Show us your boil

Herm brews said:
My attempt at whirlpooling did not result in a tidy cone in the middle of my kettle. Probably has something to do with carrying my full kettle out to the deck to chill, then carrying the kettle back to the kitchen to transfer.
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If you are happy with the results bagging your hops, that would make the most sense
 
Not sure I see the end game. Is the goal of bagging hops to transfer wort into the fermenter that is as clear as possible? Or is it a transfer volume issue because there is more sludge on the bottom of the kettle?

My opinion (which is not based on any science or sound, methodical evidence :) ) --->
I'm not crazy about bagging kettle hops because I don't think they get exposed/mixed/absorbed enough into the wort, especially true for late/whirlpool hops. And I'm quite comfortable transferring as much sludge as necessary to reach my fermenter volume. It all settles out in the fermenter anyway.
 
Megary said:
Not sure I see the end game. Is the goal of bagging hops to transfer wort into the fermenter that is as clear as possible? Or is it a transfer volume issue because there is more sludge on the bottom of the kettle?

My opinion (which is not based on any science or sound, methodical evidence :) ) --->
I'm not crazy about bagging kettle hops because I don't think they get exposed/mixed/absorbed enough into the wort, especially true for late/whirlpool hops. And I'm quite comfortable transferring as much sludge as necessary to reach my fermenter volume. It all settles out in the fermenter anyway.
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Yea I certainly see the "clear wort clear beer" argument, but I agree with you that it mostly settles out in the fermenter anyway. But what I've noticed is if more kettle trub makes it into the fermenter then the krausen is much more violent and thicker. More particles in suspension get pushed up to the top and increase the size of the krausen, at least from my own observations and experience. Now that I ferment in kegs it's super important the krausen doesn't rise and block the PRV...I'm not trying to make fermenter bombs :D
 
Sunfire96 said:
Yea I certainly see the "clear wort clear beer" argument, but I agree with you that it mostly settles out in the fermenter anyway. But what I've noticed is if more kettle trub makes it into the fermenter then the krausen is much more violent and thicker. More particles in suspension get pushed up to the top and increase the size of the krausen, at least from my own observations and experience. Now that I ferment in kegs it's super important the krausen doesn't rise and block the PRV...I'm not trying to make fermenter bombs :D
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That krausen thing is a very interesting observation. Never heard of that before. No fermenter bombs for sure!

I'm not convinced (at all) that clear wort makes clear beer, and I'm skeptical that un-bagged hops add so much extra sludge as to make a difference anyway. But again, these are my opinions based on my experience in my brewhouse for my small 3-gallon batches. Everyone's mileage varies for sure.
 
Sunfire96 said:
Yea I certainly see the "clear wort clear beer" argument, but I agree with you that it mostly settles out in the fermenter anyway. But what I've noticed is if more kettle trub makes it into the fermenter then the krausen is much more violent and thicker. More particles in suspension get pushed up to the top and increase the size of the krausen, at least from my own observations and experience. Now that I ferment in kegs it's super important the krausen doesn't rise and block the PRV...I'm not trying to make fermenter bombs :D
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Some of that fermcap might help its supposed to stop the boil over in kettle and high krausen in the fermenter I've read.
 
This is awesome, that a post about a process change and its observed effects generates interesting discussion.
Ultimately, I was relying on Irish moss and as effective a whirlpool as one can expect to achieve with a big spoon to concentrate the hops and other kettle sludge into a tidy cone. Oh well, not this time. From experience, I know I can get clear beer, even when dumping the entire contents of the kettle into the fermenter. On my recent batch of stout, I hit my OG and volume numbers, but I was just surprised by the seemingly large volume of sludge. By the next morning, clear wort (about 2 cups worth) had separated from the rest of the sludge. That’s a pint of beer out in the garden.
 
Zambezi Special said:
Cheapskates like me, use that pint of beer (off the sludge), decant in a pet bottle, add some sugar, let carbonate and drink it anyway :D
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Cheapskates are OK with me. If that sludge had settled under “better” conditions, I might have kept it. If nothing else, it could serve as a yeast starter wort. Next time, I’ll just add some, or all of it to the fermenter, letting it add character and depth to my beer.
 
BK being brew kettle?
Anyway, whatever it means, I don't.
I biab and use a normal house hold pot, no spigot or anything.
 
The Brew Mentor said:
Quick question... Are you guys/gals using a false bottom in your BK?
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I don’t. Whatever goes in goes in for me. I do bag hops. There is a little space below my spigot that even with tilting keeps some of the sludge in the kettle.
 
For 5 & 10 gallon batches, I never used one, but anything bigger and I always have.
After using one, I don't think I'd ever not use one again for any size batch.
My hops go directly into the BK and I use a plate chiller without too much of a problem.
My hoppy beers have over 2 pounds of hops in them and still not a problem.
I'll have to get some pictures to show how the hop debris and break materials cone up.
 
Never used a false bottom with my BIAB set up, but always wanted to try one for the simple reason of keeping the bag off the bottom of the pot. I think it would be interesting to try step mashing with direct heat applied to the pot, but not with the bag resting there. :)
 
My brew kettle is 5.5 gallons, my batch size usually 2.5 gallons, and I do not use a false bottom with my BIAB set up. Wort gets chilled using an ice bath. Obviously, my kit is simple, but I try to make process improvements where I can. Interestingly, when I brewed Bunyip, the sludge was nicely coagulated, but I bagged hops on that batch.

My brew kettle does have a spigot, and the pickup rests just above the bottom, with a silicon sludge guard. Maybe an elbowed pickup angled higher in the kettle would prevent sludge. Or, as many have said, just pour it all in and let the fermenter sort things out.
 
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Herm brews said:
It looks like the pickup goes below the false bottom, correct?
Does the false bottom hold sludge above or below the grate?
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The false bottom keeps the big hop debris above the pickup, It also holds onto a lot of the break material almost like a stalactite forming.
 
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