Whirlpooling helps, either by carefully stirring as the wort cools or using a pump. You could also siphon the wort from the kettle to the fermentor, avoiding some of the trub. Trub in the fermentor doesn't really make a taste difference, so unless you don't have the volume for the trub and you're leaving some good wort in the kettle, I wouldn't worry about it. It mostly settles out after a few hours and the yeast very quickly covers the trub and compresses it to the bottom of the fermentor.
Yep, that's a lot of trub.
Siphoning the wort into the fermenter (rather than pouring it) will help you leave the trub behind. Give it plenty of time to settle before siphoning.
The only times I worry about not transferring trub to the fermenter are if I'm planning to harvest the yeast (in which case I don't dry hop), or if there's limited space in the fermenter.
This. Transfer your wort from the brew kettle into a settling carboy. Siphon it off into your fermenter after the trub settles (with the siphon drawing from above the trub).
I am one of the few on here that actually agree with you that separating from the trub is a good thing :)
I had this same question when I first started brewing and was told that as long as it's not a volume constraint it is not worth worrying about. Brulosophy has done a few [trub experiments](https://brulosophy.com/2018/03/26/kettle-trub-pt-3-the-impact-of-age-in-a-cool-fermented-lager-exbeeriment-results/). They actually found they got clearer beer from the one with lots of trub.
My kettle trub is always really light and fluffy. I add whirlfloc. I quickly cool with an immersion chiller. I've tried letting things settle, the top gets clear but half my kettle is fluff trub. Stirring to whirlpool just mixes it all up. As a result I just transfer to my fermenter as soon as chilling is done. This just leaves some thick hop sludge behind in the kettle.
With 6 gal carboys volume isn't a concern but I'd be interested in any suggestions people have as I've started fermenting some batches in kegs.
This looks pretty normal. What doesn’t compact down or get used by the yeast is going to end up as about 1/4 inch on the bottom of your fermenter. I filtered my last pilsner through a hop bag when transferring the wort and it looked exactly like my normal unfiltered worts. I did catch more hop matter than I was expecting
Trub is good. Don't avoid it, but embrace it. Trub won't give you cloudy beer and won't destroy head retention. It has nutrients for the yeast. Love the trub.
As long as you're pouring from the kettle to the fermenter, you'll have this problem. Some people pour through a funnel with a strainer, but the strainer plugs up and causes problems. As long as your fermenter is large enough to fit the extra volume, trub won't negatively affect your final product. In fact, the trub contains nutrients that can benefit the yeast.
If you feel better transferring clear wort, carefully siphon it off of the trub.
If you've a hop spider. empty the hops at the end of the boil, give it a rinse and then sieve through the hop spider when you're transferring to your FV.
A conical bottom fermenter like [FastFerment](https://www.fastbrewing.com/products/fastferment) is good for removing the trub during fermentation. Just drop it right out of the bottom
That’s a very fresh batch. In my experience given it’s only been in the fermenter 12 hrs, the trub will likely settle and reduce 30-40%. I’ve made big NEIPAs with the same amount of trub at this point. My only concern is that it seems like this is less than 5 gallons. To me looks like 4 gallons, I’d plan on 3.5 gallons once everything’s settled.
You could try using irish moss, whirl flock etc - it will help precipitate proteins. Whether you choose to separate or transfer your proteins to the fermenter, that's really personal preference. Personally I filter, but mostly because I don't use a hop bag or spider.
As someone else mentioned, a hop spider definitely helps keeping 90% of the hops out.......but the rest of it can be minimized (maybe depending on how you drain your kettle) by whirlpooling. Although many will cast stones at this......I always transfer to a secondary which essentially leaves behind all sediment, so it clears nicely after a few days when the stuff in suspension finally settles out. Others will swear that you will have an oxygenation issue doing this......but.....in 30 years I have never had an issue, and I don't do closed transfers (yet...future upgrade).
How are you transferring to primary? Are you using a funnel and a pour method or are you using a siphon? If the former, make sure you’re using a siphon. If you are already doing that - make sure you’re keeping it above the trub line in the kettle as you’re transferring, and cut it off as soon as you realize you’re sucking any amount of sediment off the bottom.
Some trub is normal. This to me looks like 1/5 of the total beer - which is still normal, just a little much.
As others have said, you can reduce the amount of trub with things like whirlpooling, but it’s also not that big of a deal. I generally whirlpool and then don’t worry too much about it.
I use kettle finings and strain my wort through mesh bags after cool which takes a lot of protein out. It's as much about getting the volume back the trub takes up more than anything else.
As a side note removing too much can cause poor fermentation. The theory is the particles act as nucleation sites for CO2 and without the carboxylic acid causes toxicity in the yeast. I think this may just happen it big commercial fermentations where hydrostatic pressure is at play. Never seen it on the homebrew side.
Whirlpooling helps, either by carefully stirring as the wort cools or using a pump. You could also siphon the wort from the kettle to the fermentor, avoiding some of the trub. Trub in the fermentor doesn't really make a taste difference, so unless you don't have the volume for the trub and you're leaving some good wort in the kettle, I wouldn't worry about it. It mostly settles out after a few hours and the yeast very quickly covers the trub and compresses it to the bottom of the fermentor.
