Straining the Wort into fermentor?

[woodsy]

So I made my first batch of beer last night, an Autumn Amber Ale kit from Midwest Supplies. I had been studying everything I could, getting ready to screw up as little as possible my first time, when nearing the end, I lost myself in the excitement and it happened:

I didn't strain the wort when transferring into the carboy. Then I got into my own head; was I supposed to? Did I see that on some youtube clip or am I imagining it? Pour everything but the last little bit of sediment? Does it matter? AHHH!

I moved on from that immediately, got it to temp, aerated properly, pitched my yeast, finished up strong, and so on. It's been in a good temperature range since I finished last night, and I already see some bubblin' action in the blowoff and all that, so I'm not TOO worried.

What I am concerned about is whether this is a huge mistake, or what I can expect from this; off flavors? haziness? total destruction? longer time spent in the primary? Is it worth racking to a secondary at some point for clarity as a result? (this last one is a can of worms, I know)

Any and all advice is appreciated!

 

[olz431]

I've made this "mistake" on my first couple batches, IE dumping the entire contents of the kettle into the carboy. The beers turned out fine, its just more crap that get blown out the tube IMO.

 

[twistr25]

It'll be fine. I have never strained my wort. Depending on how much sediment is there will just affect the size of your yeast cake. Really should not be a problem. You can transfer it to secondary after about two weeks if you want, but again not necessary. Another trick if it seems like it's still hazy is to put it in a really cold location, you fridge if possible to cold crash it. That will usually knock down the rest of the sediment and then you rack from right above it and you'll be fine. You're good to go though and congrats on knocking out the first batch!

 

[Harrydan]

Was there a lot of cold break? If so that could lead to chill haze but I have always poured everything into the primary and tried to be careful when racking to bottling bucket or secondary. My beers have all been very clear which i attribute to whirlfloc/irish moss, a longer time in the primary and a good cold crash. A secondary usually is unnecessary unless you are lagering, dry-hopping, or adding something else to the the secondary such as oak or other flavor additions. Or if the secondary gives you peace of mind then go for it . I think you'll be fine. In the meantime RDWHAHB. If you are unhappy with the clarity there are always different tricks and finings you can use.

 

[woodsy]

There was a fair amount of cold break. But then, I've got nothing to support that..

I also used Irish moss, as suggested by a buddy who brews regularly, so we shall see.

I felt so much better after reading your responses, that I went out and got a kit for an imperial stout! (which I strained into the Carboy, just to see)

Thanks everyone!

 

[bleme]

If I am reading your post correctly, at the point where you realized that you didn't strain, you could have just poured back into your kettle and transferred again.

FWIW, I have strained, not strained, and strained then squeezed, and can't tell a difference in any of them. I don't claim to have the most discerning taste buds though so YMMV.

 

[choosybeggar]

I'm an inveterate strainer (well, actually settler-I let the unstrained, cooled wort settle in a carboy for an hour, then rack to another and innoculate). Early in my brew career I began doing this and felt it made a difference. I continue out of tradition and b/c it doesn't appreciably increase my time (settling occurs while I clean up the rest of my gear).

 

[carguy13]

i've never strained mine either... if you're real worried about it just use a secondary... that should allow you to clean up the beer.

 

[manny383]

The most I've done in my short time of brewing is strain the wort using a sanitized nylon bag to catch most of the hop trub, not worrying too much about cold break (I use whirlfloc when I want it to turn out clear, just in case) and then cold crash a couple days. Let it sit in the primary for at least 2-3 weeks and the yeasties will do the hard part. I only secondary to dry hop or make room for the next batch. RDWHAHB

 

[unionrdr]

My beers average about 3 weeks to finish & settle out clear or slightly misty. This also allows time for the trub/yeast to compact on the bottom of primary. about 3/8-1/2" deep at that point. I like to strain to keep hop gunk,cold break,etc from leaving a deeper trub layer that'd block the spigots I have on both my primaries. I get clear beer going into the bottling bucket,& less gunk to deal with when washing the yeast.

 

[kckclassic]

I recently did the same on my own autumn amber ale....& I was surprised at how clear it ended up. Moral to the story: don't worry too much!

 

[kingmatt]

I brew primarily IPAs and when I first started I used muslin bags for each addition and dumped everything into my primary (after i fished out the bags and cooled of course). My early beers turned out good but I did notice that it took a LONG time for them to clear.

Fast forward 3 years and now I almost never use mulsin bags and simply whirlpool vigorously after cooling, let it sit for 10 minutes and rack my beer from the side of the kettle with my autosiphon into my primary. Sometimes, like last weekend when I brewed a Pliny clone, I will attach a sanitized muslin bag to my output tube to minimize accidental hop debris making it into my primary, but usually I don't even bother.

This simple technique has led to my yeast cake being much cleaner (easier to wash for reuse) and in my beer clearing to commerical quality within a week of kegging.

Long story short, your beer will be fine but in the future take the extra time to whirpool and rack to primary, instead of just dumping from the kettle, and you will be amazed at the results...

 

[twistr25]

@Kingmatt, how do you introduce oxygen into it if you rack over?

 

[freisste]

I use a whisk. Or you can shake it. Or use an O2 diffuser. Basically anything that makes it bubbly is introducing O2.

 

[kingmatt]

I usually hold the tube a foot or two above the bucket and let it splash in the bottom as it transfers and then shake the fermenter for a few minutes before I pitch my yeast.

 

[Echoloc8]

If you really want to strain, I recommend my buddy's trick: paint strainer bags in the fermenter bucket. Pour the kettle contents in, then lift and squeeze. Some wash the bags afterward, some don't. They're like $1.50, so it's up to you.

It's a fantastic way to keep most of the gunk out, which I like because of *yield.* Always bugged the heck out of me when, after pouring the entire kettle contents into the bucket, I'd lose almost half a gallon to hop trub, cold break and the like.

There's just less crud among the yeast when the wort is well strained, and a smaller yeast cake overall. Which means more beer, and better return on my time and money investment.

-Rich

 

[DirtyOldDuck]

Another vote for taking the time to rack to primary after letting the wort settle in the BK. Three weeks in the primary and you can rack off of a very compact yeast cake leaving only a couple of ounces of beer in the primary. A little extra effort up front, but it pays off at the end.

 

[unionrdr]

That's my biggest selling point for straining. Less cake at the bottom equals more clear beer for me.