I tend to get a very good cold break and lots of proteins are evident. However, it never sinks to the bottom. Whenever I try to manually whirlpool, it seems to mix back in. I would love to leave the break behind for a clearer beer. I don't have a pump and can't find any videos on manual whirl pooling. How do you all do it? Thanks!
Whirlpool and Cold break
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Evidently, it does sink to the bottom, eh? 
How much time are you giving it to settle? With a manual whirlpool, I was never able to get that neat and tidy little cone, but certainly it all sunk to the bottom for me.
How much time are you giving it to settle? With a manual whirlpool, I was never able to get that neat and tidy little cone, but certainly it all sunk to the bottom for me.
Yes it does! Haha. I typically transfer as soon as it's cool- usually about 15-20 minutes. The break starts to disperse into the wort as soon as I pull the immersion chiller out. How long are you guys letting it settle?
I whirlpool mine until it's at pitching temps, and then I let it sit for a half hour. That's the key. While whirlpooling, you're keeping the break in suspension. if you want to let it drop out, you've got to give it time.
BrewmanSam
New Member
Wouldn't whirlpooling the entire time the beer is cooling over oxygenate the beer? Maybe long term effects to the finished product? Just wondering.
BrewmanSam said:
Before fermentation, you want to introduce oxygen.
chumpsteak
Well-Known Member
You can also do 6 gallon batches and leave the cold break in the kettle after you whirlpool and let it settle for 30 minutes.
AnchorBock
Well-Known Member
I add a half tablet of whirfloc 5 minutes before flameout, chill wort, remove chiller, whirlpool with a spoon (basically spin in one direction for a minute or until you get a good vortex going), put lid on and let sit for an hour. I have my valve set to empty all but 1.25 gallons of wort and empty 5.25 into the carboy. My post boil volume is 6.5 gallons. I dont get a huge cone, but the trub and hop matter is usually in a little cone and im able to leave the bulk of it behind.
I only have issues when using 5+ ounces of pellets and even then I just end up with a little less beer into the keg.
I only have issues when using 5+ ounces of pellets and even then I just end up with a little less beer into the keg.
chumpsteak
Well-Known Member
yeah, what he said
AnchorBock
Well-Known Member
Here are a couple of pics to demonstrate on a batch with 3 oz of hops:
Half tablet whirlfloc added with 5 minutes left, chilled wort, Manual whirlpool with sanitized spoon, left to sit for an hour:
In the better bottle - can see a very fine amount of trub at the very bottom:
I was under the impression that you want some of the cold break proteins because their unsaturated fatty acids act as nutrition for the yeast?
Regardless, I always cold crash and siphon carefully so my final product comes out nice and clear.
Regardless, I always cold crash and siphon carefully so my final product comes out nice and clear.
AnchorBock
Well-Known Member
BassBeer said:
I heard jamil on brew strong or another podcast that even if you tranfer no visible trub plenty of the beneficial proteins and such are present in the wort. I like to leave the trub and hops behind, makes washing yeast that much easier and its just cleaner that way.
MachineShopBrewing
Well-Known Member
That is how I do it also. The key is to let it sit for 30 minutes or so after you are completely done messing with it. I leave about a gallon or so in the kettle with the trub. Heck, I don't even wash my yeast anymore since it is pretty much all yeast in the bottom of my carboy after fermentation. I just swirl it up and pour into a 2000 ml flask and then pour that into a 250 ml flask when I measure my next pitch.
agentEhrman
Well-Known Member
I gave up whirl pooling and I have to say that things been great ever since. I never really got much of a benefit vs the extra time it takes. I always ended up short on beer because the whir pool wasn't effective enough for me to get it all out of the kettle. I even tried waiting up to an hr before siphoning out, it didn't really seem to help much. I would get a bit of a cone, but still the bottom gallon would have lots of trub in it. So it was either leave it behind and suffer the loss, or let it siphon and get into the bucket anyways. Now I just dump it all in and I'm done that much quicker. I can't tell any difference in the beer quality. I use irish moss at the end of the boil, I ferment 3-4 weeks in primary, and rack into the keg. My beers are always nice and clear.
AnchorBock
Well-Known Member
You really have to leave behind a gallon or so of trub to reap the benefit of the whirlpool.
Nah. I leave behind about a pint and a half beyond the hop cone, and I rarely see more than a few tablespoons of trub in my fermentor.
dbrewski
Well-Known Member
For those of you that end up with such a clean fermenter (jealous!) are you siphoning or using a kettle valve? Because I use an IC and I do attempt to whirlpool and let it sit for an hour, but when I open the kettle valve, it is low enough on the kettle that the first thing that comes out is trub and gunk. I should get a pic next time, it is definitely not something that lays on the bottom like a powder or layer of yeast, it is like floating seaweed or something....just a floating bunch of gunk. It's not floating at the top of the wort, but it's not laying flat on the bottom either, so out it comes even though I do leave around a gallon with the worst of it. It doesn't bother me and the beer tastes fine, but looking at AnchorBock's picture, I never end up with a kettle that pretty. [Edit] I forgot to say I use whirlfloc tablets.
I have a rotating pickup tube that draws from the side of the kettle. I start out pointing it about two inches or so from the edge of the bottom, and then slowly lower it as I drain. *shrug* works for me.
In any case, I've never seen it to really matter much. I ferment in a sealed corny and then bottle directly from it, so I need to have as little junk as possible in my fermentor. Otherwise, I wouldn't really care.
dbrewski
Well-Known Member
Hmm. I have various permutations of pickup tubes, most of which are gathering dust, but I've never seen one you could rotate from outside the kettle. Did you make it?
It's just a standard-average compression fitting. I rotate it using a spoon, nothing fancy.
AnchorBock
Well-Known Member
The picture above is 1.25 gallons left in the kettle - I do BIAB which is known to generate quite a bit more trub so I should have clarified that.
I've worked on my whirlpool... get a good vortex going and keep stirring until you feel like your arm is falling off. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Accept the fact that you will get some trub in the fermenter so put the end of the cane at the edge of the kettle and let it go, dont keep moving it around from edge to edge trying to avoid it. You will suck up what trub is left in that one spot, but it will clear out quickly. Here is what I have in my primary - this is after about 10 days.
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