Trub Going Into Carboy - Bad or OK?

[Jiffster]

I have always just transferred the entire contents of my cooled brew kettle into my carboy without attempting to minimize the trub going into the carboy.

Well, I have tried stirring to whirlpool and create a cone that stays in the center of the kettle. Doesn't work for me.

I just let the cooled wort flow into the carboy without tipping my kettle and count the remaining .13 gallons a trub loss.

Should I be trying to minimize the trub going into my carboy?

 

[kh54s10]

The only thing I do to minimize trub into my fermenters is to leave the last few ounces of the thickest part in the kettle. It is less than 12 ounces. But then again I use pellet hops and bag them in a 5 gallon paint strainer bag clipped to the lip of the kettle, so there is not much debris to start with.

Anything that gets transferred settles after the active fermentation is over. The deepest trub layer I have had in my fermenters was less than the cap on the end of my autosiphon.

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

I put it all in there, the only time I try to minimize the trub is when I am packaging. Which is much easier if you cold crash because it will get everything to settle nicely at the bottom for you and clear the beer up.

 

[porterpounder]

I try to limit trub into the fermenter, or dump it out of the conical when doing lighter lagers or ales, but for the rest, most of it goes in. It will contain some nutrients for fermentation, and as long as you don't leave it on there for a couple months after fermentation it will be fine.

 

[asutke781]

I pour the wort through a mesh strainer to get all the hop matter, other than that I transfer it all.

 

[jddevinn]

What do you mean it "didn't work for you"? Did you let it settle for 10-15 minutes after you stopped the whirpool?

 

[petrolSpice]

I pour it all in, but also use a bag to contain the hops in the boil.

I too have tried whirlpooling without success. I might try again sometime.

 

[texasbrewer73]

I whirlpool but generally don't worry too much except for volume to make sure I get my 10 gallons. Unless you let it sit on trub too long, my experience is you don't get enough off flavors to notice, thus not making it worth it for all the extra work.

 

[RM-MN]

I have always just transferred the entire contents of my cooled brew kettle into my carboy without attempting to minimize the trub going into the carboy.

Well, I have tried stirring to whirlpool and create a cone that stays in the center of the kettle. Doesn't work for me.

I just let the cooled wort flow into the carboy without tipping my kettle and count the remaining .13 gallons a trub loss.

Should I be trying to minimize the trub going into my carboy?

For your next batch, pour everything into the fermenter, let it ferment, and bottle it. After 3 weeks in the bottle, open one bottle and pour it on the ground. You will get approximately the same results.:rockin:

 

[Jiffster]

What do you mean it "didn't work for you"? Did you let it settle for 10-15 minutes after you stopped the whirpool?

Nope. I have always tried to get it into the carboy as soon as possible.

 

[jddevinn]

Nope. I have always tried to get it into the carboy as soon as possible.

If you don't let it sit for a couple minutes the whirlpool isn't going to do anything to help you.

 

[Jiffster]

If you don't let it sit for a couple minutes the whirlpool isn't going to do anything to help you.

So is creating a whirlpool by stirring enough to get results or do you really need a pump?

 

[Jim311]

I think trying to eliminate trub is a waste of time, energy, and wort.

 

[55x11]

I have always just transferred the entire contents of my cooled brew kettle into my carboy without attempting to minimize the trub going into the carboy.

Well, I have tried stirring to whirlpool and create a cone that stays in the center of the kettle. Doesn't work for me.

I just let the cooled wort flow into the carboy without tipping my kettle and count the remaining .13 gallons a trub loss.

Should I be trying to minimize the trub going into my carboy?

See:
http://brulosophy.com/2014/06/02/the-great-trub-exbeeriment-results-are-in/

Bottom Line - beer with LOTS of trub ended up being *clearer* than non-trub beer.

(Also see this: http://brulosophy.com/2015/03/22/the-impact-of-kettle-trub-part-2-exbeeriment-results/)

 

[jddevinn]

So is creating a whirlpool by stirring enough to get results or do you really need a pump?

Yea, that's fine just more work. Think of a glass of tea that has some loose tea debris in it stirring will bring it to the middle of the glass but you still need to wait a couple minutes for it to precipitate out.

See:
http://brulosophy.com/2014/06/02/the-great-trub-exbeeriment-results-are-in/

Bottom Line - beer with LOTS of trub ended up being *clearer* than non-trub beer.

