Straining

What's up everyone? brewed my first batch and the bottles are now conditioning. The directions did not say to strain the wort while transfering to the fermenter. i have seen some videos where people strain then throw it away and some who strain then dump sediment back into the fermenter. what is the correct way? I apologize for asking this question,as i'm sure it's been asked about numerous times. i'm new to the site and havn't used the search yet. thanx guys!!!

To strain or not to strain, that is the question! Whether 'tis nobler in the tastes of men....

It isn't a big concern either way, but ideally you want to strain the trub (sediment) out. I don't know why someone would go to the trouble of straining it out, then dump it back into the fermenter.

If you didn't strain, don't worry. Your beer is fine.

I do small boils so I place a couple gallons of filtered tap water in the freezer before brewing for top off water.

I place a nylon net over my bucket (held on by sanitized plastic 8 cloths pins) and pour my wort into the primary through the net then sparge the hops, etc. I've been doing that since 1994.

hercher said:

It isn't a big concern either way, but ideally you want to strain the trub (sediment) out. I don't know why someone would go to the trouble of straining it out, then dump it back into the fermenter.

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I've gotten the impression that some people here strain primarily as a means to help aerate the wort. So I guess someone might want the trub during fermenting but still use straining as a means of aerating?

I pour through a kitchen strainer and dump the hops and break material in the trash.

bonzombiekitty said:

I've gotten the impression that some people here strain primarily as a means to help aerate the wort. So I guess someone might want the trub during fermenting but still use straining as a means of aerating?

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I don't think so. Straining is to remove the wort. I have read articles that suggest the trub can help hold oxygen, thus allowing for better aeration. But this is in some dispute, and any benefits of leaving the trub in are doubtful at best.

For the homebrewer, you aren't doing any discernible damage by leaving it in, however. If you want to properly aerate your wort, let it splash into the fermenting vessel. Another way to aerate, which I use, is to hook a small aquarium air pump to an aerating stone (with a HEPA filter in the middle, of course). Insert the sanitized stone into the chilled wort, and let it run for a while (I usually go 30 minutes). Then pitch your wort.

Thanx for your responses!