I just brewed my first batch last night. Everything went pretty well up until I was transferring to my primary carboy. I was using a funnel with a mesh screen, which clogged up after about 1/2 gallon of wort passed through it. So I thought to myself, "This isn't working very well... I am probably supposed to wait to filter this until I transfer to secondary."
So I pour the rest through the funnel without the screen, cap it, and put it in the closet. Afterwards I came to the forums and searched... turns out I was supposed to filter it after all. What should I do? Should I leave it with the inch-thick layer of hop pellet particles in the bottom, or should I risk contamination by pouring it back through a filter?
FYI, it is a 5 gallon batch of a nut brown ale... most likely a Newcastle clone. I used a White Labs liquid yeast.
So I pour the rest through the funnel without the screen, cap it, and put it in the closet. Afterwards I came to the forums and searched... turns out I was supposed to filter it after all. What should I do? Should I leave it with the inch-thick layer of hop pellet particles in the bottom, or should I risk contamination by pouring it back through a filter?
FYI, it is a 5 gallon batch of a nut brown ale... most likely a Newcastle clone. I used a White Labs liquid yeast.