Question about pouring the wort into the fermenter

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eighteez

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I did my first batch last night and a question came up today...

When pouring the wort into the fermenter, how critical is it to strain out anything in the bottom of the kettle? Assuming you used a muslin bag for steeping the grains and just tossed the 2 portions of hops right into the wort.
 
Not a big deal. Lots of people pour the whole mess into primary. Others strive for clarity at every step. Answer: not critical.
 
I concur.

A buddy and I brewed up a 10G batch of wheatbear-somethingorother a month or so ago, and his fermenter only had about 1/2" of yeast trub in the bottom because he tried to get the clearest portion of the wort possible. I'm not so picky. I had around 1.5-2" of trub.
 
great, thanks!!!

This time I just dumped it right in. Next time I was planning on going back and forth a few times and thru a sanitized strainer each time for max aeration.
 
I concur.

A buddy and I brewed up a 10G batch of wheatbear-somethingorother a month or so ago, and his fermenter only had about 1/2" of yeast trub in the bottom because he tried to get the clearest portion of the wort possible. I'm not so picky. I had around 1.5-2" of trub.

I strain my break material and hops out because it's not that difficult and it just seems like a sound process. Perhaps a pro brewer can weigh in on whether they just dump everything into the fermenter, but my guess is they don't. I think they whirlpool to get all of that trub out of the wort before fermentation.

This is what I use. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350329494866

I got the 600u and it gets almost all of the trub out. It does clog about half way through, but I just pick it up, dump the trub in the sink and put it back to strain the second half of the wort. It does dual duty because it aerates as well.
 
thats very cool NorCalAngler. that is exactly what i have been looking for. i read on another forum of a fellow brewer who uses 200 micron with good results. might not drain as fast, however.
 
I use a my bottling bucket lined with a 5 gal paint strainer bag. Pour from kettle to the bucket, then remove the bag & open the spigot to drain into the fermenter, works great. (cheap too)
 
for my 2nd batch I used the strainer.

Poured the cooled worth back and forth a few times between the boiling kettle and the fermenting bucket.

Emptying the strainer of whatever it caught each time.
 
for my 2nd batch I used the strainer.

Poured the cooled worth back and forth a few times between the boiling kettle and the fermenting bucket.

Emptying the strainer of whatever it caught each time.

I'd be far too paranoid to pick up unwanted guests doing that. I try to minimize the time between cooled wort and the airlock going on. I've taken to dumping the whole kettle into the fermenter. No bad results yet.
 
I have a fine sieve/strainer that I pour my cooled wort through when going from pot to fermenter. Cleaned well and sanitized before each use and I've yet to have a problem.
 
So are you sitting there scraping the strainer to get everything through? I did that once or twice when I was first starting out and it would get clogged almost instrnatlty and take forever to scrap and get all the wort in. Maybe I used the wrong strainer.
 
So are you sitting there scraping the strainer to get everything through? I did that once or twice when I was first starting out and it would get clogged almost instrnatlty and take forever to scrap and get all the wort in. Maybe I used the wrong strainer.

Nah. I tend to pour from the brewpot quite slowly. Most of the trub comes out at the end of the pour. Very little scraping involved. Maybe I'm just lucky.
 
I use one of these, requires some scraping and a pause during straining to dump a time or two for very hoppy beers, but only adds a few minutes to the brew day and I like that there's less trub (meaning more beer) at the end, plus it's easy to scoop nice clean yeast up off the bottom of the fermenter for reuse in the next brew. That said, the gentleman running experiments over at Brulosophy found no statistically significant benefit to removing trub in terms of final beer flavor. So if you're not worried about saving an extra beer or two on the back end or harvesting your yeast, straining your wort may not be the best use of your time.
 
straining your beer isn't necessary at the homebrew level. it's always good to know what the pros are doing, but sometimes they have to go to significant lengths because of the scale of their brews. there are some people who have reported that you actually want the trub in when brewing a paler, hoppier beer. then there's those that have reported that you want less trub in darker ones. i get around this by scraping off the hot break at the beginning of the boil, and using a hop bag. but i only do that for the latter styles, for the former i toss everything in the fermenter.

but using a strainer is a very good way to aerate the wort, provided you've cleaned and sanitized it very well!
 
