Should I Strain

[mark1765]

I have read all kinds of stuff on this, and just wondering what you guys think. When transferring from the boil kettle to the fermenter do you strain to remove the left over residue from the grains, and hops. On my first batch of Belgian Wit I didn't but on my second batch I did, and of course the wort is a lot cleaner going into the bottling bucket or secondary in my case (which I won't do anymore after reading all the comments on the Secondary or Not thread) but does it take anything away from the flavor of the beer if you remove that?

 

[unionrdr]

No, I don't think it does. My large, fine mesh strainer not only gets the hop & grain gunk out, but aerates the wort as well. Makes the yeasties happy & leaves only about 3/8" of trub compressed at the bottom of primary come bottling time. Less trub loss means more beer in the bottles.

 

[Psylocide]

I wouldn't bother.

I just siphon it carefully from the boil kettle and it all settles out in primary, then rack off trub into bottling bucket.

 

[unionrdr]

Having been a mechanic, my theory has been, the more you deal with now, the less you have to deal with later. Less trub equals more beer imo. To each their own...

 

[dkevinb]

I've never strained. I either dump the whole boil kettle into the fermenter or I whirlpool and let stand for 20-30 minutes after chilling, then siphon the clear stuff off the top of the kettle into the fermenter. The beer winds up the same, but with the second method you package more beer because you lose less to trub in the fermenter. This implies that you're making slightly more wort to begin with to cover the trub loss in the brew kettle. TANSTAAFL.

 

[drainbamage]

Having been a mechanic, my theory has been, the more you deal with now, the less you have to deal with later. Less trub equals more beer imo. To each their own...

This is how I've always felt too.

I know a lot of people consider it unnecessary to strain if you cold-crash or just give the trub time to settle out, but it doesn't really take a lot of extra time on my part to run the wort through a strainer on the way to the fermenter. YMMV.

 

[mark1765]

I used a sanitized 5gal paint strainer and it worked very well and didn't take but just a couple extra mins. I really like what I saw when I transferred and I don't really have anything to compare it to. Thanks for the responses guys.

 

[unionrdr]

I've never strained. I either dump the whole boil kettle into the fermenter or I whirlpool and let stand for 20-30 minutes after chilling, then siphon the clear stuff off the top of the kettle into the fermenter. The beer winds up the same, but with the second method you package more beer because you lose less to trub in the fermenter. This implies that you're making slightly more wort to begin with to cover the trub loss in the brew kettle. TANSTAAFL.

I actually brew pb/pm biab, so I still need to top off to recipe volume myself. Stir the dunk sparge & let it sit 10 minutes gives me higher OG's, so it's all good there.

 

[scdigger]

I strain with a fine strainer...no problems for me.

G

 

[thekraken]

Ideally, you don't really want left over residuals from grains getting into your brew kettle. But beyond that, I read that trub in the fermenter doesn't make that much of a difference. You may be interested in this write up: http://brulosophy.com/2014/06/02/the-great-trub-exbeeriment-results-are-in/

 

[azazel1024]

I've done both no strain and strain. I've noticed zero taste difference and final volume is more or less the same too.

I'd deffinitely strain if all you'll do is a primary fermentation and let it sit in the fermenter for a number of months as the leftover grains and hops can bitter (in a bad way) the brew from what I have heard. I haven't ever had one have that happen, but I generally am bottling within 6 weeks if not somewhat sooner.

Filtering takes longer than just carefully racking later, so I tend not to filter, or if I filter, I'll filter only the dregs of the brew pot. That tends to get me the most beer is letting it settle for a couple of minutes after cooling and pulling my chiller out. Then carefully pour the pot in to my carboy through my funnel. Then sticking my funnel filter in only when I am down to the dregs at the bottom of my pot. It tends to get me an extra quart or so of wort depending on the batch volume and keeps most of the grain and hop material from getting in to the fermenter while taking the least time.

Bucket, I don't bother filtering at all.

 

[lcbjr77]

I strained my one and only batch using a sterilized stainless strainer. It was kinda of a PIA having to keep rinsing out from getting clogged but I did notice less crap getting into my fermenting bucket. I will probably do the same for my next batch coming up.

 

[exc503]

I always strain... I cold crash it, put the yeast starter on the bottom of the bucket then strain it through cheese cloth and a fine mesh strainer, mixes the yeast in nicely. Then squeeze out the hop/grain residue, for any excess hop oils left in the residue. usually end up with nice clear beer, and little residue in the prim on the way to the secondary. In the past, we didn't strain, no real difference in taste.

 

[Ski12568]

I strained once and the bag full of trub fell right into the bucket because I failed to secure it properly. If I ferment in a bucket again, I will strain. I like using a carboy so now I just let the wort settle and suck up as little trub as possible.

 

[SnakeRidge]

No never strain you could blow out a gasket. Let nature take its' course.

Oh wait, you're talking about brewing...

 

[Roadie]

I don't think it really makes a difference, however we filter (in essence straining) as we pump from the BK to the plate chiller as by filtering it helps keep the plate chiller from getting stuff clogged in it.