I’ve changed my attitude about trub since I started brewing over a year ago and was wondering if this is a bad thing. Some of the first batches I did I was terrified of getting any break material sucked into the racking cane into the primary fermenter and would carefully try to siphon off the wort but still leave a lot in the kettle because it wasn’t clear. The last few batches have been different: I put a mesh over the fermeter bucket then pickup the kettle and just poor the wort in (whistling a tune) while the break material and other stuff goes along with the flow. The only thing left in the pan is some heavier stuff and the mesh does catch some, bu not all.
I feel this can be safely done because after two weeks in the fermenter everything will be settled to the bottom anyway and clear beer can be siphoned out, but is this affecting the beer in anyway? Does the break and some hop debris really do anything noticeable to the beer?
I do partial boils so the wort in the kettle can be a thick syrup when doing a big beer. The break material and other light stuff can take over an hour to sink to the bottom in this stuff so that was a factor in deciding not to fear the trub. Concentrated wort is like liquid gold that is painful to waste.
Should I fear troob or continue on this path fearlessness?
I wouldn’t worry overmuch about it. I often use a china-cap and whole hops (or pellet) to help filter the break material but a lot still ends up in the fermenter. Sometimes I just dump it all in- especially extract batches.
Many feel the need to remove this material- however, they can explain why.
I don’t worry too much about the trub getting in the fermenter. I whirlpool for a while, and let it settle, but with no pickup tube, and as thin as the break is, some of the trub makes it in. I make some effort to keep trub out of the fermenter, because the less trub in the fermenter, the less trub I have to try to keep out of the bottling bucket. However, I don’t really worry about it.
The results from the latest Basic Brewing Radio/BYO experiment on trub in the fermenter were interesting. Most brewers appear to get clearer beer when they allowed the trub to go into the fermenter!
I participated and didn’t get that result from my split batch with and without the trub, but my two beers were virtually indistinguishable. I don’t think I’ll ever worry about dumping the trub into the fermenter again.
I’ve wondered if leaving the late addition hops, especially any FO addition, might not result in better flavor/aroma when everything is dumped in the fermentor.
I do love being able to rack off the trub and have a beautiful clear wort in the fermentor. I’ve found Supermoss and since then I’ve had good luck getting a clear wort off the trub.
i pour my wort through a very fine mesh stainless steel strainer. i don’t care if some makes it through but i just like to keep the yeast relatively clean. i usually ferment on top of a previous yeast batch once or twice and then harvest.
I have done this a couple times, and also have NOT done this. I haven’t decided which is better yet, or if either way is better. I don’t really mind if my beer is cloudy or has a little bit of precipitate when it’s poured, so I just quit doing it out of laziness, mostly.
With whole cones a lot is left behind as I recirculate. I also can dump from the bottom of the conical after a day, if I use the conical.
The yeast benefit from some of the cold break, but some say all of the cold break is too much. Some brewers use centrifuges to remove about 60% of the cold break after the chillers.
Sierra Nevada has a centrifuge. Vinnie Cilurzo has talked about problems with his, and how Ken Grossman helped him figure out the problem with it. SN makes a few lagers RR does not.