While trub has its advantages, it's essential to manage its levels appropriately. Too much trub can have negative effects, such as decreased beer yield and potential off flavours.
- Protein Removal: Trub helps remove unwanted proteins from the wort during the boiling process. This can contribute to a clearer and more visually appealing beer.
- Flavour Stability: It aids in the removal of undesirable compounds that can cause off-flavours in the final beer. By leaving behind unwanted elements, trub helps ensure a cleaner and more stable flavour profile.
- Yeast Nutrition: Trub contains nutrients that can be beneficial for yeast health and fermentation. When yeast cells consume these nutrients, it can contribute to a healthier fermentation process.
- Improved Wort Aeration: Trub can facilitate better aeration of the wort, providing oxygen that yeast needs during the early stages of fermentation. This oxygen promotes yeast growth and helps kickstart the fermentation process.
- Enhanced Hop Utilisation: Trub can assist in extracting additional hop compounds during the boiling phase, contributing to the overall aroma and flavour profile of the beer.
Several methods help remove hot break trub:
- Boil vigorously to help coagulate protein-tannin complexes.
- Skim the sludge off the top of the foam during the boil.
- Add boil fining agents like Irish moss and delta floc etc. These are usually derived from seaweed and react with the proteins in the wort, encouraging them to form trub. Irish moss may be added 15 minutes before the end of the boil.
- Whirlpool the wort - stir the entire wort in a circular motion with a sanitised spoon for a few minutes, then cover and allow the solids to settle for 10 minutes.
The way to remove cold break depends on your cooling method from the boil.
- If using a counterflow chiller the easiest way is to dump the trub the following day after transfer. this has the benefit of allowing the trub to provide the yeasts with nutrients during the lag and growth phase and by then the trub and dead yeast would have settled to the bottom of the fermenter.
- If using a immersion chiller. then you are doing a two-step cooling and transfer, if your brew system has a dead space then your trub will already settle in this area and not be transferred to the fermenter.