Whirlpool extraction

describe how you get the hop pellets out of the wort using a whirlpool.

Using a sanitized spoon, whirlpool the wort, then let it settle for 20 minutes. The pellets and trub will be mostly in a cone in the middle. Siphon it from the side, avoiding the sludge.

I don't know what it is, but I can NEVER get the whirlpool thing to work. I stir the wort like a maniac and get a big vortex, but 20 minutes later everything has settled evenly on the bottom again. My hop bag rig keeps the pellet sludge out, but it'd be nice to avoid siphoning the break material without sacrificing too much volume.

YooperBrew said:

Using a sanitized spoon, whirlpool the wort, then let it settle for 20 minutes. The pellets and trub will be mostly in a cone in the middle. Siphon it from the side, avoiding the sludge.

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Is this after fermentation before bottling? I thought it was after boiling, which there shouldn't be any trub correct?

It's funny. I was at work on Friday and read about this tip for washing yeast and/or getting rid of sediment. I thought, "Does this really work well?". So I happen to keep a fish tank in my cube and had a small cup of water that had snails living in it (food for the fish). The water had a bunch of different sized snail poo and uneaten food. I swirled the cup for about 10 seconds and put it on my desk. I sat there going, "Yeah right, this is going to work", and proceeded to watch probably 90% of the stuff all settle out in a nice pyramid at the center. I was quite shocked by how efficient it was.

BlindLemonLars, Check to see how level your stove is (or where ever you have the wort). If it's not very level the "trick" won't work.

I whirlpool before chilling with my CFC so I don't worry about my spoon being sanitized, just clean. I also use a full tablet of irish moss in the boil instead of the half tablet that is recommended, this helps the hops and hot break settle into a nice strong cone.

I stir for 10 seconds or so to get a very strong whirlpool going, then leave it to sit uncovered for 10 minutes while I prep my CFC. That gives enough time for the whirlpool to coast to a stop and for any particulate to settle to the bottom. I then drain through my CFC into the fermenter.

funkydrummer88 said:

Is this after fermentation before bottling? I thought it was after boiling, which there shouldn't be any trub correct?

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No, no. You should NEVER stir or aerate your wort after fermentation starts.

I'm talking about after the boil, when you have hop pellets sludge and cold break and hot break in your boil kettle. If you whirlpool, all the crud will settle in a cone in the middle, including the hops pellets sludge.

BlindLemonLars said:

I don't know what it is, but I can NEVER get the whirlpool thing to work. I stir the wort like a maniac and get a big vortex, but 20 minutes later everything has settled evenly on the bottom again. My hop bag rig keeps the pellet sludge out, but it'd be nice to avoid siphoning the break material without sacrificing too much volume.

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I with BlindLemonLars!! I can't get it to work either

After I remove my IC, I stir to get a good whirlpool going. Let it sit(at least 20 minutes), come back and start to siphon from the top of my kettle. When I start getting toward the bottom of the kettle. NO Cone!!. I even use Whirlfloc tabs? I don't know if it is because I am doing extract brew up until now (Next batch will be AG). I just end up with all the break and hops laying and in semi-suspension all over the bottom of my kettle. I end up leaving a lot of good wort behind trying to keep the amount of junk in my primary to a minimum?

I want to be able to do this:

must you siphon off the top of the wort, or could you strain it out really quickly with a strainer?

Absolutely you can strain it! Use a sanitized strainer, and pour your wort through it. Now, if you have lots of hops sludge, it'll plug it up fast, but if you have a minimal amount of sludge, that will work great.
It will also help to aerate your wort.

funkydrummer88 said:

must you siphon off the top of the wort, or could you strain it out really quickly with a strainer?

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In my experience, a strainer will catch much of the hop sludge, but break material will slip right through. Even the very fine strainers that come with some brewing funnels.

Of course it's not truly necessary to remove any of the trub from the pot, many people just dump everything into the fermenter and have no problems. Eventually everything will settle out, but I consider each transfer of beer/wort as an opportunity to greatly reduce the amount of solid material.

7Enigma, I expect you're right...I usually set my pot on a kitchen chair, which puts it at the right height for siphoning into my better bottle. It may not be perfectly level, I'll try my countertop next time.

YooperBrew said:

Absolutely you can strain it! Use a sanitized strainer, and pour your wort through it. Now, if you have lots of hops sludge, it'll plug it up fast, but if you have a minimal amount of sludge, that will work great.
It will also help to aerate your wort.

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+1 on the strainer. My wife holds the strainer over the fermenter, and I pour away! Once or twice during the transfer, depending on the amount of Hops used, she just taps it into the sink, being careful not to let the strainer touch anything. It works really well for us.

BlindLemonLars said:

7Enigma, I expect you're right...I usually set my pot on a kitchen chair, which puts it at the right height for siphoning into my better bottle. It may not be perfectly level, I'll try my countertop next time.

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That's probably what's doing it then. Here's a tip for aerating the wort once its in the fermenter that is easy on the back/arms and gives much better mixing than just shaking:

Start by swirling the container well (just like you were trying this whirlpool method). Once you've got a good current, stop swirling, and tip the container at a 45 degree angle (so only the tip of the side is touching). Hold it steady and watch as the vortex collapses on itself putting a lot of air into the wort as well as mixing it well. Do this a couple times and its much more efficient than shaking, not to mention there is less risk of splashing because there is no upward movement of liquid towards the mouth of the container.

Just for fun, swirl it again and now just tip it up an inch or two. You'll see a smaller version of what you just did and that's why when you tried it before it didn't work (settled evenly on the bottom).

HTH