From the Brew Kettle to the Fermenter

[STL_Lucas]

I had a quick question about transfering from the Brew Kettle to the Primary Fermenter. After the wort is cooled and you are transferring your wort to the primary fermenter do you strain out the trub and hops that are in the bottom of the kettle or do you put them in the fermenter?

I know some people use hop bags so they can remove the hops from the wort but it seems like when you add hop pellets directly to the boil they just dissolve and then end up at the bottom. Is this irrelevant or will leaving this all in the wort during fermentation change the character of the beer?

Thanks!

 

[twistr25]

Completely up to you and the work you want to put into it. I dump everything in. I use the hop bags to try and prevent as much as I can, but at the end, everything ends up in the fermenter for me.

 

[SiriusStarr]

I try to leave the bulk of the hops/break material (a.k.a. gunk, a.k.a. trub) behind, 'cause it tends to be bitter and unpleasant if you pick it up later when racking. THAT BEING SAID, I have had more than one batches when something went wrong and I've just had to dump it all into the fermenter, and they've turned out fine, just with a thicker layer at the bottom of the primary that you have to avoid when siphoning. I would definitely try to leave as much solid material behind as possible, but don't kill yourself trying to do it. You can try whirlpooling to avoid it; some people have good luck with that, though I personally haven't, or you can just accept some degree of loss. Really though, transferring any of the gunk shouldn't appreciably change your beer as long as you rack off it, in my experience.

YMMV

 

[rekoob]

you want to leave behind as much trub as possible. This will depend on your BK and your transfer method.

and what they ^ said... LOL, either way, don't worry about it.

 

[webby45wr]

I use hop bags that I pull out while chilling. Then I dump everything into the fermenter. If I used whole leaf hops, I'll pour through a strainer. This also used to be my aeration methond before I got a oxygen stone.

 

[MikeScott]

I intentionally try to get as much trub as I can. I've heard / read that it's good for the yeast. When I rack for bottling I avoid it, but not for the initial fermentation.

I don't worry about the hop pellet bits, but I don't put whole leaf hops into the fermenter.

 

[doornumber3]

I put my brew kettle on counter and then a funnel and strainer over the carboy on the floor and open up the valve on the kettle. Works great and it oxygenates the wort as well.

 

[STL_Lucas]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I usually strain everything out before I pitch the yeast but on my last batch I just left it all in and then started thinking if leaving the hops in was going to change the beer a lot.

 

[twistr25]

Not that I've experienced, but I do usually at least use a hop bag that keeps most of it out.