The_Canmancan

Recipes 

I go back and forth. Sometimes I stir, sometimes I don't. When adding hops, and when not adding hops. I can't detect a noticeable difference between stirring and not stirring. What does everyone else do?

On a side note; How about those hop particles that get stuck on the side of the kettle? Do you push them back in to the boil or let them stick to the side of the kettle?

Xpertskir

Recipes 

Now that Im AG, I no longer stir, and my boil is certainly vigorous enough to distribute hop additions.

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Bottled: French Canadian Breakfast Stout, Edworts Apfelwein, Westminster Wit, Put that in your stout and smoke it
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naiek

Recipes 

I do. I tend to get a thick foam of hop material when I use pellets and stir occasionally to get that back into the boil

gestyr

Recipes 

Ditto. I find a "residue" of hop material builds up just above the wort on the side of the kettle and I scrape it off and stir it back in.

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WWCD: What Would Chthulu Do?

neosapien

Recipes 

I do sometimes...but only because boiling wort is just dead sexy and I can't resist playing with it. I don't really bother pushing the hop gunk on the sides back down any more. I used to. Never could tell a difference in any of it.

EdMerican

Recipes 

The only time I really stir is during cooling, or if I am making a larger sugar addition. Don't see a lot of advantage to moving something that is already moving itself. Haven't really had any issue with hops sticking to the side, although I figure I would more than likely push them back in, should the occasion arise.

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E2 Brewing CoOp Est. 2010


"Hell, If it don't turn out good we'll just distill it and get drunk!" - My dad...

Rev2010

Recipes 

I never stir a boil, can't see any reason one would. For the hops, since I have a spray bottle with water handy to tame any hot break foam, I set the spray nozzle to stream and spray the hops along the sides back into the boil. I only do this at the start of the hop addition since sometimes the closeness in time to the hot break causes it to foam up again a little when the first hop addition is dropped in. Since they haven't been in the wort more than a minute or two it sure looks like it would be a waste so the spray gets them back in. I don't need to do this for any other hop additions. Lately I've just been adding the first hop addition in after the hot break has settled and as a result don't have to do this as often.


Rev.

Nightshade

Recipes 

I do not stir during hop additions, the boil and subsequent transfers are more than enough to distribute the hops through the wort. My only stir is for the whirlpool at end of boil and just before xfer to fermenter.

Grossy

Recipes 

I stir right before I add the hops, that seems to help keep the wort from boiling over, until it settles back down.

then I stir the hops that have accumulated on the side of the kettle back in.

Basically if you think you need to stir, then stir.

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day_trippr

Recipes 

"Hi. My name is Dave, and I'm a boil stirrer"

If everything is going right, there's a lot of idle time to just play with the boil. I can't resist...

Cheers!