How do you whirlpool + hopstand with a plate chiller?

For my first hundred or so brews, I used a cylindrical "hop screen" that hangs on the inside rim of my boil kettle to contain my pellet hops. In addition, I used a plate chiller to chill my wort, recirculating it back into the boil kettle until the wort has cooled to the desired temperature. Finally, I'd drain the whole kettle into my fermenter, trub and all.

However, I've modified my kettle by adding a whirlpool port, and I now want to add the hops directly to the kettle instead of in the hop screen. After the boil, I whirlpool for 5 minutes then let it stand for another 15 to settle out, before introducing my plate chiller into the setup and running the wort through the chiller directly into the fermenter. I have a side pickup tube on my kettle's outlet port, so I end up with very clear wort. The hot break and hop debris accumulates in the center of the kettle in a little cone, and I draw the clear wort from the side.

My concern is avoiding clogging my plate chiller with this hot break and hop matter. Under my old configuration, the hot break would still get sucked through the chiller, but it never caused a blockage. And with the new setup, by the time I add the plate chiller, the break matter and hop gunk are in the middle, and don't go through my chiller.

The problem is - what if I want to do a hopstand? I'd need to chill the wort down to 180° F or so. How can I do that with my plate chiller, while still keeping the hops and hot break from clogging it? Does anyone else brew in this way, and if so, how did you overcome this problem?

Do you have an old immersion chiller laying around? I know I still have the one I started with. You could use that to get it down to 180 for your hop stand and then whirlpool after that like normal.

If you only have a few oz of hops in your batch prior to BKO, you can use your plate chiller to take it down to 170-180 or so, then add your hops. 30 minutes later, your hops should have settled to the point where they're on the bottom of the kettle and will be less of a concern (if you don't re-suspend them).

I have a love/hate relationship with my plate chiller. It is as effective of a hop filter as a goddamn hop spider. Would LOVE to see someone come out with one that has more space between the plates to reduce the risk of plugging. I threw out my hop spider but i'm thinking about buying another one now.

schematix said:

If you only have a few oz of hops in your batch prior to BKO, you can use your plate chiller to take it down to 170-180 or so, then add your hops. 30 minutes later, your hops should have settled to the point where they're on the bottom of the kettle and will be less of a concern (if you don't re-suspend them).

I have a love/hate relationship with my plate chiller. It is as effective of a hop filter as a goddamn hop spider. Would LOVE to see someone come out with one that has more space between the plates to reduce the risk of plugging. I threw out my hop spider but i'm thinking about buying another one now.

Click to expand...

Wouldn't that kill the effectiveness of the chiller?

tennesseean_87 said:

Wouldn't that kill the effectiveness of the chiller?

Click to expand...

To which point of my points are you referring?

schematix said:

To which point of my points are you referring?

Click to expand...

"that has more space between the plates to reduce the risk of plugging."

I thought plate chillers worked so well because they use tiny spaces to drastically increase surface area to chill faster.

yeah its either efficient but prone to clogs or takes as long as an immersion chiller but will power through. I doubt theres a magical medium that would really make it worthwhile

m00ps said:

yeah its either efficient but prone to clogs or takes as long as an immersion chiller but will power through. I doubt theres a magical medium that would really make it worthwhile

Click to expand...

There is. It's called a counter flow chiller.

Or a hop spider.

Kombat, I believe our setups are identical. After experiencing a clogged plate chiller, I dont think I will ever risk it again with adding loose hops to the kettle. Though mine in the past was caused by the entire boil lengths worth of hop additions. If your whirlpool is strong enough, maybe the whirlpool addition wont have a chance to get close to your pick up tube.

Even if you imagine a plate chiller was created with smooth plates, it has significantly more surface area than an IC or CFC. Run the math and you'll see it's vastly different. Real plate chillers don't have smooth plates though. They are ribbed to create turbulence, thus mixing the fluid eliminating the hot spots near the plates that lead to efficiency loss.

What i'm suggesting is that rather than having say a 1/8" gap between plates, i'd like to see a say 3/16" gap, and have a larger overall chiller.

The models used in home brewing are essentially the same units used in industry for various tasks where things like hot break, or hop sludge aren't a factor. And in industry they'll use an inline filter to keep anything from getting inside anyways. But an inline filter for hot break and hop sludge is impractical due the quantity.

Why do you want to go away from the stainless hop spider hanging off the side of the pot?

I use my hop rocket packed with stainless scrubbies as a grant/filter at the kettle outlet, then to pump-plate chiller- whirlpool.
Then I can dial in temp no problem and even leave the cold break in the kettle before diverting to fermentor.

bazooka tube works pretty well.

After thinking about this some more, I believe I have an idea that should work. I intend to try it the next time I brew an IPA.

My plan is as follows:

• At the end of the boil, kill the flame.
• Fire up the pump, recirculating through the whirlpool port for 5 minutes, to get a good whirlpool going.
• Kill the pump, let everything settle for 15 - 20 minutes. Reconfigure the hoses to add the chiller to the mix, and have the wort output going to a pot instead of back through the whirlpool port.
• Begin chilling as normal, but collect the wort in a sanitized pot instead of directly into the fermenter. After I've collected a gallon or so, stop.
• Pour the chilled wort back into the kettle. Move the hoses around again to whirlpool, and whirlpool for 5 more minutes, followed by another 15 - 20 minute rest to "settle."
• Finally, move hoses around one last time, adding the chiller back in, and chill the beer, collecting it in the fermenter.

This should allow me to get the temperature of the wort down into a more optimal range for hopstanding, without ever having to risk my chiller ingesting hop matter or trub. I'll have to do some math to figure out roughly how much 70° wort it takes to cool the remaining 212° wort down to 180°, but that shouldn't be too hard.

What do you guys think? More trouble than it's worth? Anyone already doing something similar?

wouldnt you want to have your chiller hooked up before you cut the flame so your can send boiling wort through it to sanitize it?

I just start my whirlpool with ~5min left in the boil with the chiller hooked up. cut the flame, leave the pump on, and place the lid on the kettle. I get down to 180 after 20-25min usually

M00ps: yes, but then I'd be circulating break and hop gunk through my chiller, which I want to avoid. I sanitize my chiller by circulating StarSan through it.

yeah, I use hop bags and do BIAB so I havent had issues clogging yet *knock on wood*

Though after ~15 brews on my new brew boss system i recirculated hot pbw through everything for 30min or so and man did that water turn green...