You don't have to strain, as no significant flavor differences seem to be had. But I like to use my dial layer 10 1/4" fine mesh strainer to get less trub compacted on the bottom of primary come bottling day. Less trub losses & it helps aerate the wort when adding to primary. Not stirring up the settlings toward the end of the wort chill & whirlpooling helps. Just leave the solids & the lil bit of mussy wort at the bottom of the BK. What gets into the strainer I fold over & over to get the last bit of wort out of it before dumping it. What poofy, fine stuff that does get through the strainer settles out in fairly short order.
 
Could try finnings than racking mid fermentation should greatly reduce sediment

no.

ok, finings, sure. use them right before bottling/kegging and during a cold crash.

racking mid-fermentation? just no. it doesn't help clarity, it doesn't reduce sediment in the final product. and in fact, is asking for a stuck fermentation.

i noticed you only have 4 posts, and according to the thread you started, are a fairly new brewer. can i suggest to give it some time and get some experience under your belt before you start giving advice to other new brewers?
 
no.

ok, finings, sure. use them right before bottling/kegging and during a cold crash.

racking mid-fermentation? just no. it doesn't help clarity, it doesn't reduce sediment in the final product. and in fact, is asking for a stuck fermentation.

i noticed you only have 4 posts, and according to the thread you started, are a fairly new brewer. can i suggest to give it some time and get some experience under your belt before you start giving advice to other new brewers?

I've read quite a few articles and alot of people are torn on weather racking is bad I haven't tried it but I was planning to with my current batch and than larger it in a different fermenter for about 4 weeks. What do you mean by cold crash what does that achieve?
Cheers
 
I've read quite a few articles and alot of people are torn on weather racking is bad I haven't tried it but I was planning to with my current batch and than larger it in a different fermenter for about 4 weeks. What do you mean by cold crash what does that achieve?
Cheers

a few articles does not an expert make. whatever one believes about racking to a secondary isn't really relevant. my point was that you claimed to do it halfway through fermentation, which is bad advice.

*lager

if you're making a lager style beer, then sure lager it for 4 weeks. if you're making an ale, there shouldn't be much of a reason to do it, unless it's a large belgian style or something.

google cold crashing, then read.

either way, my point is that you're giving advice to a fellow new brewer. at the least preface your advice with "i have read.." and link to what you have read. but there's no need to state something as fact unless you know for sure it is fact.
 
no.

ok, finings, sure. use them right before bottling/kegging and during a cold crash.

racking mid-fermentation? just no. it doesn't help clarity, it doesn't reduce sediment in the final product. and in fact, is asking for a stuck fermentation.

i noticed you only have 4 posts, and according to the thread you started, are a fairly new brewer. can i suggest to give it some time and get some experience under your belt before you start giving advice to other new brewers?

I've read quite a few articles and alot of people are torn on weather racking is bad I haven't tried it but I was planning to with my current batch and than larger it in a different fermenter for about 4 weeks. What do you mean by cold crash what does that achieve?
Cheers
 
It said failed to post so I posted it again when in fact it had already posted

yeah i get that **** all the time. super annoying. no worries man. just keep brewing and getting better. keep learning from all kinds of great resources. get your hands on books, not just articles. and most of all, brew lots, after all, you have to apply all that new stuff you'll be learning right?
 
Cheers I had a read up on cold crashing last night I was going to give it a go. Do you reckon it would be best to cold crash than larger or the other way around?
 
Cheers I had a read up on cold crashing last night I was going to give it a go. Do you reckon it would be best to cold crash than larger or the other way around?

haha fix your autospell with lager. please for the love of beer!

cold crashing is an incredibly shortened lager period. if you're brewing a lager style, which means you used lager yeast and fermented around 48-50F (or you brewed a hybrid lager, which means you used an ale yeast and fermented around 58F), then a longer cold crash, or a lager period, is typically necessary. this will help drop out all of the proteins and yeast and other "flavor-enhancing" products, and make it more crisp and clean tasting. lagering and cold-crashing take place at around freezing temps for water, or 32F.
 
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