Moving beer from brewpot to fermenter.

[orcus332]

Hey guys,
Quick question. Does anyone try to remove any of the trub from the boil when transferring the wort to your fermenter? I use pelleted hops so by the end of the boil they're pretty much everywhere in the wort. I never worry too much about it and just poor the entire wort after being chilled into my fermenter. Is this ok or should i be using a strainer, cheesecloth, siphon etc? Will leaving the hops in the fermenter make a more bitter beer?
Thanks!

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[Rick500]

I use pellet hops and get a fair bit of them into the fermenter. No ill effects. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[orcus332]

I guess I'm a bit concerned about the amount of sediment in the bottom of my fermenter as well. The last batch had about 3/4 gallon in the bottom after 2 weeks of settling. Any need to facilitate its removal when pouring into the fermenter? I know some of this was the yeast cake too.

 

[Rick500]

It makes it a bit messier to wash yeast, but if you're not worried about that, it's no problem at all (other than that it takes up some volume in the fermenter).

 

[HarkinBanks]

From what I can tell people are all over the board on this one. Personally, I use a large paint strainer bag from Lowe's for my hops during the boil and then I rack the cooled wort into my 6 gal glass carboy through a little thing called a Siphontap that also has an aerator on the end. I always transfer to a secondary and get very clear beer. Probably overkill, but it works for me and is a pretty inexpensive setup.

 

[RayInUT]

I whirlpool and siphon and have been getting very clear beers. Sometimes I care and sometimes I don't. I really don't know if it makes any difference in the final product. I doubt it does.

 

[Captain_Bigelow]

I pour mine through a strainer into the bucket.

 

[Buffman]

I pour mine through a strainer into the bucket.

+1 (except I pour through a strainer set on a funnel and into a carboy). Filters and aerarates nicely, plus I get an upper-body workout slowly pouring 5 gallons of liquid.

 

[petep1980]

Buffman I tried the same thing, but the strainer kept getting clogged with hops.

 

[Revvy]

This same discussion wound down yesterday a couple hours before you posted your question.

You'll find people's answers here helpful, https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/filtering-128059/

As well as the similar threads in the box below.

 

[Buffman]

Mine, too. If I'm using whole hops or plugs, the strainer is about 3/4 full of hops by the time I'm through pouring. At the end, I let it sit for a few minutes (or gently press the hops with a sanitized spoon if I get impatient) and all the wort drains through. Is your strainer a really fine mesh? I use the one Northern Brewer sells.

 

[Homercidal]

I've only used hops. My method so far is to whirlpool gently and start siphon from top. Then it comes out of the chiller and through a SS strainer before dropping into fermenter.

This aerates the wort. Also, by keeping the siphon near the top of the kettle, the stuff can settle under it. I've done pretty good like this past few batches.

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

I think SOME of the trub is a good thing in the fermenter. Doesn't the yeast need some of that crap and don't you need at least some of the protein for head retention?

That being said, I try to limit it, too. I plan on leaving a gallon in the keggle. Makes it hard to hit gravity, though.

 

[mithion]

My brew kettle has a strainer built into it. It's not very effective for pellet hops, but it works really well for whole hops and that's what I try to use as often as the available varieties let me. Other than that, you're gonna get a lot of precipitated proteins from hot break, especially if you used Ising moss. But that's usually too fine to get stuck in the strainer. But yeah, I've read somewhere that if you start a whirlpool in your brewpot, a lot of sediment will deposit in the middle so you can siphon from the side and that should help reduce the crap in the fermentor.

 

[orcus332]

Thanks Revvy, guess I should've done a search before posting!