To skim or not to skim?

[salnajjar]

I did my first AG brew yesterday, so it was the first time any of the equipment had actually been properly used.
Anyway, my main copper strainer in the bottom of the boiler did most of the work, but I had one of the barley bottom hop strainers on the end of my pipe. This became clogged immediately and I had to remove it, but, in my rush, I didn't think to grab one of the wifes seives.

So, I checked the fv this morning and it has a nice foamy head on it, so lots of fermentation activity going on, but, I'm wondering if I should skim the foam as it's likely to have a lot of the hop crud in it?

I plan on throwing a protofloc tablet into the fv when the fermentation is complete before transfering to a corny, so I don't know if this will suffice...

Any feedback is more than welcome.

Thanks

Seri

[adm]

You can just leave it alone. The crud will stick to the sides of the FV in the end. Makes no difference to the beer. Don't worry about bits of hop and trub in the FV.

As for the protafloc...DON'T put it in the FV!!! It was meant to go in the boiler for the last 15 minutes of the boil.

I'm not sure what you mean about the Barley Bottom hop strainer.....you should only really need the copper strainer in your boiler and nothing else between that and the FV - have you got a link to what you mean?

When the fermentation has stopped (plan on 7-10 days, even if it looks like it's done earlier), any remaining yeast and trub will settle out to the bottom of the FV. Just syphon the beer off this into the corny, leaving the crap in the FV. Then gas up the corny and leave it to sit somewhere cool for a few week. Anything that has carried through into the corny will have settled out on the bottom. Your first pint may be a bit cloudy, but after that it should be nice and clear.

In general with brewing, as long as your sanitisation and temperature control is good, you can be pretty relaxed about everything else! Beer wants to be made....

[boingy]

+1 to what adm wrote.

Careful syphoning will leave all the crap behind.
Protofloc/Whirlfloc is for the boil not the FV.

Your brew is fine.

[salnajjar]

hmmm, well I screwed up on the protofloc then, but I thought it could also be used to drop the yeast out of suspension at the end of fermentation along with any other little bits of unwanted cruft?

As for the hop filter, it's actually meant for cask taps but I thought I could be cunning and fit it to the end of the pipe from my boiler... won't try that again

[booldawg]

It sounds like you're confusing finings with protofloc. Finings are added to help drop the yeast after fermentation. Protofloc assists with the cold break to help the proteins (trub) to sink to the bottom of the boiler. This will prevent 'chill haze'

TBH we've all forgotten the protofloc once in a while and still ended up with clear ale (at room temp. ) Its not a huge problem.

[ChrisG]

TBH we've all forgotten the protofloc once in a while and still ended up with clear ale (at room temp. ) Its not a huge problem.

Thats so true, I just wish I could work out the chill haze i get.

[trucker5774]

Thats so true, I just wish I could work out the chill haze i get.[/quote]

I too still get chill haze...........I know I should be serving a little warmer, but once in a while I like a cold one. I know it makes no difference to the taste, but I would prefer a clear pint. Maybe someone has the magic anti-haze wand?

[floydmeddler]

hmmm, well I screwed up on the protofloc then, but I thought it could also be used to drop the yeast out of suspension at the end of fermentation along with any other little bits of unwanted cruft?

As for the hop filter, it's actually meant for cask taps but I thought I could be cunning and fit it to the end of the pipe from my boiler... won't try that again

I bought this: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/STAINLESS-STEEL-W ... 286.c0.m14

Has worked brilliantly. I rolled it up into a tube and spent some time kinking the end etc. with pliers.

[Scooby]

Thats so true, I just wish I could work out the chill haze i get.

I too still get chill haze...........I know I should be serving a little warmer, but once in a while I like a cold one. I know it makes no difference to the taste, but I would prefer a clear pint. Maybe someone has the magic anti-haze wand?

Once in the cornie or bottle chill as close to 0c as possible for 3 weeks, that sorts it ............. usually

[salnajjar]

Oh for a cornie fridge or freezer... I keep checking freecycle but no joy in my area, guess I just have to hope it gets really cold down in the south...