How to whirlpool by hand?

[Galactik]

I have been struggling with a really basic concept: how to whirlpool by hand?

I use a 10g Boilermaker and use pellet hops in the boil. My whirlpool technique was to just whirlpool with my brew spoon (generic long white spoon that comes with kits) really fast for a minute then let settle for 30min before I open the valve and drain into my primary. I use an immersion chiller. So I always end up with a flat floaty layer as I get close to the end of my drain off. I always drain off slowly, and for some reason I never see a "cone" of debris in the bottom of my boil kettle.

Am I supposed to stir slowly for 5 minutes? What is a good technique?

With my recipes calling for more and more hops, I am loosing space in my primary due to too much trub and hop particles draining off with my wort.

 

[j1n]

There are many other ways to mitigate your issue other than whirpooling.

 

[tpkli]

Wow, j1n, that was real helpful for his problem.

A whirlpool should eliminate something like 90% of hop debris and trub. Make sure you don't move the kettle after you start the whirlpool or anything that might disturb it. How long do you wait till you start draining off? How vigorous do you stir? You want to avoid really whipping up the wort so you aren't oxidizing it at all when it's hot. You really just need to get the wort to spin once every 30 seconds or so. Let it set and cool while you are chilling (20 minutes seems like plenty of time and should be cooled by then). And when we say "cone", it's really just going to look like a mound in the middle of the kettle.

 

[Trox]

The way I go about doing it is to cool off fthe wort with my immersion chiller, then remove chiller. Stir the wort until I get a really vigorous whirlpool going, remove the spoon, put lid on, and wait for about 30-45 minutes;I'll use that time to clean things up and get all my fermenting items sanatized, and enter the details of the brew day into BeerSmith. After 30-45 minutes I'll open the lid a little bit and then transfer the wort using my auto-siphon through my strainer into the fermenting bucket. Reason why I use the strainer after whirlpooling is this way it will catch any big bits the auto-siphon picks up, and aerates the wort during the transfer.

I will have a good mound of trub in the middle of the pot until I start gettign towards the bottom and then it will start flowing towards the auto-siphon, so I usually leave a little bit of wort in the bottom of the pot. I probably wouldn't be worried about it too much execpt I've started reusing my yeast cakes, and so want to minimize the amount of trub each batch puts into the fermentor.

 

[broadbill]

I tried Whirlpooling and could never get the results I wanted. I went with KISS and use a paint stainer bag and it takes me 1 second to separate all the hop debris from the wort.

Sometimes simple is better...

 

[Galactik]

Thanks for the feedback. So I guess I have a couple options to try on my next brew day aside from a whirlpool.

 

[Calichusetts]

I too use a paint strainer. Probably defeats the purpose of the whirlpool as things get stirred up but that bag is pretty full when I am done transferring.

 

[Natdavis777]

I too experienced the issue you are having. I may be wrong on my explanation here, but here it goes.

Using the immersion chiller produces cold break in the kettle. I too would chill down to 70F then whirlpool. Even using hop bags, I still had a solid inch or two of trub at the bottom regardless of whirlpooling.

After switching to a plate chiller, my whirlpools produce picture perfect trub cones with considerably less trub. I can only deduce that the cold break forms post boil kettle since I'm not chilling directly in the kettle, hence less debris.


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[civilbrando]

Natdavis,
I'm confused, how are you using a plate chiller and whirlpooling? Could you explain your equipment and process? Are you whirlpoooling then pulling from a dip tube?
Asking because I will be going to a counterflow or plate chiller in the future.

TS, sorry to change topic. I am trying to prefect my whirlpool as well!

 

[Natdavis777]

Natdavis,
I'm confused, how are you using a plate chiller and whirlpooling? Could you explain your equipment and process? Are you whirlpoooling then pulling from a dip tube?
Asking because I will be going to a counterflow or plate chiller in the future.

TS, sorry to change topic. I am trying to prefect my whirlpool as well!

I use a keggle system with a 90 degree pick up tube. After flameout, I whirlpool by hand and let it sit for about 20 minutes. Then open my valve and run the wort thru the plate chiller and into the fermenter. The pick up tube draws wort from the side of the kettle, not the center; hence, leaving the trub cone.

I recently got a pump, so I will be utilizing that to whirlpool instead of by hand.


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[Waldner]

What it Whirlpool mean?

 

[Teufelhunde]

I don't mess with trying to whirlpool. I bag ALL of my hops and have very little sediment when I pour EVERY DROP of the wort into the fermenter.....and what is there settles to the bottom with the yeast as it ferments....

Lon

 

[Waldner]

When does whirlpooling start right after chilling Wort?

 

[IslandLizard]

When does whirlpooling start right after chilling Wort?

"Whirlpooling" is borrowed from commercial breweries where, after the boil, the wort from the boil vessel gets transferred (pumped) to a whirlpool vessel, where a strong pump generates a whirlpool to separate kettle hops and break matter from the wort, before it goes through the wort chiller.

Whirlpool hops are those hops that are added to the whirlpool vessel. The wort in this vessel is already below boiling temps, say around 180-190F, but heavily depending on the system used.

Breweries may recirculate the whirlpooling wort through a chiller to lower the whirlpool temps more.

On homebrew level (and in nano breweries) we have the "luxury" to chill the wort, while still in the brew kettle (we don't use a dedicated whirlpool vessel) to any temp below 200-190F and add hops there. The wort can be recirculated, using a pump or simply agitated by stirring. Agitating the hops is important, so the surrounding wort can better extract their oils, giving us flavor and aroma.

Whirlpool hops are often called hopstand hops, which is basically the same process.

 

[thehaze]

I do it by hand, using a stainless steel paddle. I have a Grainfather, so when the boil is done, I cut the power and immediately start chilling, recirculating the wort through the CFC. I use deep well water, which is plenty cold. I add the hops when the wort temperature reached 70-75C/158-168F, at which point, I stop reciruclating the wort. I then take my paddle and create a gentle whirlpool. I take the paddle out and leave the wort to rest. I repeat 2-3 times, depending on how much hops I added and how patient I may be that day. Before transferring to fermenter, I leave the wort to rest at least 15-20 minutes. Combining the rest with irish moss in the boil, achieves a very neat, tight sitting trub pile at the bottom of the kettle. The Grainfather has a filter at the bottom, which stops debris entering the fermenter. I transfer clear wort each time. Overall, it takes me 10-15 minutes to chill down from 100C to 70C, then another 30-40 minutes whirlpooling once in a while and leaving the wort to rest. The transfer itself also takes some time, especially when using more hops, with some of it settling on the filter, thus reducing the the flow.

 

[Jim R]

I try to whirlpool by hand as best I can and then I transfer to my fermenter through this sanitized kitchen strainer. It is big enough that I can support it across the top of the fermenter for easy straining. The wort looks pretty clear during the transfer but it is amazing how much debris I still strain out with this. I am not sure if this is a good idea or not but it seems to work well and seems to do a lot more than whirlpooling.

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