How much wort and "gunk" left after whirlpool?

[joepfohl]

So I *tried* my first whirlpool this past Saturday and had what I would call mixed results. I finished my boil and cooled to 68 with my immersion chiller. Using a sanitized paddle I got the wort spinning like mad and covered the kettle for 10 minutes. Once everything calmed down (10 mins) I racked the wort from the side of the kettle to my fermenting bucket using my sanitized autosiphon. When I got close to the bottom I saw a nice cone formed in the middle but still had a good deal of hot/cold break and hops distributed across the bottom of the kettle. When the wort level got close to the bottom, the siphon stuck and I couldn't get anything more moved over.

Here's my dilemma... I do partial mash and partial boil brewing so even a little wort left in the bottom of the pot feels like a big deal to me considering that I still have water to add. How much wort is it usual to leave behind when doing a whirlpool? Is there a better way to do the whirlpool and/or drain the kettle so you get the most wort possible? Am I over thinking this?

After everything was said and done I ended up dumping it all in and topping off to my final volume but I figured I'd get y'alls opinion for next time.

 

[Grannyknot]

I've never been able to get all of the "clean" wort out of my kettle.
My recipes usually account for between 1.25-2 gallons of kettle loss. Usually 0.25gal of it is clean wort.

 

[LovesIPA]

Here's my dilemma... I do partial mash and partial boil brewing so even a little wort left in the bottom of the pot feels like a big deal to me considering that I still have water to add.

What you could do is pour some of the top off water into the kettle to "rinse" most of the concentrated wort out.

How much wort is it usual to leave behind when doing a whirlpool? Is there a better way to do the whirlpool and/or drain the kettle so you get the most wort possible? Am I over thinking this?

I do think you're overthinking it. You can literally dump the entire kettle into the fermenter, trub, cold break, hop debris and all. It won't affect the flavor or clarity of the beer one bit.

I whirlpool as well, just as you described. My kettle has a ball valve so I don't siphon and I don't have to worry about the siphon clogging up with hop debris. I typically get everything in the kettle out but the pile of plant material in the middle. I don't lose more than a few ounces of wort at most.

Look into getting a weldless ball valve kit. There are many vendors that sell them. You can also spring for a 3-piece ball valve which are much easier to clean. There is gunk in my boil kettle's ball valve that I can never completely clean. You'll also need a step bit for your drill to drill the hole out. I have a pot that I installed a ball valve and a thermometer into.

I've never been able to get all of the "clean" wort out of my kettle.
My recipes usually account for between 1.25-2 gallons of kettle loss. Usually 0.25gal of it is clean wort.

1.25 to 2 gallons is a lot of waste IMO.

 

[Grannyknot]

1.25 to 2 gallons is a lot of waste IMO.

Not sure what I would do differently....
Hot break from 9.5 gallons pre boil, plus 6-8 ounces of hop pellets makes a lot of trub.

You do realize, when I say kettle loss, I don't mean I lose that much wort right?
That's all my loss. Wort, plant material, hot break...

 

[HopChef]

I'm typically losing about a half gallon depending on the recipe and the amount of hop and break material there is left. Two factors that can affect the volume is how long you whilpooled for and how long you let it sit prior to siphoning off the wort. Maybe try letting it sit for 15 min or longer after the whirlpool and see if it doesn't settle more making it easier to pull the clear wort off.

 

[LovesIPA]

In my experience, even if you let the wort sit for 30 minutes, the bottom 4-5 inches of the kettle is all cold break. The plant material which is much heavier than the break material is what settles first. Even after pitching the yeast and waiting for 12 hours of lag time there is still a good 3-4" of cold break in the bottom of the fermenter.

But even if you dump all the cold break into the fermenter, along with all the hop debris, you still get clear beer after 2-3 weeks in primary. So I don't know what the fuss is about and maybe I'm just cheap, but I can't see wasting 1/2 gallon of wort when it will clear up perfectly fine in primary.

 

[joepfohl]

What you could do is pour some of the top off water into the kettle to "rinse" most of the concentrated wort out.

I like that idea. At least then, anything left behind is diluted wort and not the concentrated stuff...

I do think you're overthinking it.

Lol yeah... thats my life (especially if you ask swmbo).

Look into getting a weldless ball valve kit.

Aah how I wish I could. Alas, tuition bears a heavier burden than brewing and its many related acquisitions...

Thanks for the replies everyone. I may give whirlpooling another shot down the line. We shall see.

 

[narl79]

I have brewed many many batches and never once worried about what goes in the fermenter. All my beers have been good to great - 1or2 imo if everything goes right it all settles out anyways.

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