Whirlpool before or after cooling wort

hey guys, i know that its important to chill your wort down as soon and as fast as possible after your boiling period has concluded. when implementing a whirlpool after the boil, is it okay to chill the wort at the same time that the whirlpool is going? or should you do one before the other? thanks

If you whirlpool while you're chilling, you'll disturb the trub cone when you remove your chiller or move it from your chilling chamber (bucket of ice or whatever). You want to get the kettle to a spot from which you can siphon into your primary, then whirlpool LAST. Let it whirlpool for 15 minutes or so, even if it looks still. Leave your spoon in the kettle during the last minute of boiling and while chilling, so you know it's sanitized. Then siphon from the outer edge of the kettle to avoid bumping or disturbing the cone, assuming it formed in the first place (my first one didn't).

On another note, I personally think that there's too much emphasis on the "cool in 15 minutes or your beer will be ruined" philosophy. As long as it's covered you can take as long as you need. I know one guy who boils, kills the flame, and lets his kettle sit overnight. Never had a bad batch AFAIK. But it doesn't hurt to be quick, as long as you're reasonably smart about being clean.

You can actually do both: Whirlpool while you chill (helps you chill faster, by moving hot wort over the chiller) and then keep going after you take the chiller out to rebuild the cone and oxidize the wort before pitching yeast.

boist said:

You can actually do both: Whirlpool while you chill (helps you chill faster, by moving hot wort over the chiller) and then keep going after you take the chiller out to rebuild the cone and oxidize the wort before pitching yeast.

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I think you mean "oxygenate" the wort.

I agree with the whirlpool while you are chilling, to speed up chilling.

Then after you hit pitching temp 70 or below, take out the chiller and stir the wort in a vigorous whirlpool to move trub and gunk to the center of the pot (wait 20 minutes with the pot covered) then you can siphon from the outside edge of the pot leaving most of the bad stuff in the pot. Works like a charm! :rockin:

EROK said:

I think you mean "oxygenate" the wort.

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OH! So that's why my beer sours after a week!


You're right, of course, oxygenate.

Not jack, but another question on the same subject. Can I add oxygen to my cool wort with 100 percent o2 I have a 20 lb bottle I can fill locally. Or is that to much.

I just started this thread about my process... video..

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/video-whirlpooling-immersion-chiller-279917/#post3470089

Jamming said:

Not jack, but another question on the same subject. Can I add oxygen to my cool wort with 100 percent o2 I have a 20 lb bottle I can fill locally. Or is that to much.

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Short answer is yes (I know a local microbrewery that does exactly that). Longer answer is that you do run the risk of over-oxygenating your wort (I think above 32ppm is over, by comparison: when you whirlpool you wont get above 8ppm) so look it up (I think Palmer mentions this)

I have gone from counter flow wort chilling to immersion wort chilling to see if I can realize any improvement in my brewing process. I have noticed that the whirlpool of the hot wort clears fast and creates a very prominent mound in the middle of the brew pot that allows me to siphon from the side and remove all but about a cup of wort from the brew pot. The whirlpool of the cold wort does not leave much of a mound and is very hard to remove the wort because of all the hops and trub. Has anyone experienced this?

ljbecker said:

I have gone from counter flow wort chilling to immersion wort chilling to see if I can realize any improvement in my brewing process. I have noticed that the whirlpool of the hot wort clears fast and creates a very prominent mound in the middle of the brew pot that allows me to siphon from the side and remove all but about a cup of wort from the brew pot. The whirlpool of the cold wort does not leave much of a mound and is very hard to remove the wort because of all the hops and trub. Has anyone experienced this?

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The reason a trub cones in hot wort is explained by the "tea leaf pardox" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_leaf_paradox

This effect doesn't depend (explicitly) on temperature, but the thermal gradients might help to accentuate the effect, so it might not be as effective once the wort is cooled.

You can do a simple experiment -- steep some tea leaves in hot water, then swirl the cup and watch the leaves accumulate in the center. Then let this cool and try it again. On a coffee cup scale, temperature doesn't seem to matter for me.