(Also see this: http://brulosophy.com/2015/03/22/the-impact-of-kettle-trub-part-2-exbeeriment-results/)

You should be able to get all beer clear (relative to style) regardless of transfer. I haven't noticed any difference in taste between trub or no trub. Back when I used carboys I didn't really bother to leave it behind. Now I have conicals and a really hoppy beer + yeast can cause my conical dump to clog. I'm whirlpooling already to cool, so why not wait another 10 minutes to create a cone and leave behind most of the junk?

 

[55x11]

Yea, that's fine just more work. Think of a glass of tea that has some loose tea debris in it stirring will bring it to the middle of the glass but you still need to wait a couple minutes for it to precipitate out.




You should be able to get all beer clear (relative to style) regardless of transfer. I haven't noticed any difference in taste between trub or no trub. Back when I used carboys I didn't really bother to leave it behind. Now I have conicals and a really hoppy beer + yeast can cause my conical dump to clog. I'm whirlpooling already to cool, so why not wait another 10 minutes to create a cone and leave behind most of the junk?

You assume it is "junk". There is a school of thought that the "hot break" material can provide additional nutrients for the yeast, and make better beer.

Of course if you have clogging issues, that's a different priority - for a lot of us who use glass or PET fermentors, we can easily leave the trub behind.

The key reason I provided the brulosophy link is that people think that leaving trub out in the kettle will result in more clear beer and better tasting beer. The beerexperiments the brulosophy guys did show precisely the opposite.

 

[petrolSpice]

So is creating a whirlpool by stirring enough to get results or do you really need a pump?

From what I've read, you stir it as fast as you can without it spilling over using the spoon. Do this for 1-2 minutes, then let it sit for 10-20 minutes so the trub can accumulate at the bottom in the middle. Then rack from the outside edge of the kettle making sure not to stir it up in the process.

Letting it after whirlpooling seems to be the key. Next time I brew, I plan to get the wort down to ~80F then do the whirlpool. 20 minutes later it should be down to pitching temp. I use an ice bath.

 

[jddevinn]

FYI, pictures from yesterday. 12 gallon batch of a Belgian Tripel, only about 8 oz total hops. Cooled as far as I reasonably could (70°s), 10 minute stand and this is what I got. Ran the BK pump to empty until there was no liquid left.

 

[GCBrewery]

Did the Brulosopher at a brew club meeting. Almost everyone preferred the "truby" beer, more hop aroma/flavor/smoother. I usually do not do this extreme (and won't), but I'm not worrying about it anymore. It settled out, ended up with 4 .25 gallons in the keg.

 

[singybrue]

I think if you are saving/repitching the yeast after fermentation, especially hoppy beers, getting clearer wort into your fermenter is better, from the yeast standpoint.
Other than that, it doesn't really matter. Do what you feel!
If you are into speedy brewdays or are a lazy slob(Me), go ahead and dump it all in. Bonus if you have the ability to cold crash. You'll make good beer.
If your anal retentiveness just can't handle putting all that yucky stuff in your fermentor, go ahead and whirlpool, filter/sieve etc. You'll make good beer.
I know, you ask why should I trust the interwebs advice of a lazy slob? The Brulosopher links have the sciency stuff to help splain it.

 

[brewshki]

I was going to post the link the Brulosophy exbeeriment about this topic, but someone else beat me to the punch. I never really worried about it before and I definitely do not worry about it after reading the results. If you are too worried about the true or just want more liquid volume, you can always up your batch size by a half gallon and get 5 gallons or more into the fermenter before starting to suck the true up from the bottom.

 

[mongoose33]

I used to strain out the trub but after reading the above exbeeriment I decided to just dump it all in. Not apparent that things are any different. I'm no longer straining. People other than me have expressed happiness with the brews I've done this way.

 

[Jiffster]

Thanks folks. Looks like my "Don't fear the trub" process is ok.

 

[ncbrewer]

I prefer to touch the cooled wort as little as possible for sanitation reasons, even with a sanitized strainer. So I pour all the wort into the fermenter. But I'm a fanatic about contamination.

 

[ajr628]

The Brulosoph read is great.
The only time I don't dump everything in is when I'm using whole leaf hops; which I pour through a large strainer.