thoughts about trub

i've been doing a brew-in-a-bag method that's working out great for me. The only unusual thing is that i end up with a LOT of trub in the pot -- if i wanted to leave it behind in the kettle, I'd be sacrificing a couple of gallons of beer. I am curious whether people have strong opinions about leaving trub behind in the kettle vs. allowing lots of it in the fermenter and siphoning the beer off later. thoughts?

Governor Blagojevich, despite your repeated efforts to make something out of nothing, trub does not turn into beer, and senatorial seats do not turn into a payout.

I just recently did a hybrid on BIAB method by actually mashing without a bag then straining the newly converted wort with paint strainer bags. I was amazed how much more trub was there than if I had used my traditional mash tun. Needless to say I also didn't want to waste almost a gallon of good wort just because it was thick with trub so I racked nearly every last drop. I racked to my carboy and was still amazed at how much thick trub was in the carboy. I pitched my yeast and awaited fermentation. 3 days later and to my amazement, the yeast had eaten nearly all of the thick trub, cold break, or whatever you want to call it and all that was left was the primary trub with yeast on top. Grant it, there was still a thicker layer than if I had used my traditional mash tun but it turned out ok. I tasted the beer today after racking it to a clearing carboy and it tasted great. Just thought I'd share.

Ah, you're talking about a slurry of wort and break. Yeah, if you can't filter it, it will settle out/compact in the fermenter.

After a half gallon pitcher worth of vorlauf, my SS braid holds back most of the gook in the BK and I rinse it out before a quick wash up with oxi or PBW.

Must suck to have only a plain pot.

Couldn't you siphon thru a paint strainer; they're pretty fine mesh?

so is it a myth that the break material will impart off flavors?

klyph said:

Governor Blagojevich, despite your repeated efforts to make something out of nothing, trub does not turn into beer, and senatorial seats do not turn into a payout.

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Ha ha ha...that was brilliant......

I am no expert, as you can tell from my post count, but I have had good results from stirring the pot with a spoon to whirlpool it, then letting it sit for 60 minutes to compress the crud. Then I rack it and filter it with a fine mesh bag (sanitized) when I get close to the crud.

I usually lose one gallon (combined) do to racking off the BK and then the fermenter so I plan on 6 gallon batches in BeerSmith to end with 5 gallons of drinkable goods to put in my keg.

I've looked into this for a while now. Conclusion = I dump it all into the fermentor. Irish moss in the boil ensures it all drops out to the bottom and then I just rack off of that after primary is done.

hlumbard said:

I've looked into this for a while now. Conclusion = I dump it all into the fermentor. Irish moss in the boil ensures it all drops out to the bottom and then I just rack off of that after primary is done.

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I have done this my last 2 batches and notice nothing different in flavor. There was not much more at the bottom of the primary either.

I just put a paint strainer bag in my fermenter and pour the entire contents of the kettle in. The bag ususally clogs a bit with wort-filled gunk but I snap the bag into the lid of my fermenter to let it drain. Then I come back in a few hours and remove the bag of sludge. When done after a BIAB, I only have minor trub left behind and anything I "lose" wouldn't have been beer anyway. When I do the same thing with my proper MLT, by the time I rack off of primary, my layer of yeast is usually thicker than the trub layer. The biggest reason I do this step at all though is that I like to wash yeast and that makes it easier.

I also used a paint strainer bag to filter out trub/sediment. However, I then convinced myself that it is good to have all of that stuff in the fermenter...namely the hops particles that have not compeltely dissolved. My thought is that they will still add flavor and character to the beer during the fermentation process.

In the end, if you use Irish moss and let everything sit in the primary for a few weeks or a month, it will all settle out.

I think I am officially done with any additional straining. Seemed like a good idea at the time but I just think I am taking something away and that could contribute to a thin beer.

John