The Definitive Answer Regarding Trub In The Fermentor!

[rhamilton]

BYO and Basic Brewing did a collaborative trub test and reported results on the 2/23 podcast - 19 brewers reporting on 20 brews. Of those with opinions:

Visual: 4 preferred the trub, 3 preferred trub-less
Nose: 3 preferred the trub, 3 preferred the trub-less
Taste: 6 preferred the trub, 7 preferred the trub-less

There you go -- an end to the arguement!

 

[bigbeergeek]

Definitive? Looks split down the middle to me.

 

[RDWHAHB]

Definitive? Looks split down the middle to me.

Hence the smiley.

 

[jbwebst]

Actually, it is a definitive answer - that answer being it's up to personal preference!

 

[scottedk]

Glad we got some true clarification!

 

[Tall_Yotie]

I would like to see a similar study done with brews that are aged in the primary on the yeast cake and trub vs in a secondary without. 1-2 months at 50F, see how it goes.

 

[D0ug]

Tall, it's been done. Or at least something very similar. With pretty much the same results as this study.

 

[firebirdude]

Definitive? Looks split down the middle to me.

Exactly. Which means it doesn't make any difference. Leave the trub. Ditch the trub. Who cares. Maybe we can put this argument to rest permanently now.

 

[malevolent]

Definitive? Looks split down the middle to me.

Exactly. Meaning it really doesn't matter.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

Tall, it's been done. Or at least something very similar. With pretty much the same results as this study.

Awesome, thanks for the note on that. I have a Belgian that I would normally rack and then chill condition, didn't have the extra vessel, so just went with the primary. Seems it will be fine then!

 

[tektonjp]

Exactly. Which means it doesn't make any difference. Leave the trub. Ditch the trub. Who cares. Maybe we can put this argument to rest permanently now.

Watch. It will come back up within a couple of weeks. Never fails because no one wants to use the search function.

 

[jonmohno]

Conclusion=Its up to you.

 

[tonyolympia]

Exactly. Which means it doesn't make any difference. Leave the trub. Ditch the trub. Who cares. Maybe we can put this argument to rest permanently now.

I would still like to see data on the relative life span of trub-plus vs. no-trub beer. (I posed the same question to James Spencer, and he mentioned it on the podcast.) Jamil Zainasheff has said that more trub in the fermenter means more compounds in your finished beer that can contribute to staling. Seems plausible to me--at the very least, it would be nice to do a side-by-side comparison of the "dirty" and "clean" beers after a couple of months. If there's no difference THEN, well then hallelujah!