To Strain Or Not To Strain

[motague189]

What is everyone's view on straining their wort when transferring it to their fermenter? I have always just dumped all of the contents of my boil kettle into my fermenter and pitched me yeast. I usually transfer to a secondary 7-10 days after fermentation has began. Spare me the secondary vs primary talk What would not straining offer the beer?

 

[benco]

What is everyone's view on straining their wort when transferring it to their fermenter? I have always just dumped all of the contents of my boil kettle into my fermenter and pitched me yeast. I usually transfer to a secondary 7-10 days after fermentation has began. Spare me the secondary vs primary talk What would not straining offer the beer?

I usually just dump most of it except for the trub, sludge,hop material in bottom bk. I have strained and not strained, and I can't tell a difference in my beer as far flavor. Also I don't secondary.

 

[wingedcoyote]

I don't have a tap on my BK but I like to leave the solid junk behind, so I pour from BK into primary through a sanitized colander that I set on top of the primary. Then I squeeze the juices out of whatever's left with a sanitized spoon. I don't think this makes any flavor difference vs dumping it all in primary, but I figure it's one less thing to mess up my siphon when I eventually go from primary to BB.


(Note: I don't secondary either. I just like to say "primary" because my fingers always want to misspell "fermenter". )

 

[dphornguy]

My opinion has always been this:

When you siphon, you are gonna have junk on the bottom of the primary either way. Might as well pour everything in the first time and leave it the second time.

 

[Homercidal]

I've done it both ways and honestly I can't tell a difference. It's just how I feel at the time that determines if I strain or not. This last brew I just drained and tried to avoid the gunk as best I could. No straining.

 

[ncbrewer]

There's a good podcast about this: http://hw.libsyn.com/p/9/f/e/9fe3c8...35815910&hwt=e95847af962be0bad7f50d2b55ecabff

 

[bleak]

ncbrewer - your podcast link seems to be broken.

 

[ncbrewer]

Yes, the link doesn't work for me either. Here are the notes I made from it:
COLBY: If the trub contains hops, there will be tannins in it. Could cause astringency.
TEST RESULTS – Results were split on whether it tastes, looks, & smells better with the trub or without.
Votes leaned toward healthier fermentation if trub is not removed. Colby said this makes sense because there is evidence trub in fermenter helps fermentation.
One tester: Kreusen was cleaner with trub removed, and he likes the flavor better. The host tasted this beer and liked the trub beer better.
The host found that the final beer was clearer when trub was left in – cleared sooner, also. Repeat test was the same.
Colby’s opinion:
With trub clearer
Tasted better
A little harsher hop bitterness
Host: Without trub – a little more fruity. Maybe shows the hop flavor rather than bitterness. Liked the one with the trub better. Not a major difference.
CONCLUSION: Loading up the fermenter with trub does not ruin the beer – probably will be at least as good. Very little difference. This seems to be mostly personal preference.