Cold and Hot Break

Question

OK I have been brewing for over 2 years, and have cranked out around 40 batches. Trying to really hone in my process and improve the quality of what I make. I am literally reading (and re-reading) every book I can get my hands on (Mosher, Papazian, Palmer, White, most of the jedi masters)...When I first read "How to Brew", I recalled Palmer stating that everything from the brew kettle can go into the fermenter.

Now I'm reading Radical Brewing, and Mosher suggests creating a whirlpool so the break collects in the middle, then siphoning into the fermenter. Was planning on trying this, but had some issues with my siphon, so I ended up just dumping the whole brew kettle into the fermenter (as I have done many times before).

I have heard that the trub has some good yeast-building stuff in it (which will be helpful as this is a 1.088 OG Roller, hit with a quart WL Saison II starter).

I seem to remember reading something on here that a lager was split into two batches, one with trub, one without, and the trubbed brew actually clarified better and allowed the yeast to work more cleanly.

Any definitive data out there??!!

Answer 1

Theoretically trub can take some of the hoppiness out of your beers by trapping some of the oils from the hops (more of an issue with dry hopping) and then floculating to the bottom. Other than that, Trub should only be a noticeable issue if you are planning on letting the beer sit on it for an extended period of time (many weeks). The other concern would be if you experience Yeast Autolysis, but if you are pitching a nice sized starter, that shouldn't be a problem.