What do you do to get/keep the crap out of your wort?

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dankev

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I did my first AG last night, and for the most part, it went great. I hit my target gravity, and everything smells wonderful.

The only issue I had was lots of 'stuff' in the wort. This was also my first time using whole hops (as opposed to pellets). I used a strainer to get the hops out, but there was still tons of debris. I don't know if it was hop debris or from the hot or cold break. I ended up leaving quite a bit of trub out, so my total volume was a little less than I hoped, and there's still lots of debris that made it into the carboy.

What things should I be doing to keep the beer cleaner?
 
I do my best to keep most of the junk in the kettle when I transfer to my bucket. Aside from that, I don't worry about it as most of the junk will settle out after fermentation is done anyway.
 
Leaving out the trub is about the only thing I can think of. I always dump everything into the fermenter as the break material will settle out during fermentation. Also, I keg my beers so I generally don't have clarity issues.
 
I just started using whole hops in the boil and have been putting them in a grain bag to minimize debris. Also, good hot & cold breaks help a lot. Finally, I always brew an extra 1/2 gallon, use Whirlfloc and whirlpool before transferring to the fermenter, leaving the extra 1/2 gallon with the break and such in the BK. The wort is always crystal clear and without debris.

Bob
 
I've dumped it many times. I now whirlpool and siphon it from the side. It keeps my yeast cleaner (I repitch slurry most of the time.)

whirlpool.jpg
 
I've been dumping it all in (however I use pellets) and I have noticed getting less beer when I bottle due to the amount of trub at the bottom (upwards of two to three inches). It has not affected taste though so it's not that big of a deal.
 
I separate the trub out for two reasons already mentioned, more room in the fermenter for beer, and it's easier to harvest yeast. I use a hop spider to keep out the larger hop particles, and then whirpool to leave behind the break material and smaller hop particles.
 
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