Why do people whirlpool

I've been reading up on whirlpooling and have done a number of searches on HBT... but none of the threads have seemed to answer the question of why I would want to whirlpool, as a homebrewer? For a microbrewery doing 15-barrel batches I can see them not wanting a couple dozen pounds of trub wasting space in their fermentors. But for a homebrewer doing 5g batches it doesn't take up much room.

And from what I've read it's not a detriment to fermentation, and might even help because it could have extra proteins and compounds that are helpful to the yeast.

So from this,
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Whirlpooling
it sounds like the only reasons are for cleaner yeast harvesting if you're going to harvest the yeast cake, and possibly better final beer clarity.

But I'm not sure if I buy the clarity argument - because if the cold/hot break settles out so easily that whirlpooling can make it settle at the bottom, then it is definitely going to settle in the fermenter too. If you care about clarity then whirlfloc, irish moss, and polyclar would be a better solution I would think.

So we're left with cleaner yeast cake for harvesting. But couldn't I take care of that by doing yeast washing? And if you're following the rules of only harvesting when you're stepping up in hoppiness or ABV, then trub isn't going to have much impact on the next beer anyway.

So whirlpooling seems like an extra step / extra trouble in the homebrewing process with no major benefit. Am I missing something?

I don't whirlpool. I just drain my cooled wort into a huge stainless steel strainer while it's going to the fermenter. Easier with my buckets than with a carboy. The only reason I would ever whirlpool is if I was siphoning from my keggle to a carboy. I prefer a clean beer and don't trust all the people who say the hot and cold break is good for fermentation. I've done fine without it, so...

If you're using an immersion chiller keeping the wort moving speeds the cooling process. There's no way we're removing all the break material so there's plenty left for fermentation health.

If you have a pump you may want to whirlpool to keep it from getting clogged. Same with any sort of counter-flow chiller or plate chiller. I use a false bottom and leaf hops to keep stuff out of the pump, but whirlpooling would work (for non-electric rigs)

I recently whirlpooled my last batch, first time ever. I used a stainless steel spoon that was disinfected of course, to stir the crap out of the cooled wort. Then I auto-siphoned the wort out of the brew pot to the side of the trub cone through a screen in my funnel when I transferred it to the carboy. I too was skeptical about whirlpooling. Then I noticed something. Very little trub was in the screen. Then after fermentation there was very little trub mixed with the yeast on the bottom of the carboy.Then when bottling very little trub went into the bottles. Then when I tasted the beer it was very clean and nothing but yeast at the bottom of the bottle. So in my own opinion I am going to start whirlpooling every batch from here on. Yes it takes a little more effort but it is worth it. I like whirlpools, and yes I have been drinking homebrews tonight.J

I prefer to keep as much trub/break out of the carboy. It doesn't mean I get nothing of it in the carboy, but trying both whirlpool and not whirlpool I have noticed a difference in trub/break getting into the carboy.

Far easier for me to take the time to do the whirlpool. Just my two cents.

I guess the question that comes to my mind is what exactly makes you NOT want to do it? Time? Effort?

A positive effect on clarity is plenty of reason for me to do it.

The only reason I do is to speed up the cooling process. I can have my wort to pitch temp high 60's or lower in about 15 minutes. I was waiting around for the beer to cool without whirlpooling. I'll let it rest for 10-15 min and get fermenter ready and clean up a few things.

There is another reason I didn't see mentioned, but I don't get too excited about, and thats getting the wort out of the germ loving temps faster. I thought there was some sort of off-flavor that was supposedly created if it wasn't chilled below 80F in a certain amount of time also. Anybody?
EDIT: Just found the off-flavor. Palmer says dimethyl sulfide can be produced if wort is not cooled quickly, but doesn mention what quickly is.
http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html

I use whirfloc and have been using gelatin the last couple batches. I also only use primary fermentation and have had very clear beer flowing from my kegs for quite some time. With that said when I move to brewing on a keggle I'd rather not put everything in the fermenter if I don't have to but I'm not necessarily scared to.

I thought there was some sort of off-flavor that was supposedly created if it wasn't chilled below 80F in a certain amount of time also. Anybody?
EDIT: Just found the off-flavor. Palmer says dimethyl sulfide can be produced if wort is not cooled quickly, but doesn mention what quickly is.
http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html

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I think the 'No Chill' brewers have pretty much debunked that one.

