Protofloc at beginning of boil - what will it do?

[gobuchul]

Just got a brew on and was getting my protofloc ready to go with my 15min additions.

Without thinking I dropped it in the boil, at about 57 minutes!

What will it do?

Will I still need to add some at 15 minutes as normal?

[guypettigrew]

Ooops!!

From the Crossmyloof ebay info about protafloc:

"When to add and how much to use?
Protafloc Tablets should be added to the kettle five minutes prior to the end of the boil or to the whirlpool if this is not possible. This allows the powder to dissolve and disperse the carrageenan into the wort. Should Protafloc be added early in the boil, then degradation of the polymer may occur and product efficiency is lost. The reaction between wort proteins and carrageenan is pH dependent and occurs at an optimum pH of 5.3. Below pH 4.4, the reaction does not occur and little benefit is gained from using Kettle finings."

Guy

[gobuchul]

Ooops!!

From the Crossmyloof ebay info about protafloc:

"When to add and how much to use?
Protafloc Tablets should be added to the kettle five minutes prior to the end of the boil or to the whirlpool if this is not possible. This allows the powder to dissolve and disperse the carrageenan into the wort. Should Protafloc be added early in the boil, then degradation of the polymer may occur and product efficiency is lost. The reaction between wort proteins and carrageenan is pH dependent and occurs at an optimum pH of 5.3. Below pH 4.4, the reaction does not occur and little benefit is gained from using Kettle finings."

Guy

Thank you Guy!

I've been doing it wrong all these years! Mind you, so has the Malt Miller, they say last 15 minutes!

[guypettigrew]

5 minutes, 15 minutes, probably no significant difference. 57 minutes, now that's almost definitely significant!

It's probably too late now, but you may not need as much protafloc when you add it the second time. Too much can give you so much trub it's difficult to filter the wort through it.

Guy

[gobuchul]

The Grainfather is pumping very slow, so I think there has been a little too much!

[guypettigrew]

How much do you use?

Guy

[gobuchul]

Only about 1/2 tablet at the beginning and about 1/3 at 5 minutes.

[Tarmac]

Hope you sorted it out.

Expensive, over complicated - but I’d probably love it if I had one.

More lock down, 50 ltr boiler needs to be 70 ltr for comfortable 50 ltr brew headspace.

£119 klarstein mash kettle will be full capacity, but good for 8KG of malt - hopefully. It’s a good mash tun, don’t see much use as a brewing system, could be wrong.

Will brew tmwr, see how it goes. Might hv blockages and allsorts.

[guypettigrew]

Only about 1/2 tablet at the beginning and about 1/3 at 5 minutes.

Not sure what you mean by this. Do you usually add the Protafloc in two lots (1/2 then a 1/3), or is that just what happened today?

If you're using the Protafloc tablets like those supplied by Crossmyloof then 0.5-0.7g is sufficient for 25 litres. Chucked in about 10 minutes before the end of the boil. If you don't have any way of measuring out this small amount, it's about 1/3 to 1/4 of a tablet.

How did it go today? Did you get all the wort out of the Grainfather, or did it clog up?

Guy

[Jocky]

A whole tablet will treat 100 litres effectively. Using too much ends up with fluffy bottoms in the fermenter.

[guypettigrew]

A whole tablet will treat 100 litres effectively. Using too much ends up with fluffy bottoms in the fermenter.

Absolutely, and who wants...oh, the joke's too, too obvious!

Guy

[gobuchul]

Only about 1/2 tablet at the beginning and about 1/3 at 5 minutes.

Not sure what you mean by this. Do you usually add the Protafloc in two lots (1/2 then a 1/3), or is that just what happened today?

If you're using the Protafloc tablets like those supplied by Crossmyloof then 0.5-0.7g is sufficient for 25 litres. Chucked in about 10 minutes before the end of the boil. If you don't have any way of measuring out this small amount, it's about 1/3 to 1/4 of a tablet.

How did it go today? Did you get all the wort out of the Grainfather, or did it clog up?

Guy

I usually use about 1/3 of a tablet at 15 minutes.

Today I messed up and dropped it in early.

From that info you quoted I am going to start dropping it in at 5 minutes.

I got all the aort out, TBH, there was a lot of hop pellets, 200g and I think that's what caused the pumping. The layer of residue on the bottom was very think. May start using the spider again for hoppy brews.

[guypettigrew]

Never used a hop spider, do they retain the hop pellets after boiling?

I prefer to use mostly whole hops so they form a layer on top of the hop filter on the floor of the boiler to filter out the trub. using some pellets in the boil is OK. The whole hops keep the particles back. The wort going into my fermenter is always really clear.

Commercial breweries use lots of pellet hops, I think. They must have other ways of clearing the wort before transferring it to the fermenter.

Guy

[orlando]

A whole tablet will treat 100 litres effectively. Using too much ends up with fluffy bottoms in the fermenter.

It's always surprised me that they're not made into 23 litre sized tablets for the HB market.

[gobuchul]

A whole tablet will treat 100 litres effectively. Using too much ends up with fluffy bottoms in the fermenter.

It's always surprised me that they're not made into 23 litre sized tablets for the HB market.

It is strange. I sometimes get Graham Wheeler recipe packs from the Worchester Hop Shop, very good they are too, they include 1 protofloc tablet with each 23l pack. Seems a waste but I suppose it's easier than faffing about breaking a tablet up.