Dry hop cold crash fail

[damoninja]

Hi guys,

I recently dry hopped an IPA with 35 grams of hops... There was a shitload if sediment in the fermenter to begin with, about an inch above the tap.

Even after 5-6 days cold crash i got a few flakes of hops come through, didn't think much of it as it would settle and get caught in the yeast on the bottom of the bottle.

Now when I check the bottles there's a lot of dark specks on the bottom of the bottles, if I agitate it stirs up like dirt. It's only about a week since bottling and I wasn't planning to open until mid December so it might clear up even more.

Sure it will still be OK just have to be super gentle with my pours, was also thinking of chilling for a good 4-5 days before opening too.

Moving forward, how do you stop this happening when there's so much rubbish in the bottom of the fermenter?

 

[Not For Horses]

When I dry hop, I use an in line filter between the tap and the bottle filler. One of those 6 dollar black poly jobs for your micro irrigation setups.
Works a treat for keeping hop material out.

 

[damoninja]

Legendary, I've got a dry hop CC happening at the moment has another 6 days left so I'll pick one up before bottle day.

 

[Camo6]

You could use a hop sack in the fermentor or rack to secondary before CCing. I wouldn't stress too much but I did have a mate fish a piece of hop out of his mouth once and seemed very hesitant to finish his glass. I once tried a mates attempt at HB and found a piece of label floating in my glass. I had one sip and thought it tasted like it was brewed inside a hot, sealed, mouldy freezer in the middle of summer. Turns out it was.

When I bottle I tend to mark the caps of the first and final bottles of a batch so I don't give them away.

 

[damoninja]

Good thing about my mates are they're total hogs for hops, if anything they would probably chew a piece if they got it.

Is there much else I can do with assisting the rubbish in the bottles to settle and/or cake up into the sediment with the yeast?

 

[Camo6]

Sounds like your already on top of it. Keep em in the fridge for as long as possible and pour them slowly into glasses or a jug.

 

[Spiesy]

Why was there so much sediment in your fermenter? What was it? I.e. Did you drain all the trub from your kettle into the fermenter? Did you drop this brew in top of a yeast cake?

If you get it again, transfer to secondary and crash chill again. At least you'll be able to get the sediment below the tap level, and hopefully compacted.

When dry hopping with a lot of hops I generally use a hop sock, as someone else suggested. This also enables you to pull the hops if you only want them in there for a specific period of time.

 

[damoninja]

Why was there so much sediment in your fermenter? What was it? I.e. Did you drain all the trub from your kettle into the fermenter? Did you drop this brew in top of a yeast cake?

If you get it again, transfer to secondary and crash chill again. At least you'll be able to get the sediment below the tap level, and hopefully compacted.

When dry hopping with a lot of hops I generally use a hop sock, as someone else suggested. This also enables you to pull the hops if you only want them in there for a specific period of time.

No idea why it was so much more than my other AG brews so far... The grain bill was a little higher than usual as it's an IPA but nothing stupid, I've got another AG in the fermenter now that's probably got half the amount of trubbish in the bottom.

I don't do any trub removal in the boil / kettle, I've been led to understand that some trub is necessary and in some cases produce a better beer.
All my brews from now on are being no-chilled, so I'll be able to control the amount of trub that goes in to the fermenter because it will be cold.

However, I posted a thread on this exact topic and people leaned toward dumping the trub into the fermenter rather than ditching it.

 

[damoninja]

I guess I could have a siphon on hand and bottle it that way in the event of extreme trubification.

 

[Spiesy]

The grain bill was a little higher than usual...

I don't do any trub removal in the boil / kettle.

Boom.

 

[damoninja]

The grain bill was a little higher than usual

I don't do any trub removal in the boil / kettle

What I don't understand though, is that I've only had maybe a 10% increase on grain but 100% increase on trub, when my methods have not changed.

 

[Camo6]

Did you use a hop sock in the kettle or bung em straight in? Hop pellets expand a fair bit.

 

[NewtownClown]

different grain, different amount of protein break

 

[damoninja]

Did you use a hop sock in the kettle or bung em straight in? Hop pellets expand a fair bit.

In the kettle i used a hop bag but dry I dumped them in, same as my last few brews.

 

[NewtownClown]

These days I prefer to make a hop "tea" in a french press for dry hopping. I use less hops (around 1/3) and get bigger aroma and no hop debris to filter.

Some trub may be beneficial to yeast health but should be unnecessary if the wort is inoculated at the right rate and oxygenated.
Trub contains polyphenols and other compounds that can cause haze and instability. I prefer to limit the amount going into the fermenter.

 

[Yob]

I don't do any trub removal in the boil / kettle, I've been led to understand that some trub is necessary and in some cases produce a better beer.
All my brews from now on are being no-chilled, so I'll be able to control the amount of trub that goes in to the fermenter because it will be cold.

Cold break = Not so bad.. Hot break to FV = Not so great (in practice)

However, I posted a thread on this exact topic and people leaned toward dumping the trub into the fermenter rather than ditching it.

Link?

Dumping the whole of the trub and Hot Break generally brings up a pretty worn argument from some.. "blah blah some monkey did a test.. heres a link to a podcast.. blah blah.." which is then refuted by others "Not a real stuctured test and results not valid"

Most tend to agree that:

A: Not the end of the world as long as you drink it fast (kegging even better)
B: the most impact is on flavour stability over time
C: isnt great practice and if you can remove the trub, why wouldnt you?
D: Cold break isnt the same nor does it cause the same stbility isues.

 

[Barry]

I use several fairly large ss teaballs (infusion balls) for dry hopping. Fairly cheap. search online.

 

[fletcher]

When I dry hop, I use an in line filter between the tap and the bottle filler. One of those 6 dollar black poly jobs for your micro irrigation setups.
Works a treat for keeping hop material out.

do you have a picture of this mate, or can you link the product online? i'd be interested in grabbing one.

 

[damoninja]

Dumping the whole of the trub and Hot Break generally brings up a pretty worn argument from some.. "blah blah some monkey did a test.. heres a link to a podcast.. blah blah.." which is then refuted by others "Not a real stuctured test and results not valid"

Most tend to agree that:

A: Not the end of the world as long as you drink it fast (kegging even better)
B: the most impact is on flavour stability over time
C: isnt great practice and if you can remove the trub, why wouldnt you?
D: Cold break isnt the same nor does it cause the same stbility isues.

Here's the link Yob.
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/76589-no-chill-ditch-the-trub/

Considering a majority (if not all) my brews will be no chilled, you reckon I should just do a gentle pour into the FV and leave the trubbies in the bottom?

I can aerate it properly once it's in the FV...

 

[Not For Horses]

http://www.irrigationwarehouse.com.au/prod1780.htm

Something like this Fletcher. Some clear pcv on each end to join and you're away.