"Dropping" No-Chilled beers?

[MartinOC]

I used to chill & would run crystal-clear wort into my primary fermenter, where I'd generally leave it alone 'til it's done.

I've recently fired-up again after a significant hiaitus & embracing the whole no-chill thing, but I really don't like the unbelievable amount of crap that goes into the fermenter - hot break, cold break, hop bits etc. that gets thrown-up at high krausen, then sinks back through the beer as fermentation abates.

I've recently been "dropping" into another fermenter at around high krausen (gently!) in attempt to ensure I end-up with a cleaner fermentation, which seems to fulfill my anally-retentive needs for a "clean" ferment. Generally, it'll throw another "clean" krausen head within 30-60 minutes & I feel happier, but I'm wondering what others do with their no-chill worts & their experiences with letting all the "crap" fall back through the finished beer.

I know it's a traditional English technique to "Double-Drop" in order to re-introduce oxygen within 24 hours of pitching, but that's not what I'm on about & this is not about racking to secondary.

Am I just being anal about this?

 

[Rocker1986]

I leave mine alone until it's done. Except for manipulation of temperature. I generally will transfer pretty much clear wort into my no-chill cubes; after it sits for about 10-15 minutes post-flameout, most of the crap settles on the bottom of the kettle and doesn't make it across. There is sediment in the cube after it cools down, however most of this doesn't make it into the fermenter when I tip it in either.

The last batch I recently fermented and bottled, did have a lot of trub and shit in it, which I deliberately did to see what happened. It doesn't appear to have had any noticeable negative effects on the finished beer.

 

[manticle]

Why are you getting hot break in there?

 

[MartinOC]

Why are you getting hot break in there?

Maybe I'm not letting the wort settle enough post-flameout? Maybe I need to change my technique (ie. use a sieve when transferring) or equipment? Maybe I should've asked if people just dump the entire cube into their fermenter, or try to hold-back any solids when transferring....

I know cold break is fine for fermentation, so in my head, I know that's not really a problem. I tried cube-hopping & dumped the whole contents of the cube into the fermenter & was horrified by the sheer amount of dirty krausen head.

Like I said, it may just be me being anal about a clean fermentation & was wondering if folks have noticed any detrimental effect in the finished beer (anecdotally or otherwise).

 

[Yob]

Yep, just being obsessive Martin, it'll drop clear again, I was filtering out Hops etc, but honestly can't be arsed now, I just dump the lot.

That said, I do whirlpool in the kettle and try to leave behind hot break

 

[GalBrew]

I usually siphon my wort out of the cube (rather than dump it in the fermenter) so I can leave that crud layer behind.

 

[Blind Dog]

i try to leave hot break and boil hops behind, but often cube hop and ferment in the cube. Cold crash post ferment drops out most stuff, and the occasional use of gelatine pre-packaging gets rid of the rest. If I want it super bright I'll filter, but that's rare.

 

[manticle]

Good whirlpool and kettle fining plus settling time should see you rack clear wort to cube. Given enough time, cold break will form and drop in the cube so you can gently transfer from cube to fermenter to separate cold break and hop particles from wort. Personally while I try and leave as much hot break behind as possible, I then just ferment straight in the cube (ocassional exception made for pale lager types)

 

[slcmorro]

If I hit my intended target volume, I turf out the trub in the bottom of my boiler. If I don't, I use some/all of the remaining 3.5L of 'waste' to top up the cube. The entire lot goes directly into the fermenter, hot and cold break material and hop matter. Nil affect as far as I can tell. Proper cc'ing and gelatin clears it out in the keg/bottle anyway.

 

[MartinOC]

OK, thanks for the feedback guys. 'Sounds like I just need to modify my technique & stop being paranoid...

 

[Simdop]

When I pour my cube into the fermenter I pour it through a sterilized kitchen sieve sitting on the top of the fermenter. It gets a lot of the bigger chunks of crud out and also helps aerate the wort.

