Maybe this is a dumb question but here goes:
I’ve made probably 12 to 15 extract batches so far. Each time I make them I start with 4 gallons of water in the pot. I usually have to top up with 1 1/2 gallons, maybe 1 3/4 gallons of cold spring water (helps to bring me further down into pitching range.
Anyway, usually I cool my wort, dump into bucket with a sanitized 5 gal paint strainer, check the temp via the fermometer on the bucket, then add my cold top up water.
This past weekend it struck me that maybe, even though my wort is cool by this point, I should be adding the water to the pot so that it sees the hot/cold break/ hops etc before pouring it through the strainer. Would those couple minutes of time in contact with the hop leftovers and such make a difference or did I burn my brain out there Sunday on a 110 degree day standing over a boil kettle?
