try that method of cooling overnite etc but I have allways been concerned about getting an infection while the wort has no yeast to start fermentation.
I wonder does anyone else do this and what sort of success do they achieve, paticularly with beer clarity.
BTW that porter like all good beers has now gone!
Thanks for the feedback. Next time I might just use a little more rye and mash at a lower temp.
Cheers

 

[Darren]

Roach,
Sanitise every thing well (including your counterflow chiller). When you pitch, pitch big. Most HBrewers have a lag of 12hrs or more before active ferment anyhow. I try to pitch onto a cake from a previous batch.
Please note I have been making lagers of late. I like to cool to pitching temps before dropping it onto the cake. At 8 degrees C there probably is little growth of other "bugs" prior to pitching.
cheers
Darren

 

[THE DRUNK ARAB]

I started doing as Darren suggested about 3 months ago. Generally it is around 20 to 24 hours before i pitch the yeast and I have had no problems with infections. What I have noticed is the amount of break on the bottom of the fermenter after you let it settle. The beers have also been clear but that may also be due to the kettle flocculant dropping the protiens.

And I would agree on the Rye Porter, lovely beer dicko.

C&B
TDA

 

[user 384]

Hi Dicko

When I first started out AG brewing I didn't have a chiller of any sort. I would do a 15 litre boil, then leave the pot in the laundry sink full of water. Often i would leave it over night. Never had an infection (or at least one I noticed) doing this.

Since getting a chiller I have still left worts overnight. I've only done this with lager worts when I've wanted to get the temp down from about 20C to 10C-12C. Again I've had no problems with infections. One thing I've done when waiting overnight before pitching is to add a ortion of the wort to the yeast, so it is really fired up and readyto go when you pitch the whole lot.

I'm pretty sure that Chiller does a similar thing.

Cheers
MAH

 

[Gough]

I tried exactly this method for the first time with my 'Xmas Pilsner' a month or two ago, and another one since. I'm bottling the Pilsner tomorrow after cc so will let you know how it goes re infection and clarity. I was amazed just how much crap settled out overnight It wasn't infected at the end of primary so hopefully it should be OK. The other beer I've done it with was also Ok at the end of primary.

Shawn.

 

[RobW]

Please note I have been making lagers of late. I like to cool to pitching temps before dropping it onto the cake. At 8 degrees C there probably is little growth of other "bugs" prior to pitching.
cheers
Darren

Darren
Do you pitch at 8oC or warmer & then drop the temp?
Just thinking of the 30 degree rule.

 

[Darren]

Please note I have been making lagers of late. I like to cool to pitching temps before dropping it onto the cake. At 8 degrees C there probably is little growth of other "bugs" prior to pitching.
cheers
Darren

Darren
Do you pitch at 8oC or warmer & then drop the temp?
Just thinking of the 30 degree rule.

Hi Rob,
I think that rule is for wheat beers only. I ferment my lagers at 8-12 degree C. When you pitch onto a cake quite a bit of heat is generated. Thats why i pitch at around 8.
I usually allow my beer to sit at 18-20 for a couple of days following ferment (Two weeks) to allow the yeast to chew up any diacetly.
cheeers
darren

 

[RobW]

When you pitch onto a cake quite a bit of heat is generated. Thats why i pitch at around 8.

Would you do it differently for a normal starter?

 

[Darren]

My normal starter would be big and well fed. Nothing less than two litres. Then I would pitch around 12 degrees

 

[pint of lager]

For this years brewing I have also been dropping out the hot/cold break.

3-7 days prior, start off yeast starter and step to 3.5 litres.
Brew day, chill starter, pour off old beer, halfway through sparge, run off 4 litres, boil seperately for 30 minutes, chill and add to starter with aeration stone hooked up to air pump.
When main body of beer has finished boiling, run off 1/2 through cfc into intermediate transfer fermenter, wait 30 minutes, add this to primary fermenter leaving break material behind, pitch starter, aerate on and off over the next few hours.
Run remainder of wort into transfer fermenter, leave stand for a few hours and drop into primary fermenter before going to bed, or overnight for lagers.
End result, all of the hot break and most of the cold break is removed from the brew. A large starter is added. The most recent brew was bubbling straight after pitching the second half, about 7 hours after turning off the boiler. This is 45 litre batch size.
My aim with this procedure was for big starters, 90% removal of cold break, 100% of hot break and a quick start to fermentation, rather than clear beers.

