Straining Cubes?

[clifftiger]

I have just thrown a cube of Pilsener and some yeast into a fermenter - this is the first time I have used a cube and no chill, use a plate chiller generally. It occurred to me whilst pouring the cube in the fermenter and seeing all the break material flowing in that I could/should have strained it.

The lot goes in via the plate chiller normally, so I can't see any difference. Do others typically strain cubes or the lot go in the fermenter as I did?

 

[manticle]

I've strained sometimes and not others. Sometimes I ferment in the cube so what's in there stays in there.

Some break material and hop trub always remains behind in the kettle, some always makes its way into my wort.

 

[seemax]

I often ferment directly in the cube without problems.

 

[seemax]

No need to strain really... best to leave most of the hops and trub behind in the kettle using whirlpool.

 

[Kai]

The thing is, the crud in the wort cube is cold break not hot break so unless you immersion chill (or chill the entire kettle) you cannot leave it behind in the kettle.

Yes, anyone who uses a counterflow chiller collects all the cold break into the fermenter. In a cylindroconical, you can collect most of this trub off the bottom the next morning before fermentation has really commenced. In a placcy fermenter, you can just leave it all in there with no real ill-effect.

In terms of what's best for the beer, you'll get any opinion from "leave it all in there" to "remove it all" to "leave approx 10% for yeast nutrition". I tend to agree with the latter. However, when I chill in a cube I do leave most of the trub behind. I probably add ten percent because that's what pours out of the cube before I stop pouring. I don't do it for optimum yeast health though, I do it from a process and handling perspective; because it means less shit in the fermenter.