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seriousbeef · 02-14-2013, 03:25 PM

So I read on here that krausen is a bit of a natural defense against infection when present, and I seem to have a lot of cold break I didn't filter out (see pic). Just out of curiosity, I was wondering if it too protects the beer from infection?

seriousbeef · 02-14-2013, 03:35 PM

*unstrained

**NordeastBrewer77** · 02-14-2013, 03:42 PM

I'd say "no", once the krausen drops, get the lid back on that thing.

**tre9er** · 02-14-2013, 03:44 PM

That looks dry, weird, are you open fermenting and it just dried out? The only thing cold break would help with is yeast health, which I suppose can help fight off infection.

seriousbeef · 02-14-2013, 04:10 PM

I am a little concerned. No. I am not open fermenting. There was a lot of cold break, and I neglected to purchase a straining bag this time round, and in a hurry I didn't even whirlpool. Rookie error there!
Do you think I should take any action? Its been 48 hours since pitching

**tre9er** · 02-14-2013, 04:14 PM

I'm guessing those are whole hops? Never seen so much stuff floating on top that looked that dry, I guess. I'd leave it alone. Did you pour the entire kettle contents into the FV? Try siphoning above the bottom next time to reduce the break. You can put muslin over the racking tip to keep hops out of the siphon, too

**NordeastBrewer77** · 02-14-2013, 04:22 PM

Don't sweat it, plenty of people dump the whole kettle into the fermenter and there's no issue with it. I used to do it all the time. If anything, there's some evidence that yeast metabolize some of the proteins in the break material. The only thing it means for you as a home brewer is that you'll have more "trub loss" post fermentation, that's about it.

I also agree with Tre, that looks a lot more like whole hops particles there on top. Did you use whole hops?

seriousbeef · 02-14-2013, 04:23 PM

They are. No there was some cold break I managed to keep out. I did a great job last time of filtering cold break, I'm kicking myself! And yes, bottling day is going to be a little annoying now!

**NordeastBrewer77** · 02-14-2013, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seriousbeef

They are. No there was some cold break I managed to keep out. I did a great job last time of filtering cold break, I'm kicking myself! And yes, bottling day is going to be a little annoying now!

Maybe. Break tends to settle out and get compressed by the yeast. The hops my be a bit messy, try bagging them next time. I bag all my kettle hops now and it greatly reduces trub loss. Other than that, RDW, you're good to go man.

**tre9er** · 02-14-2013, 04:49 PM

I need to start bagging hops, but other than some break in my harvested yeast, I don't have any issues with it. My keggle is convex on the bottom, and I have a quasi-side pickup tube, so I don't get ALL of the break, but a fair amount. IDK, when I dry-hop is the only time there's really that much trub to deal with.