Whirlpool vs. false bottom in BK

[Tom R]

When I started AG brewing I had a 10 gal boil kettle and a false bottom. I never heard of whirlpooling.

A few years ago I bought a 22 gal Brewbuilt kettle that I'm using with a bazooka screen. The combination works pretty well, except I can choke the screen if I use a ton of hops. I get very little trub/hops/grain into my fermenter.

So I'm thinking about buying a dip tube and false bottom. But before I do so, I thought I better ask if whirlpooling would be a better approach.

I'm not concerned about the cost, a FB isn't much money. I'm in this for the long haul, and want to continue to improve my processes. I have a pump that I can use for the whirlpool, but only one port on the kettle, so I'll need to add a bit more hardware.

Am I missing out by not whirlpooling? What works best for you guys?

 

[augiedoggy]

When I started AG brewing I had a 10 gal boil kettle and a false bottom. I never heard of whirlpooling.

A few years ago I bought a 22 gal Brewbuilt kettle that I'm using with a bazooka screen. The combination works pretty well, except I can choke the screen if I use a ton of hops. I get very little trub/hops/grain into my fermenter.

So I'm thinking about buying a dip tube and false bottom. But before I do so, I thought I better ask if whirlpooling would be a better approach.

I'm not concerned about the cost, a FB isn't much money. I'm in this for the long haul, and want to continue to improve my processes. I have a pump that I can use for the whirlpool, but only one port on the kettle, so I'll need to add a bit more hardware.

Am I missing out by not whirlpooling? What works best for you guys?

Ive done it both ways on two different systems. personally I think that using hop bags or hop spider baskets is the best approach. a false bottom, inless its a fine mesch screen will do little to filter hop trub. I used a short section of stainless braid connected to my dip tube in my BK but also used 2 hop baskets. when I tried brewing without them I noticed no real measurable increase in hop utilization. I did however notice a difference between a plugged up hop basket screen and a clean one.

I own a small brewpub now and we use a boil kettle with a tangential whirlpool port and a slopped bottom with a drain port up and off to the side at the brewpub. We also use muslin bags for the hops. and this combination with whirlpooling for 15-20mins with a 3/4hp pump does help but I still be more hop residue in the fermenters this way vs the hop spider baskets and braided stainless diptube I used at home to keep my plate chiller clear.