I used to strain everything through a strainer (and I mean every drop I could get out of the kettle was strained into the carboy). This left some trub but a lot also got in and it was 'broken up' a bit by going through the strainer. Recently I've been letting the kettle settle and then only take clear wort, leaving about a 1/2 gal of very trub-y wort in the kettle (I use a sauce pot and ladle it in). I haven't drank those beers yet so jury's still out however I did notice that when I used that washed yeast I had sluggish fermentations. But that could have been due to other things. Need to test this more.

I was trying to improve colliodal stability, which it seems is the biggest reason to try and keep that stuff out.

I recently whirlpooled my last batch, first time ever. I used a stainless steel spoon that was disinfected of course, to stir the crap out of the cooled wort. Then I auto-siphoned the wort out of the brew pot to the side of the trub cone through a screen in my funnel when I transferred it to the carboy. I too was skeptical about whirlpooling. Then I noticed something. Very little trub was in the screen. Then after fermentation there was very little trub mixed with the yeast on the bottom of the carboy.Then when bottling very little trub went into the bottles. Then when I tasted the beer it was very clean and nothing but yeast at the bottom of the bottle. So in my own opinion I am going to start whirlpooling every batch from here on. Yes it takes a little more effort but it is worth it. I like whirlpools, and yes I have been drinking homebrews tonight.J

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+1000 On my 5 gallon batches, I have whirlpooled since the beginning and it really helps to make each subsequent racking a lot easier and cleaner.

I started whirlpooling to help keep my lines clear while using my CFC. I also want to keep as much of that thick stuff out of the fermenter, because, well, it just looks gross!

Mostly because of the chiller though, and when I finally get my false bottom or some other device to strain my wort, I won't be doing it. (we'll see...)

Ok, thanks for the replies, so it sounds like it's basically a personal preference. Kind of like how some people like to do a secondary and some people don't.

Some people do it because it just works better with their setup (ie, their chilling process includes whirlpooling). For me it would be extra work - an extra 20 min or so I'd need to let it sit after cooling, plus the trouble of sanitizing my racking cane and racking out of the pot rather than just dumping it through a funnel.

Homercidal said:

...Mostly because of the chiller though, and when I finally get my false bottom or some other device to strain my wort, I won't be doing it. (we'll see...)

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I'm not too experienced, and most all of the brewing I've done has been AG w/a very experienced buddy. But now I've just acquired a keggle system, and it came with two false bottoms, which I didn't understand until (possibly) this post. Are you suggesting that you put a false bottom in the brew kettle, below which the trub settles, to separate the trub from the beer?

The trub would settle on top of the false bottom and you strain the clean wort from underneath it.

Thanks SuthernC, I get it - use the false bottom for trub in the BK like you do for grain in the lauter tun. Have you tried this? On the one batch I've made in my equipment thus far, the trub was so runny looking, I'd think it would run right through the holes. I presume you don't whirlpool in this case, right? Do you need to moderate the flow of clean wort (I've got a 1/2" valve with a dip tube in the BK) to prevent pulling trub through the screen?
Sidenote: I like the looks of what you've bottled. One of my favorite recipes I've done on my pals system is Chocolate Raspberry Porter. Still trying to perfect it to get just a finish of the raspberry. Would you share your Double Chocolate Raspberry Stout recipe - in whatever means is appropriate on this board?

I've used a false bottom, but have sinced stepped up my setup a bit and don't really need one. I don't whirlpool either. I use a modified dip tube that sits against the side of my keg instead of in the middle. I find that I don't get much through the valve this way and even if I do, I'm not overly concerned. And you're correct, a little bit will still get through the holes in a false bottom in my experience.

As for the DC Raspberry Stout...honestly, it's not up to par for me. I brewed it well over two years ago and most of my research on flavorings said that the raspberry flavoring you can buy at your LHBS is very good at creating a raspberry flavor/aroma. It definately did what it was supposed to, but I over flavored it and it came out tasting like raspberry juice. It's calmed down a lot now with age and it's finally tasting good, but I don't usually like waiting that long for a good result. I'll go ahead and upload it tonight for you if you're interested. I'd suggest using less raspberry and more chocolate. I also prefer fresh fruit, but the flavoring was a hell of a lot cheaper. Check my recipes list later today.

I don't whirlpool, mainly because the drag of the bazooka filter stops the whirl almost instantly.