Is the Cold Break really that Evil?

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PistolaPete

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I brew with extracts and any specialty grains and hops that are used are kept in nylon straining bags so the only visible sediment I get after pouring the cooled wort into the fermenter is a few tiny specks caught in the strainer on the way into the fermenter. Since there is almost nothing caught in the strainer I am trying to figure out if I need to go through the extra step of whirlpooling and siphoning the cooled wort to keep out the cold break. I really don't care too much about clarity or long term storage stability, I am just going for a good tasting beer at this point...
 
Yeah, don't worry about it. Plenty of people toss everything (hot/cold break, hop trub, etc.) into the fermenter and it settles out just fine. Plus, since you're using extract, a majority of the hot/cold break proteins will have been removed during the extract production process. If nothing bad is happening, don't try to fix it!
 
I'm all grain and never worry about it. Straining is a PITA in my opinion. When I was doing extract I just dumped it it. I do have a whirlpool setup on my brew kettle to limit that amount of gunk that goes into the fermenter, but I never sweat it.
 
I'm all grain and never worry about it. Straining is a PITA in my opinion. When I was doing extract I just dumped it it. I do have a whirlpool setup on my brew kettle to limit that amount of gunk that goes into the fermenter, but I never sweat it.


Same. Everything goes in for me. I bag my hops while i boil, so there's less hop leaf going in, but the break and everything else all goes in the fermenter
 
I guess I'll try and leave out some of the cold break after the ice bath but I don't think I'm going to go through the trouble to try and whirlpool and siphon. I just listened to that podcast from Basic Brewing Radio where many people did a test and split a batch into two: one w/ the trub and the other without. Almost all said there was a difference in taste and fermentation, but it was split down the middle as far as which way was better. I would assume most people who did the test were not using boils bags either.
 
+1 on don't worry too much. Used to nochill brew those beers turned out just fine. Now whirlpool not to keep things out of the fermenter, but to keep larger particles out of my cfc.
 
They did some comparisons on basic brewing and it came out as a wash most of the time between people who liked the "trub" beer and those that liked the "filtered" beer. I think 10-20 people did side by side fermentations. Basically brewing 10 gallon batches, then put clear wort for 5 gallons, and all the trub and wort for the other 5, then compared finished products.
 
I brew all grain with hop bags and after removing the bag just dump the whole shebang into the fermenter. From what I've read and listened to, it's actually good for the yeast and does not have an ill effect on clarity or flavor.
 
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