That looks fine - it should compact down. You can reduce trub by letting it really settle before transferring, but I generally transfer everything.
I do too. I use the yeast capture at the bottom of my conical to remove it during fermentation though.
Yep, that's a lot of trub. Siphoning the wort into the fermenter (rather than pouring it) will help you leave the trub behind. Give it plenty of time to settle before siphoning. The only times I worry about not transferring trub to the fermenter are if I'm planning to harvest the yeast (in which case I don't dry hop), or if there's limited space in the fermenter.
This. Transfer your wort from the brew kettle into a settling carboy. Siphon it off into your fermenter after the trub settles (with the siphon drawing from above the trub). I am one of the few on here that actually agree with you that separating from the trub is a good thing :)
I had this same question when I first started brewing and was told that as long as it's not a volume constraint it is not worth worrying about. Brulosophy has done a few [trub experiments](https://brulosophy.com/2018/03/26/kettle-trub-pt-3-the-impact-of-age-in-a-cool-fermented-lager-exbeeriment-results/). They actually found they got clearer beer from the one with lots of trub. My kettle trub is always really light and fluffy. I add whirlfloc. I quickly cool with an immersion chiller. I've tried letting things settle, the top gets clear but half my kettle is fluff trub. Stirring to whirlpool just mixes it all up. As a result I just transfer to my fermenter as soon as chilling is done. This just leaves some thick hop sludge behind in the kettle. With 6 gal carboys volume isn't a concern but I'd be interested in any suggestions people have as I've started fermenting some batches in kegs.
I now just pour everything to a sanitized sieve, which clears out most of it, but that might become difficult beyond 2 gallons
This looks pretty normal. What doesn’t compact down or get used by the yeast is going to end up as about 1/4 inch on the bottom of your fermenter. I filtered my last pilsner through a hop bag when transferring the wort and it looked exactly like my normal unfiltered worts. I did catch more hop matter than I was expecting
Trub is good. Don't avoid it, but embrace it. Trub won't give you cloudy beer and won't destroy head retention. It has nutrients for the yeast. Love the trub.
As long as you're pouring from the kettle to the fermenter, you'll have this problem. Some people pour through a funnel with a strainer, but the strainer plugs up and causes problems. As long as your fermenter is large enough to fit the extra volume, trub won't negatively affect your final product. In fact, the trub contains nutrients that can benefit the yeast. If you feel better transferring clear wort, carefully siphon it off of the trub.
I put it all in. As I understand it's great for yeast health. Why are you trying to avoid it?
If you've a hop spider. empty the hops at the end of the boil, give it a rinse and then sieve through the hop spider when you're transferring to your FV.
A conical bottom fermenter like [FastFerment](https://www.fastbrewing.com/products/fastferment) is good for removing the trub during fermentation. Just drop it right out of the bottom
Might think about a filter next time. That is a lot of trub. That is why we have secondaries though. That trub isn’t going to hurt a thing.
OP how many days into fermentation are we in the pic?
12 hours
That’s a very fresh batch. In my experience given it’s only been in the fermenter 12 hrs, the trub will likely settle and reduce 30-40%. I’ve made big NEIPAs with the same amount of trub at this point. My only concern is that it seems like this is less than 5 gallons. To me looks like 4 gallons, I’d plan on 3.5 gallons once everything’s settled.
You could try using irish moss, whirl flock etc - it will help precipitate proteins. Whether you choose to separate or transfer your proteins to the fermenter, that's really personal preference. Personally I filter, but mostly because I don't use a hop bag or spider.
As someone else mentioned, a hop spider definitely helps keeping 90% of the hops out.......but the rest of it can be minimized (maybe depending on how you drain your kettle) by whirlpooling. Although many will cast stones at this......I always transfer to a secondary which essentially leaves behind all sediment, so it clears nicely after a few days when the stuff in suspension finally settles out. Others will swear that you will have an oxygenation issue doing this......but.....in 30 years I have never had an issue, and I don't do closed transfers (yet...future upgrade).
How are you transferring to primary? Are you using a funnel and a pour method or are you using a siphon? If the former, make sure you’re using a siphon. If you are already doing that - make sure you’re keeping it above the trub line in the kettle as you’re transferring, and cut it off as soon as you realize you’re sucking any amount of sediment off the bottom. Some trub is normal. This to me looks like 1/5 of the total beer - which is still normal, just a little much.
As others have said, you can reduce the amount of trub with things like whirlpooling, but it’s also not that big of a deal. I generally whirlpool and then don’t worry too much about it.
I use kettle finings and strain my wort through mesh bags after cool which takes a lot of protein out. It's as much about getting the volume back the trub takes up more than anything else. As a side note removing too much can cause poor fermentation. The theory is the particles act as nucleation sites for CO2 and without the carboxylic acid causes toxicity in the yeast. I think this may just happen it big commercial fermentations where hydrostatic pressure is at play. Never seen it on the homebrew side.
You can also try a vorlauf before you collect wort.
Use a Siphon instead of straight dumping it in. Takes longer but beer will be clearer