Sorry to bump an old post but this is something I would love to hear more opinions on.
After a solid year of all-grain brewing I am still not getting the results I'd like. I am making some great-tasting wort, cleaning and sanitizing carefully and fermenting at relatively stable temperatures but still find many of my beers to have some 'off' flavours. I've recently been reading about the importance of separating the trub/break/hops from the wort when transferring to the fermenter, and was convinced that this was 'the missing link' between my current process and having great beer. When I think back on my first brews, which I recall as being better than those of late and I remember that for those I did siphon off the wort from the kettle rather than pitch everything into the fermenter, I think that this must be the problem.
Anyhow, when I read this thread and hear from so many (including Yooper whose advice I've come to trust) that they've had good results doing the same (i.e. dumping the whole lot), I wonder if this actually is my problem.
At the same time, I think that there must be a reason brewers and breweries go to such lengths to whirlpool and filter off as much as they can from the wort....
Does anyone else care to weigh in? Could it really be true that hot-break/trub would have no effects on flavour during primary fermentation?