Can Sugars Come Out of Suspension While Cooling?

[danath34]

So today I was doing a partial mash batch with a target OG of 1.096. Since I only have a 5 gallon brew kettle, I only boil around 3 gal for a 5 gal batch. Because of this, when I added all the malt extract ( which was a lot) towards the end of the boil, it took a LONG time to fully dissolve.

After the boil was done, I started cooling before transferring to the fermenter and topping off to 5 gal. Now here is my newbie question:

While cooling, I was stirring it to make it cool quicker and more evenly. When it was down around 75F, I noticed it became VERY cloudy. My first instinct, knowing how much sugar there was (enough for 1.096 in 5 gal, or about 1.156 in 3 gal) and how much it had cooled already, I thought the sugar was precipitating and immediately mixed it into the fermenter to make the 5 gal. afterwards, i figured I could have just been stirring up trub material from the bottom of the kettle. what do you guys think?

edit: I did use Irish moss and cooled as quick as I could using ice water around my kettle, so I suppose it could be cold break. again, not sure though

 

[barleyboy]

I'm certainly not an expert, but it sounds like a cold break to me. All the sugar has been dissolved, so it would not fall out of suspension. It's not suspended. It's now a solution.


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[danath34]

Ok maybe fall out of suspension isn't the correct term. fall out of solution is what I meant. precipitate. similar to how rock candy is made, it falls back out when you cool

 

[DSorenson]

You would have to have really super saturated sugar water to make that happen. That was definitely cold/hot break. Sounds like a job well done

 

[GCGBrewing]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/how-much-dme-can-you-dissolve-1-gallon-water-55833/

Take a look at this. This will likely put your mind at ease, because what I take away from this is that you can stir in a quite a bit without it coming out of solution.

 

[danath34]

Ok thanks guys. I think I'm convinced it was indeed cold/hot break material. that sets my mind at ease. now I did dump all that into the fermenter but it should still settle out.

I think this should be a decent batch.

Thanks again guys!

 

[DSorenson]

You will not have any trouble with all of that break material in your fermenter. I believe eventually it breaks down into things that are undesired, but for the month or so the beer may be in contact I am positive you wont have a problem.

 

[unionrdr]

The biggest problem with all that trub is less clear beer come bottling day. I've been using Super Moss from Fivestar,& got decent cold break/trub settling. I brewed the first of two More Beer kits yesterday that contained a Whirlflock tablet. The Whirlflock tablet gave a 2nd big hot break after it started dissolving into the boiling wort. When straining the chilled wort into my fermenter,I got some 4 times the amount of trub,grain poofy stuff,cold break & hop debris than with super moss. It'll be interesting to compare brew quality/clarity after using the Whirlflock. Otherwise,the sugar stays in solution after being dissolved into it.

 

[DSorenson]

The biggest problem with all that trub is less clear beer come bottling day. I've been using Super Moss from Fivestar,& got decent cold break/trub settling. I brewed the first of two More Beer kits yesterday that contained a Whirlflock tablet. The Whirlflock tablet gave a 2nd big hot break after it started dissolving into the boiling wort. When straining the chilled wort into my fermenter,I got some 4 times the amount of trub,grain poofy stuff,cold break & hop debris than with super moss. It'll be interesting to compare brew quality/clarity after using the Whirlflock. Otherwise,the sugar stays in solution after being dissolved into it.

Whirlfloc/Irish moss are used to make more cold break following the boil. It pulls more protein out of suspension during the last 10 minutes in the boil and causes more cold break to occur.

Whirlfloc/Irish moss will not have much of an effect in the settling of the proteins in the fermenter; there will merely be more protein to settle.

Careful syphoning (perhaps resulting in slightly more beer loss than you would like) will provide the same results as if the break material was not added to the fermenter in the first place. A cold crash makes this job easier, but I have not had to do this and I have had fantastic results.

 

[unionrdr]

I've never cold crashed either,as I don't have the room for it. The super moss gave decent cold break. But the whirlflock was more violent in the boil than the super moss was. It appeared to work better. My concern is that it may've pulled too much proteins,etc out for good head,flavor & aroma Compared to super moss in the name of greater clarity?...

 

[danath34]

I think I'm going to try a cold crash with gelatin. Hopefully that'll settle out and compact everything nicely.

edit: oops, all this talk about cold/hot break. I meant cold crash not cold break

 

[DSorenson]

I think I'm going to try a cold break with gelatin. Hopefully that'll settle out and compact everything nicely.

Not a bad idea! Never used gelatin, so I don't know if it absorbs much beer volume. If it does it might not be worth it. If it doesn't it will just improve your siphoning results, I am certain.

I've never cold crashed either,as I don't have the room for it. The super moss gave decent cold break. But the whirlflock was more violent in the boil than the super moss was. It appeared to work better. My concern is that it may've pulled too much proteins,etc out for good head,flavor & aroma Compared to super moss in the name of greater clarity?...

I don't imagine proteins give you much in the way of aroma. They do provide mouth feel and head retention from my understanding. Keep in mind, however, that beers brewed with 100% pilsner malts (which have perhaps the least protein of all the malted barleys) still can produce great head and mouth feel.

Don't sweat it, it'll be good

 

[unionrdr]

That's why I said proteins,etc. I meant other things as well,like hop oils in the boil,etc. Clarifying agents like Irish moss,whirlflock & the like are intended to clump excess proteins together & settle out as hot or cold break. This is what makes the beer clearer,settling out excess proteins. I've noticed that my hybrid lagers with the lighter pilsen malts,etc are clearer using Irish moss of some form or other. I've used the well modified malts for them as well,but thinking of trying a longer mash & boil to see if that helps too. Lagers or lager-like beers seem to need more attention of this sort to get clear,crisp beers in the end?...