Just brewed third batch and have more questions?

I just brewed a batch of Honey Weizen this weekend using Nottingham dry yeast and it is really going strong right now.

I have brewed all my batches by adding the pellet hops directly into the wort with no issues but decided, because the Honey Weizen is so much lighter than the previous batches that I would strain the wort as I poured it into the primary this time. After having the filter clog several times I decided to just let the rest of the gook (about half the total volume) just go into the primary since I will rack it to a secondary and be able to separate it at that time. My question is "What do you experienced guys do?" Is there any real advantage to straining out the particulates when filling the primary? I noticed that I still have about 1.25 inches of stuff at the bottom of the carboy.

I am amazed at how different the fermentation stage has gone in the three batches I have brewed. The first batch, a Fat Tire Clone, fermented like crazy and blew the airlock twice. This batch turned out EXCELLENT! I love the taste of this batch as much as any beer I've ever tasted. (I might be prejudiced?) For the second batch, Midwest Porter, I used an activator packet that had frozen and didn't seem to wake up when I busted the packet so I added some dry yeast to be sure it fermented. It seemed to go pretty good for about 36 hrs. and then seemed stuck but after 8 days the FG was steady at 1.012 so I went ahead and sent it through the secondary and into the bottle. Will try some soon as it has been in the bottle for 2 weeks now. This batch, Honey Weizen, has been fermenting hard and steady for 48 hours and is still going strong.

I'm addicted now. This is a great hobby. Thanks to everyone who has helped me so far. Can't wait to brew, and drink, some more.

Primary=Honey Weizen
Secondary=Empty
Bottled=Midwest Porter
Drinking=Midwest Flat Tire
On Deck=? Still deciding ?

SkyDog said:

I have brewed all my batches by adding the pellet hops directly into the wort with no issues but decided, because the Honey Weizen is so much lighter than the previous batches that I would strain the wort as I poured it into the primary this time. After having the filter clog several times I decided to just let the rest of the gook (about half the total volume) just go into the primary since I will rack it to a secondary and be able to separate it at that time. My question is "What do you experienced guys do?" Is there any real advantage to straining out the particulates when filling the primary?

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I do it old-school and pour the wort through an 8" funnel with a screen. I've recently moved up to a larger brew pot, so I finish the boil with 6 gallons in the pot, let the gunk settle to the bottom (i.e., whirlpool), and then pour 5.5 gallons into my fermenter. Most of the gunk is left behind in the kettle, but I still use the funnel w/screen. Some guys like to siphon from the kettle to the fermenter.

The advantage of straining out the gunk is a cleaner primary fermenter. Its less stuff you have to be careful to avoid when you rack. Some people also claim that having lots of hop residue and break material in the fermenter can cause off-flavors, but I don't know how strong the objective evidence is for this claim.

SkyDog,

My advice would be to clean and strain the wort to a level you are "comfortable" with prior to primary. With that being said, some fine beers are made both ways. If you demand the wort to be crystal clear in the primary that's fine. Try letting the kettle settle longer prior to transfering to primary. W/ a whirpool and some time in the kettle, the pellet hops will be on the bottom allowing you to transfer cleaner wort. If you merely dump the whole kettle contents that also works.

Are you monitoring your ferment temps?? A very fast and vigorous fermentation is not necessarily a good thing. cool the wort and ferment at the mid to lower range of the yeast would be my suggestion rather than worrying about hop residue.

Also, don't rush the primary. Give it time to finish and clear a bit and you won't be transferring the undesirables. Some brewers, myself included, feel that transferring to secondary is overated and keg/bottle directly from an extended primary. Hope this helps.

Mike

Thanks to both of you for the replies. There seem to be many differing opinions on most subjects here which leads me to believe that personal preference has a lot to do with the art of brewing.

My fermentation temp for this batch has been around 71 degrees. (The house has been between 68-70) Fermentation has slowed now but has still been more active for longer than my previous batch. I am guessing that the 2 lbs. of honey has probably caused that.

My previous batches did ferment at a temperature which was probably 1-2 degrees cooler. The weather has been warming lately here in Tennessee.

I will continue to experiment and enjoy the knowledge of knowing how my beer has been brewed and what is in it.

Thanks again!

I use a hop bag.... always have
JJ