Is there any point in using whirl floc or other kettle finings if you are just going to dump all the break material into the carboy/bucket ?
Yes, I think that you would still have a benefit in the final beer since it should clear faster and to a greater degree.
With that said, if you are just dumping all the kettle contents into the fermenter, you should reconsider how you transfer your boiled wort. All it takes is a simple whirlpooling and siphon to leave a majority of the trub behind.
Thanks that makes sense.
This question actually arose from something I read on another forum.
It didn’t make sense to me to add a fining to seperate out the break material, but then transfer it anyway.
When started brewing I would siphon, then I read that “it doesn’t matter just dump it all in”.
So I started doing that, because it was easier.
I was always paranoid about letting the wort sit in the kettle after I chilled.
Then I realized I could just put the lid on and let it sit for 15-20 minutes while it settled out and siphon the clear wort leaving the break material behind, I have done it that way the last few batches it works well for me. Though sometimes if I am lazy or in a hurry I still do the old pour method.
why not just pour the chilled wort through a sanitized strainer? that advice goes back to Complete Joy of Homebrewing. standard procedure for most, i would think. pretty sure you don’t really want all that stuff in your fermenter to make the best beer you can.
I’ve done that too. I have a funnel that has a screen that snaps in.
Half the time I can’t get the screen to sit right, or else it gets clogged so I have to stop poring and scrap the crap off the screen.
I’m not sure how to realistically get it all out. I use a screen tube from B3. It keeps big stuff out. I used to use a 5 gal paint strainer bag which caught finer stuff but it wasn’t much. Now that I’m pitching at 55° I let the fermentor and yeast sit in my freezer over night. My blonde is pretty clear by morning with a thin layer of trube. The IPA has a cloud of trube about three inches thick the next morning. I’m guessing it would take days to get it all to settle out. Basically I don’t sweat it. It will settle out after fermentation. I just have to account for it when I repitch.
I’ve yet to have a problem with lettign trub into the fermentor. It just doesn’t seem to make a difference, except when you are trying to syphon out of the fermentor.
As Jim says, you can let the wort settle over night as well and then transfer off the trub if you are concerned about it.
+1 - the only time I bother with trying to keep the trub out of the fermenter is with IPAs because the sheer quantity of hops I use. Otherwise this is yet another plus for using buckets as fermenters - I can just dump the trub in with the wort and let it all drop out in the bucket.