 

[dicko]

Thanks for all the info, you have all instilled in me a new wave of confidence in that method.
Looks like the new year will see me try it out and I wont bother to skim the top of the hot break.

Cheers

 

[chiller]

Hi Dicko

When I first started out AG brewing I didn't have a chiller of any sort. I would do a 15 litre boil, then leave the pot in the laundry sink full of water. Often i would leave it over night. Never had an infection (or at least one I noticed) doing this.

Since getting a chiller I have still left worts overnight. I've only done this with lager worts when I've wanted to get the temp down from about 20C to 10C-12C. Again I've had no problems with infections. One thing I've done when waiting overnight before pitching is to add a ortion of the wort to the yeast, so it is really fired up and readyto go when you pitch the whole lot.

I'm pretty sure that Chiller does a similar thing.

Cheers
MAH

Hi Dicko,

My method is similar to everyone here. I'm not a larger boy and consequently not afraid of the dark.

I brew mostly Ales.

[1] Skim the crud [we won't call it hot break ]

[2] Use a kettle floc at about 20 minutes before flame out. Not too much.

[3] Whirlpool the wort and let stand undisturbed and with a lid on for 20 minutes. Don't let nyone lift the lid to look -- and if they do feed them to a pair of large carnivorous animals.

[4] Run the wort to a blue plastic 25 litre gerry can. [It must be blue]

[5] Seal it tight and move it to a a high spot to allow the easy transfer to you fermenter anything up to 24 hours later. [I'm confident of my sanitation.]

[6] With the lid still on the blue plastic 25 litre gerry can open the bottom tap and remove about a litre of wort directly into your starter. Wipe the tap with alcohol. Leaving the lid on will not allow air into the blue plastic 25 litre gerry can. Do this as soon as you move the wort to its resting place.

[7] Attach a push in hose to the tap on the gerry can - release the lid a little without taking it off and run the wort out of the gerry can directly onto your now very active starter sitting happily on the bottom of the fermenter. Go mad, splash the wort all around inside the fermenter, make as much foam as you can. With the yeast on the bottom of the fermenter it is mixed evenly through the fresh wort.

[8] Ferment as normal -

I DO NOT COLD CONDITION ALES -- IT IS A WASTE OF TIME.

[9] Transfer the fermented beer directly from the fermenter to the keg.

[10] Take 2 teaspoons of gelatin powder [plain not aeroplane jelly stuff] and add it to about 100- 150 mls of 80C water and stir until dissolved. Add this to the bottom of the keg and transfer the beer from the fermenter directly onto the solution of gelatin. Gas your keg as normal and if you have the freezer space put the keg in the freezer for about 6 hours. [I rock and roll my kegs to gas] If you do it over an extended period crash cool the keg first before gassing if you can.

Your beer is now ready to drink within a VERY short time. Eh Batz

My beers are clean and clear [as in clarity].

Steve

 

[smashed jaffa]

I too No Chill, but rather than transferring the wort into a cube then letting it cool overnight and then transferring into a fermenter.
I just pop the lid onto the Kettle after the boil and put it in a suitable place ready for transferring and leave overnight to cool in the Kettle. find that I hardly get any break material into the fermenter this way.

Sometimes if I brew on a Sunday, (and don't get up early enough on a Monday morning), I transfer the wort to the fermenter after I get home home from work of a Monday evening.

I am quite confident with my sanitising process and have had no infections so far.

Smashed Jaffa

 

[Ross]

I don't believe my eyes!!!! Was Darren the original "No Chill" brewer :blink: ??

Darren Dec 10 2004, 09:07 AM Post #3

Group: Members
Posts: 2065
Joined: 11-May 04
From: Panorama, Adelaide
Member No.: 436

Howdy Dicko,
Lookslike the right amount of break material to me. Not sure if it will make for a clearer beer though. I think the best way to clear your beer is to transfer to a sanitised container after the boil. Cool to pitching temps overnight. Then transfer to a new fermenter the next day and then pitch your yeast. This removes all the hot and cold break.
BTW tried your Rye porter on the weekend. Nice drop!
cheers
Darren

Cheers Ross

 

[tangent]

Jeebus, what a cliff hanger!
is this the AHB 2006 season finale?

I'll be back in 2007 to see Darrens rebuttal.

..or tonight if Darren isn't up to much....


nice work Ross

 

[Tony]

This is like a good soap..........

Darren.......... the everything antichrist............

The origional No-Chiller.........

Oh the bacteria............


NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO



cheers