First brew finished!

[Jayfro21]

Hey all,
So I finished my first brew yesterday, a West Coast Amber Ale with a lots of hops! Everything went great, and it is bubbling already! I just have a few questions for next time:
1) I moved a bunch of crap out of my freezer and placed the 20qt kettle in it to chill, and it worked well, is this ok?
2) After I took the wort out of the freezer and temped it (around 80 F), I poured it through a strainer into the pail. I have heard that you can strain if you want, and it helps to aerate. The problem I had was the hops and gunk in the wort kept clogging up the strainer, and it was kind of annoying. Do I really need to strain the wort, or is it ok to add hops and everything to pail and let it settle out?

Once again, thanks for everything!

Jason

 

[david_42]

You would be better off to put your top-off water in the freezer just as you are starting the batch.

Straining is good. But as you found out, it takes a big strainer. I have a large restaurant size strainer that has a clip and a handle so I can rest it on in the bucket while pour. (Used only when I forget to install the bazooka in the kettle and for straining blackberries in season.)