Proteins are a pain, at least that's what I think they are!

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Bigveees

Proteins are a pain, at least that's what I think they are!

Post by Bigveees » Fri Feb 23, 2018 6:22 am

Good day one and all,

I've made the leap to down under and finding myself in need of some refreshment! So best get a couple of brews on the go!

I'd read a little about the barley having a few different characteristics down here and I now believe one of those to have raised its ugly head.

Free proteins! Well that is what I believe them to be (having been freed during a std steep mash of 75 mins) and I could see that there was more of a haze to the run off pre boil than I'd typically get back in blighty.

I'm going to get a picture on here if it kills me, as there seemed to be such a vast bloom of almost algae like appearance to this undesirable material post boil. The copper had 1 Whirlfloc tab added for the last 15 mins and it sure did something.

However, so dense was the subsequent material it gave me a huge headache to drop in the fermenter (gravity run off) Although the immersion cooler is a new bit of kit (along with a purpose altered fridge to ferment at 20C) I can see no other reason to this difficulty!

Any recommendations please guys?

Other wise pumped filtration comes to mind.

Cheers
Andy
20180223_132740.png
Post boil wort

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IPA
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Re: Proteins are a pain, at least that's what I think they are!

Post by IPA » Fri Feb 23, 2018 8:41 am

If I read this correctly you are using a chiller for the first time. If so this looks like cold break material and if you are using whole hops they will filter it when the wort is run off into the FV. If a bit finds its way into the FV don't worry it will settle out. Next time when you chill the wort have a look when the temperature drops to around 38° C and you will see it starting to form.
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Re: Proteins are a pain, at least that's what I think they are!

Post by chefgage » Fri Feb 23, 2018 9:08 am

I get the same but in the FV. As i use a CFC for cooling this cold break happens in the fermenter. Nothing to worry about i think as it all settles out to the bottom of the fermentet eventually.

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Re: Proteins are a pain, at least that's what I think they are!

Post by stokie_spaceman » Fri Feb 23, 2018 9:12 am

IPA wrote:If I read this correctly you are using a chiller for the first time. If so this looks like cold break material and if you are using whole hops they will filter it when the wort is run off into the FV. If a bit finds its way into the FV don't worry it will settle out. Next time when you chill the wort have a look when the temperature drops to around 38° C and you will see it starting to form.
In addition to above, if whirlfloc is anything like protofloc, one tablet in a 23 litre batch is almost certainly too much. The impact of over dosing is very volumous big floc. Try half a tablet or even quarter for a 23 litre batch. Less volume of floc should result, but ideally what remains should still be filtered through the hop bed.

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Re: Proteins are a pain, at least that's what I think they are!

Post by Jocky » Fri Feb 23, 2018 11:19 am

As others have said - this will happen when using an immersion chiller, although you don't need more than half a whirfloc tablet in a typical 23 litre brew and that may be exacerbating the problem.

One solution is to remove the immersion chiller when done chilling and leave the wort to sit for 30 minutes. When you come back you can siphon from the top of the wort and get it crystal clear.
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Re: Proteins are a pain, at least that's what I think they are!

Post by HTH1975 » Fri Feb 23, 2018 6:01 pm

Jocky wrote:
Fri Feb 23, 2018 11:19 am
One solution is to remove the immersion chiller when done chilling and leave the wort to sit for 30 minutes. When you come back you can siphon from the top of the wort and get it crystal clear.
This is exactly what I do - works a charm.

If you take a sample of your chilled, murky wort in a trial jar, you will see the proteins flocculate to the bottom. We do this at work to check the cold break.

Bigveees

Re: Proteins are a pain, at least that's what I think they are!

Post by Bigveees » Sat Feb 24, 2018 12:45 am

Thank you one and all,
I used to chill through a jacketed pipe which cooled as it flowed (but that was when I wasted water).
I'm glad the cold break worked and will reduce to half a tablet of Whirlfloc and give it a rest next time.

Did I mention that hop pellets are easier to get hold of over whole cones here, so that can be a bit messy!

Lovely krausen on my repitched Mangrove Jack West coast yeast 👍

Thanks for the tips towards better brewing

Andy

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