[bboy9000]

Basic Brewing Radio did a collaborative experiment with BYO on the trub removal issue.  I'd summerize the conclusion but I'd encourage those interested to listen and for their own conclusion or try the experiment.

[donsmitty]

honestly haven't tasted any difference though in pouring everything from the kettle vs minimizing trub.

I think it's mostly something that homebrewers worry about when they are looking for something new to worry about.

Well, being new at homebrewing I guess I'm a little worried about my 2nd batch not finishing the way I would like it to.  It's a Pliny clone and has a ton of hops.  As we didn't filter out anything after the boil until going to a secondary and dry hopping I'm hoping it is drinkable.  One of the first things I was told by an experienced home brewer was "not to over think it".  I'm trying not to.....just want to get it right. 

[malzig]

honestly haven't tasted any difference though in pouring everything from the kettle vs minimizing trub.

I think it's mostly something that homebrewers worry about when they are looking for something new to worry about.

Well, being new at homebrewing I guess I'm a little worried about my 2nd batch not finishing the way I would like it to.   

You certainly won't hurt anything by passing your wort through a strainer, just don't go crazy trying to leave everything behind.

If I recall correctly, the BasicBrewing Radio link above found slightly more hop flavor in the beers that were pitched with all the trub.  I partcipated in that experiment and compared a batch split in half, with crystal clear wort in one fermentor and all the trub in a second.  The resultant beers were virtually indistinguishable. 

This is off topic, but, frankly, there are bigger fish to fry, especialy as a new brewer, and you may have already tackled these problems, but:

For a big beer like that, are you growing up enough yeast?  Are you aerating sufficiently?  Are you controlling fermentation temperatures?

[donsmitty]

honestly haven't tasted any difference though in pouring everything from the kettle vs minimizing trub.

I think it's mostly something that homebrewers worry about when they are looking for something new to worry about.

Well, being new at homebrewing I guess I'm a little worried about my 2nd batch not finishing the way I would like it to.   

You certainly won't hurt anything by passing your wort through a strainer, just don't go crazy trying to leave everything behind.

If I recall correctly, the BasicBrewing Radio link above found slightly more hop flavor in the beers that were pitched with all the trub.  I partcipated in that experiment and compared a batch split in half, with crystal clear wort in one fermentor and all the trub in a second.  The resultant beers were virtually indistinguishable. 

This is off topic, but, frankly, there are bigger fish to fry, especialy as a new brewer, and you may have already tackled these problems, but:

For a big beer like that, are you growing up enough yeast?  Are you aerating sufficiently?  Are you controlling fermentation temperatures?

Fermentation temps were right on the money.  Aeration could have been a bit more aggressive and I'm not sure what else I could have done with the yeast.  It's been bottled and we'll sample on Saturday.

[Pi]

I guess part of my original post was "what do the pros do" ie. the microbrewers. do they simply transfer ALL the wort to a fermenter? I was under the impression that a little trub was ok, but too much would result in inconsistant beer. Good beer is ok, but consistantly GREAT beer is my intent.

[jeffy]

I guess part of my original post was "what do the pros do" ie. the microbrewers. do they simply transfer ALL the wort to a fermenter? I was under the impression that a little trub was ok, but too much would result in inconsistant beer. Good beer is ok, but consistantly GREAT beer is my intent.

Pro brewers usually ferment in conicals so they can dump the trub after transfer, but I don't know if they commonly practice that.  I haven't seen them do it.

[a10t2]

I guess part of my original post was "what do the pros do" ie. the microbrewers. do they simply transfer ALL the wort to a fermenter?

Pretty much, but almost every one does a whirlpool, which settles out the vast majority of the trub. You can't really get the same effect in a flat-bottomed kettle, IME.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

I guess part of my original post was "what do the pros do" ie. the microbrewers. do they simply transfer ALL the wort to a fermenter?

Pretty much, but almost every one does a whirlpool, which settles out the vast majority of the trub. You can't really get the same effect in a flat-bottomed kettle, IME.

That's precisely my point. Flat bottom kettles make it hard to whirlpool effectively. Better to dump it all into carboy, cool and let it settle, and siphon wort off the top  into another carboy if you are really concerned with trub free wort.

[a10t2]

Meh. I just whirlpool as best I can and accept that I'm going to leave roughly 2-5% of the wort in the kettle depending on how much hop material there is. Clearly I'm not "really concerned" though. If I was I'd be using a hopback or strainer.

[tschmidlin]

Meh. I just whirlpool as best I can and accept that I'm going to leave roughly 2-5% of the wort in the kettle depending on how much hop material there is. Clearly I'm not "really concerned" though. If I was I'd be using a hopback or strainer.

I do the same.

[erockrph]

I generally pull a paint strainer bag over a basket strainer and pour my wort through it into my fermenting bucket. Most of the trub and hop gunk gets caught, but not all. If I'm brewing a beer with a crapload of hops I'll put my autosiphon inside a paint strainer bag and rack through that. In those cases, sometimes I'll zip-tie a nylon stocking with an ounce of whole hops on the other end of my tubing. Helps catch most of the gunk, plus it may or may not get me some extra hoppy goodness (never done a side-by-side to test that out).

[Pi]

Sounds like trub removal is not a big deal. I like the stocking method, and i do have a "hopblocker" so I guess I'll have to find something else to keep me up at night. LOL
Thanks everyone.

[mmitchem]

I whirlpool with a pump and allow it all to settle for 15-20 minutes. On my flat-bottom kettle I have a dip tube thar extends to the very edge of the kettle. I find that the wort going into the carboy is very clear and virtually trub free. It is key to allow everything to settle once you have established that 'cookie'.

Here is a link to the dip tube that allows me to pull from the side of the kettle:

http://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=46&product_id=157