To trub or not to trub...

[TrustyOlJohnson]

That is my question.

I'll be honest, after a 5 hour brew day, 9 hours if it's a triple decoction, the last thing I want to do is leave one ounce of sweet barley nectar behind!! I want it all!! In my fermenter where my beloved yeast can do the hard work that they so eagerly desire. So Yeah, I transfer it all. I do siphon through a screen in a funnel, so at least the Irish Moss gets held back, but alot of coagualated hot break and cold break proteins are goin into the fermenter.

What, if any, problems is this really gonna cause my beer??

 

[kh54s10]

None!

 

[SpeedYellow]

There was a fascinating Basic Brewing Radio podcast a couple years ago where probably a couple dozen folks tested making the same batch, but where the trub was removed from one. Most folks had a preference, but it was pretty split with-trub versus without-trub. So there was no clear "correct" answer.

If you're really curious, you should try the experiment yourself.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Honestly, I'm not curiious as to what happens when I leave wort behind. I'm confident it means I will have less beer!! And Im not a fan of that!! I actually have wondered if everything carried over is actually better for the yeast?

 

[ayoungrad]

I always want to maximize total volume of bottled beer and I'm (currently) limited by the volume in my ale pails. So I get rid of trub - its wasted space when I can have more liquid and less solid material. And if you filter it well before pitching, you lose little to no wort compared with siphoning-off post-fermentation.

Just my opinion.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

My thing is, I always primary ferment in 6 gallon carboys. So ive got room. And I always try to whirlpool and let it settle, do the right thing, but by the time I get down to the last 2 inches, invariably, the stuff starts getting siphoned, and Im like, meh, transfer it all!

 

[tehnick]

I eventually would like to get a conical fermentor so I can transfer the wort over after it has been chilled, let it settle for 30-45 min, and then dump the trub through the dump valve. I think it would also make it easier to harvest yeast after fermentation has completed. I always have yeast nutrient on hand so I'm not too worried about losing the nutrients in the trub.

Sent from my super rad tablet device thingy.

 

[bigken462]

I've only used Whirlfloc a cpl times. Both times I ended up dumping it all in for reasons you mentioned above. If I can ask a question w/o hijacking a thread, if you plan on dumping it all in anyway, is there any particular advantage of using Whirfloc to begin with?

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

I use Irish Moss. My understanding is that Irish Moss encourages coagulated proteins to adhere, thereby clarifying the beer. Having said that, my beer is clear. And as I transfer, I "filter" through the funnel screen, setting aside the Irish moss and proteins that are wih it. . Crude, no doubt. But it works. Not for sure how whirlfloc works.

 

[DSorenson]

Whirlfloc and Irish moss are the same thing. They just coagulate dissolved protein.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Cool! Didnt know that

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

So then to go back to the question, maybe I am negating the effect of using Irish moss, but I do transfer everything forward, and it is still clear, so maybe its not. Not for sure.

 

[longhornbarrett]

The clarifiers(moss and whirfloc) allow the proteins to drop out of suspension when it is in the fermenter as well
Try Brewing a hefeweizen where you don't use it, it will always be cloudy

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[TrustyOlJohnson]

Good advice!! I have brewed a few batches with wheat and have noticed an increase in hot break and cold break, my cream ales being noticeable and my Kölsch being the most significant. And with tranferring as much as i can, its still clear...

 

[longhornbarrett]

Frankly people spend too much time trying to make their beer clear
It doesn't make my beers taste any different cloudy or clear

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[TrustyOlJohnson]

Frankly people spend too much time trying to make their beer clear
It doesn't make my beers taste any different cloudy or clear

Sent from my HTC One using Home Brew mobile app

Very true. "Clarity" is in the eye of the beholder. And thats where it ends.

 

[gwapogorilla]

I "used" to try to rack off the break material too. I read in Palmers book that doing so may help reduce chill haze....AND I GET CHILL HAZE. So, after many attempts, I says "to hell with it" , and now dump all of the wort, break material and all, into my primary. Oh yeah...Palmer does state in his book, that break material is actually healthy for the yeast.
I notice no difference in my beers. The whirlfloc still performs it's job nicely in the primary and everything settles to the bottom. I do rouse my primary at the end of high krausen using a sanitized coat hanger. That causes the yeast to get a more complete fermentation. And, the particles settle into a very nice COMPACT trub layer.