To strain or not to strain...

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

lfarah

New Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2007
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
So I'm on my second batch ever...brewin' a beach blanket blonde. My first batch was a london pub ale and it turned out pretty good...so my friends and family say.

In any event, I have just been dumping my whole wort into my primary, aerating it and starting the fermentation process. Should I be straining my wort before I place it in primary?

I rack to secondary and in that process I leave most of the trub behind...but does leaving all the trub from the wort in my primary alter the flavor at all? or does straining in the beginning simply make life easier come bottling/secondary time?

Thanx guys,

Louie
 
Lots will argue that getting rid of the spent hops and excess break material is critical; I've made good beer without being able to strain well, but maybe it could have been better....

Get yourself a fine-wire mesh collander/strainer - $15 or so at Target. It'll take out most of the hops/break material, and also help aerate. Won't help if you primary in a carboy, if you primary in a bucket, find one that will fit right on top, works like a charm.
 
I have heard some say to strain it and some say that sitting on that stuff for a short period of time actually adds a little body and character to the beer. I strain most of it but plenty still gets in there. As long as you don't let it sit on there for too long I don't think it makes much difference personally.
 
the_bird said:
Lots will argue that getting rid of the spent hops and excess break material is critical; I've made good beer without being able to strain well, but maybe it could have been better....

Get yourself a fine-wire mesh collander/strainer - $15 or so at Target. It'll take out most of the hops/break material, and also help aerate. Won't help if you primary in a carboy, if you primary in a bucket, find one that will fit right on top, works like a charm.

I agree with The Bird. I used a cheapo supermarket strainer for several years and my beers turned out just fine. I did use it with a carboy though. I sat it on top of the funnel that was leading into the carboy and poured through it. Some stuff gets through, but it settles out relatively quickly.
 
I've never noticed a difference in flavor between straining or not. I do believe more beer is lost in the thicker trub of the unstrained primary.

Wild
 
I would imagine hop residue in the primary would cause flavors that no hop residue in the primary would not. But in any event, it is hops, so it is not like it is going to cause anything necessarily off. If you like your beer when it is not strained, dont worry about it. If you think flavor would improve, then go for it; like it has been mentioned, a strainer can be bought pretty cheaply.

I personally strain mine, but I dont think that it is 100% necessary.
 
yes the hops in the trub do flavor the wort further in primary....so the experts say.

I never strain, but I also don't pour every last drop into the fermenter...I try to pour as much as I can and when trub starts pouring, I stop.

I might be losing 4 cups of wort like this....just a guess I never measured it.

Mesh strainers for straining paint are supposed to work great though.
 
Back
Top