Hi all,
Probably a complicated topic, but what is the conventional wisdom on trub in the fermenter? I’ve seen the full gamut of opinions: good, bad, doesn’t matter.
Cheers
I wouldn’t recommend dumping the whole kettle into a fermenter but don’t worry about any reasonable amount of trub. I tried brewing an extra half gallon and only transferred clear wort for a while. I saw no improvement so went back to not caring how much trub made it into the fermenter. The only time I can see a real advantage is if you’re pushing the volume limit of your fermenter.
When I plan to harvest the yeast, I transfer only the wort. If I’m going to be dry-hopping, I transfer everything. If I’m doing neither, I let some of the trub in but not all of it. I haven’t noticed much effect on the final product.
I am sure I recall purists having evidence that only clear wort should be transferred to the fermenter. I believe it has to do with lipids in the trüb but I don’t remember.
However, I don’t think it matters other than transferring too much trüb can cause downstream process issues.
Too much trüb can clog the spigot of the fermenter (if equipped) when packaging. If kegging from a trüb filled fermenter, transferring excess trüb into a keg could cause poppet clogs or dip tube restrictions.
I whirlpool to cool and so get a nice hop cone in the middle of the kettle. Other than that I simply transfer from kettle to fermenter thru a side pickup. Whatever trüb that makes it to the fermenter after those two efforts is negligible and settles in the cone below the spigot. This way I transfer clear beer to the keg.
One day, you’ll wake up and there won’t be anymore time to do the things you’ve always wanted to do. Don’t wait. Do it now.
I transfer whatever I need to hit my desired fermenter volume. That’s my main goal.
Depending on how my trub settles in the kettle and how careful I am with the siphon, sometimes that means a little gunkage makes it to the fermenter, sometimes a lot. In the finished beer, I cannot tell the difference one way or another. That may be a benefit to my small-batch brewing or it may be true in general. I don’t know.
However, I’m willing to accept the science on this, if it exists.
25 years ago there was an experiment that produced results showing that a beer fermented with true was clearer and preferred by tasters over one that was fermented without trub. That matches my experience. Trub contributes FAN, a yeast nutrient.
I gave up trying to start with clear beer - I don’t intentionally seek a large carryover of trub, but I definitely allow for enough of it to start with a cloudy wort. It clears very well with my standard process and I have drinkable, clear beer fairly soon after racking to serving kegs. To each his own, of course, but I cannot pick out any benefits of starting with clear wort versus cloudy wort.
Just one perspective…
Trub in your fermenter is not going to hurt anything and as Denny points out there is evidence that it actually helps. Relax, don’t worry. Have a home brew.
I never worried about trub at all. Other than a bit of sediment in the bottles and a bit less clarity, the beer tasted great.
For a few years, I left the bulk of the trub in the kettle. Then I read something (possibly the study Denny referred to) that indicated it didn’t really matter. I started transferring everything to the fermenter. It didn’t make any difference that I could see.
I don’t intentionally transfer trub, but I don’t particularly try to keep it out either.
Trub is actually the correct spelling of the noun. The adjective is trüb (cloudy), as in ein trübes Bier.
The real trick is keeping track of where the umlaut goes in kräusen … kraüsen? … krausën?
Well… This is America. [Insert Ricky Bobby gif]
IMO, does hurt unless one is spectacular about leaving behind when kegging/bottling. I am not so gifted; therefore, I strain thru a paint strainer only used for brewing and I use a strainer in the brew kettle. Doesn’t eliminate 100%, but does a very good job.
I will only add my experience. I use a BIAB setup and routinely end up with some trub at the bottom of my fermenter. I use a banjo style screen at the bottom of the kettle and also put a colander style screen across my bucket to catch what the in kettle screen does not. After all this, I still end up with about 1/2 inch or so of sediment at the bottom of my bucket fermenter after everything is done. I am guessing it is some yeast and some “stuff” in the wort. It doesn’t bother me as it settles to the bottom of the keg or bottle.
Thank you everyone for your input.
Danke