Nick wrote:[color=blue]
> Hi All,
> I am new to brewing and made my first batch yesterday. It has been somewhat
> confusing trying to follow my local suppliers directions, while trying to
> follow the beginners book to brewing, while getting everything right, and I
> made a few mistakes in the process. So, here is my question.
>
> I decided to make for my first batch a bavarian wheat beer. I used cracked
> wheat, malt, hops, and a half-teaspoon of irish moss for the last 30 mins of
> the brew. My mistakes, when I strained the wheat after steeping it for 45
> minutes, I only used a colander, I didn't use a filter for either the
> initial strain or sparge step. I then used this wort with my malt, hops for
> the 55 min brew. When it was done I cooled it in the sink until it was room
> temp (about 75 degrees) and mixed it with 2.5 gallons of 60 degree water. My
> second mistake was when I again used the collander without a filter to
> separate the hops from the wort. I poured the contents out of the 2.5 gal
> stainless steel pot through the colander into the fermentation pail which
> held the other 2.5 gallons of cold water.
>
> After adding the yeast and sitting back to wait for fermentation, I went
> over the directions and realized that I should have used a filter to capture
> the fine particles when straining and sparging the wheat wort. Then as I
> read on, I realized that all of the protiens in the bottom of the pot that
> settled with the cold break were also in my brew now. So, what can I do to
> get the best batch at this point? Should I throw it out and start over?
> Would filtering it at 7 days into a secondary fermentation pail be a
> possibility?
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Nick
>
>[/color]
Nothing to fear. The first batch I did I strained about the same way
you did. The "stuff" that made it into your fermenter will settle out.
You don't have to "filter" when you transfer to secondary. Just rack
carefully so you don't get too much trub in your secondary. The next
batch you do, use some cheesecloth in your collander and you'll have
less trub. Or you could get a grain/hops bag. I use one of these for
my hops during the boil. I also, sometimes, use one for steeping my
grains, depending on how much I have.
Cheers,

--
Michael Herrenbruck
Dragon Tail Ale
Drunken Bee Mead