So, I made my first home brew today (Caribou Slobber 1 gallon kit). Everything was going well until it came time to transfer the wort from the kettle to the fermentor. Because I was being a greedy guy I decided to tilt my kettle to get as much product as possible into my fermentor, not thinking about the fact that I was aggrevating the contents at the bottom of the kettle. In the end the wort in the transfer tube turned from a clean dark brown to a cloudy green/brown color. I am assuming that this change in color is from the sludge at the bottom of the kettle getting into the tube. Eventually the tube siphon tube became clogged with sludge and I had to get a toothpick (a santized toothpick of course) and pull the sludge from the siphon tube. I have a attached a picture of my fermentor about 20-30 minutes after I put it in home for the next two weeks. I noticed at the bottom of the fermentor there is a collection of sediment. Is this the sludge from the wort? Did I ruin my home brew with this much sediment at the bottom of the fermentor? 
I know a brewer that dumps all of his 5 gallon batches into the fermenter. Your fine.
If you want to get the most out of the boil pot, buy a 1g paint strainer bag and a large funnel. Then pour the wort through the strainer to collect the hot/cold break. Be careful to not get to much break material in the funnel early. As you can see, you will need a good size funnel.
So let me get this staight I take 1 gal paint strainer bag and put into a funnel and pour my wort through the funnel into another sanitized container in order to limit the amount of sediment (or break as you called it) into my fermentor. Is this what you are saying? Thanks for the info and making me feel better about my homebrew :cheers:
You got it. Remember to sanitize the bag and funnel with your fermenter.
After you have the wort cooled you can just pour it into the bag/funnel/fermenter. No need to siphon it.
For the first couple years I brewed I would just dump the whole thing in the fermenter. It’s not really an issue useless you are reusing the yeast.
I just watched a video on youtube where a guy wrapped his auto siphon with the paint strainer istead of using a funnel. Anyone tried this route before? Does this route seem a little more friendly than pouring your wort through a funnel?
[quote=“Nighthawk”]You got it. Remember to sanitize the bag and funnel with your fermenter.
After you have the wort cooled you can just pour it into the bag/funnel/fermenter. No need to siphon it.[/quote
+1 With only 1 gallon, i’d pour it through the sanitzed funnel as Nighthawk stated. I’ve used a nylon on the end of the siphon with a 5 gal. dryhopped batch. Worked good, but slow transfer. I’ve been using a double mesh strainer on a bucket also. Easy & keeps all the gunk out!
[quote=“Thirstyone”]
+1 With only 1 gallon, i’d pour it through the sanitzed funnel as Nighthawk stated. I’ve used a nylon on the end of the siphon with a 5 gal. dryhopped batch. Worked good, but slow transfer. I’ve been using a double mesh strainer on a bucket also. Easy & keeps all the gunk out![/quote]
Correct, if you are fermenting in a bucket, line the bucket with a 5 gallon paint strainer bag. Dump the cooled boil pot in and pull the bag out.
I’ve tried using the large funnel
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/anti-splash-funnel-with-strainer.html
available for a carboy. It’s a pain to keep the wort flowing.
I dump it all in, when I start remaking batches I’ll try it via siphon and leave the sludge I guess but my first two taste great!
Deleting this for being obnoxious. Sorry guys!
