Let the hop-stopper wash my yeast?

[orion2598]

I didn't want to hijack the yeast-washing thread, so hope no one minds if I start a new one...

I usually try and keep all of the hops out of my primary, but the last batch was pretty bad. I have since invested in a hop-stopper to prevent this in the future. However, I was going to pitch this next batch on top of the previous one, but now am hesitant with all that hop crud in the primary.

So, my question is, can I just dump all that old trub into the cooled kettle so it gets nice and hydrated and then just let the hop-stopper filter it all out so it doesn't get in the new primary. My thought is that the hops would stay behind, but the yeast would still be transferred to the carboy from the kettle.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Greg

 

[ohiobrewtus]

You could do that if you want to, but IMO it's probably not necessary. The trub from the first batch will all end up at the bottom and what hops are left in there are not going to contribute anything discernable to the beer that you pitch onto that cake.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

I'd be worried about contamination. It would probably work, but I'd only do it if there was A LOT of hops and you cleaned and sanitized you kettle REALLY well.

 

[orion2598]

I'd be worried about contamination. It would probably work, but I'd only do it if there was A LOT of hops and you cleaned and sanitized you kettle REALLY well.

Thanks for the quick reply.

I guess I should clarify that I would be dumping the trub into the cooled wort, right before I would normally drain the kettle to the carboy and pitch the yeast. So the kettle should be sanitary, and I assume that dumping the fresh trub (since I just racked off of it) would be ok too. My main concern is whether or not the yeast would seperate from the hop sludge enough to be carried into the carboy if the hops are going to stay behind.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

Oh, I gotcha. That sounds like a much better idea, actually. I think it would work fine. I'd stir it in really well. Those yeast cells are so small and plentiful you should be able to get plenty into solution without worrying about them all being filtered out by the hops. A lot of that happens at the end when the hopstopper's getting clogged up anyway.

 

[orion2598]

Excellent, thanks for the advice.

Greg