Fake whirlpooling...

[joepfohl]

So I've got a recipe book that recommends emulating a whirlpool using the following method:

"When the wort has cooled, move the kettle to a counter and stir the wort briskly (with a cleaned and sanitized brew paddle) in one direction for about 5 minutes. After stirring, cover and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes ass the hops and trub form a cone. Using a sanitized racking cane and siphon, rack as much wort as possible into the sanitized primary fermenter. Using a sanitized funnel and straining screen, strain the rest of the wort into the fermenter."

What do ya'll think of this process? I usually just dump everything into the carboy and allow it to ferment and settle before racking into secondary. The book's process seems like it creates too many opportunities for contamination but hey... I could be wrong!

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[aspiffymofo]

Are you saying you dump your hops and everything into primary?

This method works pretty well, you could also use a hop bag.

 

[pelipen]

Nothing fake about it, and it works very well.

I start the outside of the kettle moving, then spiral toward the center picking up speed. After it settles you'll have a nice cone. Just don't bump it.

I draw off the wort from the side, and leave the last cup or so. A gentle tilt will still leave the vast majority behind. I brew enough to account for losses and don't bother straining. Straining hops and break material is a pain not worth the trouble unless you're doing very small batches.

 

[joepfohl]

aspiffymofo - yeah typically I'll dump hops and everything into primary with no ill effects assuming I'm using secondary for whatever I'm brewing. I tend to steer away from hop bags because I feel that I achieve better utilization when I dump them straight into the boil. I think that's more personal preference than it is fact.

pelipen - do you fear contamination when introducing so many extra surfaces to the process or are you just extra careful? I've always hoisted the kettle and dumped right into my funnel instead of using the racking cane. After reading so many people's horror stories about contamination and infection I try and avoid that as much as possible.

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[EROK]

I stir pretty fast (from the outside edge of the kettle only) for about two minutes and then let the kettle sit for 30 minutes. Works very well if I syphon from the outside edge of the kettle after the 30 minute rest. I get very little trub in the fermentor. I also plan to leave about 1.25 gal in my pot to make sure I have enough wort to account for leaving all the trub and hop matter behind.

 

[pelipen]

pelipen - do you fear contamination when introducing so many extra surfaces to the process or are you just extra careful? I've always hoisted the kettle and dumped right into my funnel instead of using the racking cane. After reading so many people's horror stories about contamination and infection I try and avoid that as much as possible.

As long as the spoon or cane is sanitized, there should be no concern. Probably more nasties fall out the sky into the kettle than transfer from a stir utensil. You can sanitize with starsan in a squirt bottle, or by sticking the item in the the hot wort before chilling.

There are loads of people here who just dump the entire thing in. The main reason I don't is because I target 6 gallons into the carboy, and I want as much of that to be reclaimed possible before sucking up debris.

 

[pelipen]

I stir pretty fast (from the outside edge of the kettle only) for about two minutes and then let the kettle sit for 30 minutes. Works very well if I syphon from the outside edge of the kettle after the 30 minute rest. I get very little trub in the fermentor. I also plan to leave about 1.25 gal in my pot to make sure I have enough wort to account for leaving all the trub and hop matter behind.

1.25 gallons is a ton of deadspace. You could probably leave behind just 0.5-0.25, and still leave behind virtually all the gunk. Some say the cold break helps fermentation.