Filtering hops and trub before fermenting

[peter78]

Is it true that the beer will taste grassy or who knows what if you do not filter your wort at the end of the boil? Please reply to this only if you have personal experience with not filtering hops and you beer turned good/bad.

 

[TyTanium]

No. I have never tasted grassy. But I have tasted "vegetal" flavors before. IMO the biggest reason to filter is less trub/junk in your primary. Especially if you'll be reusing the yeast.

Super easy way to do it: Line a bucket with a nylon paint strainer bag, pour in your wort directly from the kettle, lift out the bag, give it a good squeeze, and you're done. Or pour into primary if not using a bucket.

 

[peter78]

I ferment in glass carboys with a funnel on top with a strainer, which kinda works, but it takes forever agitating the strainer till it's over. Otherwise it clogs. This last time I just straight poured it in the carboy. I wonder if I should transfer to secondary. I do not reuse the yeast.

 

[Mozart]

I ferment in glass carboys with a funnel on top with a strainer, which kinda works, but it takes forever agitating the strainer till it's over. Otherwise it clogs. This last time I just straight poured it in the carboy. I wonder if I should transfer to secondary. I do not reuse the yeast.

It's an extra expense, but you could get a plastic fermenting bucket with a spigot, line with a nylon mesh bag, pour in your wort, lift the bag, and then transfer to your primary carboy.

It's an extra piece of equipment and an extra step, but I'd think it quicker than the slow transfer through the smaller filter and its clogging issues.

 

[LouBrew13]

A guy by me owns arbor fabricating. Check them out. I have the hop basket that rests on the kettle during the boil. Huge reduction of hop debris in the fermenter. And yes I have used it successfully.

 

[Yooper]

I don't filter my wort, mostly because I have a CFC and all of the cold break goes in the fermenter anyway. I don't have a way to filter out hotbreak (which is very fine particles). I sometimes use a hops bag for my hops, especially when I'm using a ton of them, but otherwise I don't spend any effort separating hops debris and break material out of the wort before putting it in the fermenter.

I've been brewing a while, and so far the beer's been fine.

 

[Calder]

It doesn't have any effect as far as I am concerned.

If you want to get rid of most of it, and don't want to strain the wort. You could put the beer in a fermenter and let it rest, and a few hours later transfer it to another fermenter before adding the yeast.

 

[ronjonacron]

I usually dump everything from the kettle into the fermenter, except the bottom quart or so which after the chill is usually mostly yucky stuff. Sometimes i forget though, never noticed any off flavors.

 

[241]

I don't filter or separate going into the fermenter. I cold crash before it comes out of the fermentation chamber. My beers come out great! No veggies

 

[Mark_]

I have done it both ways with identical recipes. One without filtering and just dumping everything into the fermenter and another batch I strained through a nylon bag. Both recipes turned out nearly identical.

 

[jamboparty]

I dump nearly everything into the carboy as well (except the obvious hop pellet sludge), and the beer comes out just fine.

However, if I started to re-use the yeast, I think I might change my method.

 

[BoomerHarley]

I've been using a trub filter for the last few batches. I can't say for sure, but the last few batches have been amazing, with clarity I didn't think possible and seemed to finish quicker. By finish I mean the amount of time from racking in the keg until I drink it. I am not going to claim anything because there are some very experienced brewers posting the opposite on this thread, but it seems enough that I was just telling a coworker about it and offered to let him try it to see if he agrees with my assessment.

It's enough to make me use it on every batch.

 

[d3track]

I don't filter my wort, mostly because I have a CFC and all of the cold break goes in the fermenter anyway. I don't have a way to filter out hotbreak (which is very fine particles). I sometimes use a hops bag for my hops, especially when I'm using a ton of them, but otherwise I don't spend any effort separating hops debris and break material out of the wort before putting it in the fermenter.

I've been brewing a while, and so far the beer's been fine.

This will show my ignorance - but I thought a cfc allowed a brewer to leave more hop/break material behind. Do you have an empty kettle after transfer?

 

[TyTanium]

I ferment in glass carboys with a funnel on top with a strainer, which kinda works, but it takes forever agitating the strainer till it's over. Otherwise it clogs. This last time I just straight poured it in the carboy.

That was me by batch number 3 or 4. Got sick of scraping the funnel filter and just dumped it all in. That's totally fine. No need for secondary; it'll all drop out to the bottom and get covered by the yeast anyway.

Now I mostly ferment in buckets, so lining with a bag, pouring it all in, then pulling out & squeezing the bag works like a champ, especially when using whole cone cops.

But either way doesn't matter much - just do what's simple & easy for your process and spend your time & energy elsewhere