Problems with final volume

[brainfrz]

I've tried whirlpooling but still end up with a huge amount of wasted wort. I don't use a hop bag- just throw them right in the kettle, so I know a good portion of the gunk is hop debris. Regardless, I've been siphoning and ending up with low final volumes. Is it detrimental to add hot/cold break along with hop debris to the fermenter?

So you have an idea how much I'm losing; I boil 7 gallons, end up with a little under 6, then am able to transfer about 4.5-5 clear wort to the fermenter (5 on a good day).

 

[KraphtBier]

Hop bags, especially if you use pellets, are your friend. Break in the fermenter is going to lead to chill haze and the like. Hot break should be kept out of the kettle to the best of your ability, just scoop it out of the kettle as it rises. I too have problems keeping all of my cold break out of the fermenter, its not really a big deal as long as you don't mind some haze and a bit more trub in the carboy/bucket. As I understand things, the faster you chill the better your cold break will be and the more effective your whirlpool becomes.

 

[mccabedoug]

When I purchased a plate chiller last year I needed a way to minimize plugging while maximizing the 'usable wort' after the boil. The hop spider works well for me: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/hop-spider-plug-186227/

I also found that you also end up with less trub at the end of the primary fermentation. I actually decreased my water volumes a bit since I ended up with more beer (and less trub) after fermentation.

When using the hop spider it's interesting to see how much volume those 2 - 3 ounces of pellet hops take up after they've been boiled.

 

[RM-MN]

Come sample some of my beer and make up your own mind about how the hot break/cold break/hop debris affect the flavor since I just dump it all into the fermenter. I'll bet you won't notice much if any difference. I like getting that extra half to full gallon of beer for my effort.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Like the above poster, I also ferment the full kettle volume, break, hops, trub...every bit! I actually ferment right in the kettle post chilling. Beer is clear and tasty after a couple of weeks cold in the keg.