Whats That Floating In My Partial?

[MattC]

I have brewed a partial, recipe as follows;

Type: Partial Mash
Date: 7/12/2008
Batch Size: 24.00 L
Brewer: Matt Cawley
Boil Size: 29.94 L Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min Equipment: My Mash Stuff
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0 Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00
Taste Notes:

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
3.00 kg Extra Pale Malt [Boil for 15 min] Extract 50.08 %
1.93 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 32.22 %
0.46 kg Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (3.9 EBC) Grain 7.68 %
0.25 kg Roast Barley (Bairds) (1400.0 EBC) Grain 4.17 %
0.20 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (236.4 EBC) Grain 3.34 %
0.15 kg Choclolate Malt (1200.0 EBC) Grain 2.50 %
30.00 gm Northern Brewer [7.60 %] (60 min) Hops 21.7 IBU
20.00 gm Fuggles [4.50 %] (15 min) Hops 4.3 IBU
20.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.10 %] (15 min) Hops 4.8 IBU
10.00 gm Fuggles [4.50 %] (2 min) Hops 0.4 IBU
10.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.10 %] (2 min) Hops 0.4 IBU
1.26 gm Kopperfloc (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Premium Ale (AKA S-04) (Craftbrewer #S - 04) Yeast-Ale



Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.063 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 0.000 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.018 SG Measured Final Gravity: 0.000 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.86 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.00 %
Bitterness: 39.4 IBU Calories: 0 cal/l
Est Color: 73.7 EBC Color: Color



I have some rather large floaties in the top of the fermenter. Is this just break material that made it tinto the fermenter and hasnt sunk yet? Didnt really notice it with my two last partials??

Excuse the photos they're not the best!

 

[MattC]

Edit..... Sorry its a robust porter using what i had left at the time, any constructive criticisms of the recipe are welcome!!!

 

[MattC]

No answers? might just bump the thread back to the top again in the hope of getting some comments!, was thinking of racking it to a secondary!

 

[crundle]

Any smell associated with the material? Not an expert on break material by any means, but if there is no untoward smell, then it has the look of break material to me - but I am not an expert!

DJ1984 had the same issue lately with a partial, floaties in his cube, but ended up being break material, so all was well.

From what I understand, smell is the key. If your process was the same as previously, and you are a clean brewer, then it is unlikely to be infection.

Crundle

 

[boingk]

Does look pretty funky, could be break material but I have no idea - largest partial I've done was only 900g or so and I didn't get anything like that at all. I don't think racking would hurt but if its just break material then theres not much point, really, is there?

- boingk

 

[razz]

Some better pics would help Matt. If you hadn't said it was the fermenter I would have said it was the mash.

 

[boingk]

Thats what I was thinking, too, razz...hmmm. Broken strainer or something else weird?

- boingk

 

[raven19]

Did you pass the wort through a sieve / cheesecloth or similar prior to placing in fermentor? Looks like some bits made it through - of so not necessarily a bad thing, as its all been boiled hence nasties have been killed off.

Taste a sample, then I'd be inclinded to rack to secondary after 4 - 5 days. Reckon it will still be fine (if taste is ok!).

2c.

 

[MattC]

Id love to get some better pics but SWMBO has taken the camera to work!

No smell associated with it. Im pretty sure it must be break material. I was just wanting to know if this stuff eventually sinks or does is stay floating? Cuz i thought about racking to a secondary for a few days or crash chilling for 24 hours???? . Fermentation is all but complete!!

 

[razz]

You may as well rack and let the ferment finish then chill and keg/bottle. Do you filter?

 

[MattC]

No I havnt rigged a filter up to my boiler as yet. I drain 20 litres out of the boiler and have my batch size set at 24L in order to leave 4L lost to the trub, however some trub has obviously found its way into the fermenter!! Might collected it and have it on toast for lunch :icon_vomit:

 

[Bribie G]

S-04 yeast shouldn't clump like that, some ale yeasts such as West Yorkshire 1498 will tend to clump at the top of the wort like little popcorns but I reckon that has to be break material. If transferring to secondary what I would do (have done this a couple of times as an experiment in trying to create a cold hop back for late hopping B) ) is to filter the beer through a bed of hop flowers, say a couple of plugs, that you have softened in boiling water then spread out to form a filter bed, in a sam's warehouse wire kitchen strainer and a cheapy plastic funnel. You won't get an infection from the hops and it should strain out the crap. scuse the kindy standard of drawing.




If you do it very gently you shouldn't aerate the wort - but just to be safe I have chucked 50g of dex or even half a dozen carb lollies h34r: into the secondary to flush the headspace and then let the yeast die down again after it's eaten any O2. Alternatively if the crud is all at the top of the wort then a careful transfer out of the tap on the primary might suffice.

Pls bump in due course and let us know how it went.

 

[Ronin]

I had something that looked like that on the top of my first beer with the 1469 west yorkshire ale yeast. That yeast turns out to be a real top cropper (had some really strange, thick krausen).

I've never used the yeast you have, could it be the yeast starting to ferment?

 

[TerritoryBrew]

For my two cents, I think it is the Kopperfloc you have used that has clumped with some of the proteins. I have had a similar thing once when I brewed a stout, won't harm it at all...

Cheers,

TB

 

[matti]

Look like break material to me.
I had a bit if break in an AG APA last year but you could see it rising with the fermentation but it settled quite well once the fermentation subsided.
IF you feel you want to rack it do so at end of fermentation but it shouldn't be necessary with an ale.
Just tilt the the fermenter so you don't get it coming through as you transfer beer from fermenter.

 

[Bribie G]

That's the yeast I meant, got the number wrong! Yorkshire yeast is as top cropping as you can get, it's meant to ooze up from the fermenter onto a platform then mixed with wort and poured back into the fermenter again.. However I doubt if S-04 would do that unless it was infected. Did you use a fresh batch or a culture?

 

[MattC]

I had something that looked like that on the top of my first beer with the 1469 west yorkshire ale yeast. That yeast turns out to be a real top cropper (had some really strange, thick krausen).

I've never used the yeast you have, could it be the yeast starting to ferment?

No its all but finished its primary, been in there for 7 days!!!

That's the yeast I meant, got the number wrong! Yorkshire yeast is as top cropping as you can get, it's meant to ooze up from the fermenter onto a platform then mixed with wort and poured back into the fermenter again.. However I doubt if S-04 would do that unless it was infected. Did you use a fresh batch or a culture?

Fresh batch

 

[Ronin]

That's the yeast I meant, got the number wrong! Yorkshire yeast is as top cropping as you can get, it's meant to ooze up from the fermenter onto a platform then mixed with wort and poured back into the fermenter again.. However I doubt if S-04 would do that unless it was infected. Did you use a fresh batch or a culture?

I loved watching that 1469 yeast work, it really did look like that to begin with. I was so suprised I had to show my wife (she wasn't as excited) .

I wouldn't imagine S-04 would do that either...it's supposed to be similar to 1099 I think and I've used that before without seeing those clumps.

But if if finished fermenting then I don't think it'd be break material...that should've settled out well before now. And the break material wouldn't still be clumping like that because of the agitation during the fermentation.

It looks like yeast to me, just from the colour and texture (from what I can see in the photos).

If it tastes OK then I wouldn't worry...rack it to secondary (cool it right down if you can) and let it settle.

James