 

[Danscraftbeer]

I don't cube but when it comes to all that matter going in the only difference it makes to me is I don't recycle the yeast because of too much non yeast material in the cake making the yeast calculations a little unknown. (Anal)!
Same as you I much prefer to chill in the keggle and get a nice clean wort leaving 4lt in the bottom.
If I sometimes boil a little too hard then I have to tilt the keggle and get all that crap to make up the yeild
which turns out a little higher grav.
I much prefer the clean wort though, and much less sediment so that its well clear below the drain tap too.

 

[mosto]

Do cold crash after fermentation? I ferment in the cube, and I basically just watch the hose closely during all transfers. After flameout, I don't whirlpool. I used to but waiting 10-15 min for the convection currents to stop, then whirlpooling, then waiting another 10-15 for everything to settle out, the wort temp had dropped to around 80c and I was worried the cube wasn't exposed wort at high enough temp wort for long enough for it to sanitize properly. The wort after the initial 10-15 wait looked just as clear as after the whirlpool wait so I now skip the whirlpool and get the wort into the cube / fermenter at around 90c. When transferring to the cube I watch the transfer hose closely and close the tap at the first sign of unclear wort coming through. After 10 days usually (ferment usually done in 7 but leave a couple of days for yeast to clean up), I cold crash for 4 days, then transfer to keg. Again, watching the transfer hose closely and closing tap at first sign of anything other than clear beer. A little bit will still settle to the bottom of the keg still, but is cleared out with the first pour then after that it's usually quite clear. The less clear beers I've had have been when I let too much crap into the cube or keg, or when I didn't cold crash.

 

[Rocker1986]

I've found in an urn, at least, whirlpooling is more of a hindrance than a help. Sure, it forms a nice little cone of trub in the middle, but I found it was drawn into the tap outlet sooner. If I just leave the thing sit there for 10-15 minutes after flameout, all the trub settles below the level of the tap and I can get more clean wort out of it before the trub starts being drawn in.

I don't care too much about getting cold break material in the FV but I've usually got 25 litres in there by the time that starts coming out anyway... and I like enough head space in there in case of vigorous ferments! :lol:

 

[professional_drunk]

I never mind about trub and dump the lot in. I don't think it makes a great deal of difference. Anecdotally I've noticed that the ferments when I started dumping the lot in were more vigorous.

Every brewer has a different style and if you want to avoid trub or double drop I say go for it. Regardless of popular opinion I like to rack to secondary. It's just my style and maybe a part of how I introduce my own terroir to my beer.

Something that may interest you is this tap which I just tried for the first time yesterday. You can pour neatly from your cube and if you turn the tap all the way, it starts to pour slowly and gurgle more air through the wort. Also when the cube is on its side there's a small area just below the tap and lots of trub and hops end up getting stuck there. A good solution to pouring clear into your fv if you attach the tap and let it settle for a while on its side before opening the tap.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

I use those taps, very useful bit of kit, but cheaper over your side of town p_d, People in Plastic in Sunshine $5.00 each or $3.00 each for 20.

http://www.peopleinplastic.com.au/Product/58mm-tap-in-a-cap

 

[mxd]

:icon_offtopic:

Death sentence has been passed.

^^^^^^
All clear mate

 

[Kingy]

Ive tried all sorts of methods in keeping the shit out of the cube the best is whirlfloc or some other kettle finings then after flame out. Let sit for 10mins, whirlpool, and let sit for another 10 before draining to cube. The whole cube goes into fermenter. Not worth the hassle trying to seperate trub from the cube. Keeps the numbers consistant to.
For the record when i do triple batches in my pot the pick up tube is right on the bottum and can still drain out cleanly as the whirlpool cone sits high. A slow drain makes a big differance to so the cake doesnt collapse.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

:icon_offtopic:

^^^^^^
All clear mate

No mate not by a longshot.

 

[Rocker1986]

in my pot the pick up tube is right on the bottum

And therein lies the difference. The tap outlets on the urns aren't right at the bottom, and I don't know about anyone else but in my experience it works better not to whirlpool it.