Q1 2021 Community Recipe by HighVoltageMan!

[Donoroto]

Hi folks, as a new brewer I’m trying to get in on the the fun and brew the Wayners Pale Ale this weekend. As I don’t have a whirlpooler set up in my simple kettle as listed in Highvoltageman’s recipe I changed to very late hope additions to match the ibu? Thoughts?

I also don't have a whirlpool capability, so I just dumped a bunch of hops in once it cooled to about 170 F and waited a while before cooling it into the fermenter.

My version came out really cloudy, but taste was delicious.

Another batch is in queue.

 

[Mark Farrall]

I don't see that the action of the whirlpool is relevant to the hopping during that stage. The heat that's in the system will guarantee that the compounds you want out of the hops will come out of the hops whether there's a whirlpool going or not. The whirlpool is just for the people that want to avoid blocked transfer equipment or clearer wort.

 

[Nosybear]

Has the reality that none of the tests for IBUs actually test for this, but for substances that hit a specific spectrum on the standard testing approaches ever changed that definition? Or is this pondering the things that don't really matter?

I don't think it really matters at our scale - none of us have the equipment to measure it anyway. I haven't heard of any bitterness measurement other than IBUs, so no one is trying to measure the other bitter stuff that happens when the temperature of the whirlpool gets too cool to isomerize. The big guys need something to standardize on, so this is the metric.

 

[Nosybear]

I don't see that the action of the whirlpool is relevant to the hopping during that stage. The heat that's in the system will guarantee that the compounds you want out of the hops will come out of the hops whether there's a whirlpool going or not. The whirlpool is just for the people that want to avoid blocked transfer equipment or clearer wort.

Whirlpool, as relates to whirlpool hopping, does two things: It agitates and it helps pile the hop debris up into that nice little cone in the middle of the fermentor. Helps keep hop gunk and some trub out of the fermentor.

 

[AHarper]

Whirlpool, as relates to whirlpool hopping, does two things: It agitates and it helps pile the hop debris up into that nice little cone in the middle of the fermentor. Helps keep hop gunk and some trub out of the fermentor.

How much of pelleted hops get swirled up into a nice neat pile in the middle of the kettle? I would think not much as the hop particles are in suspension. Fresh hops are another matter - big leaves floating about in a, relatively, clear wort. I suspect whirlpool works far better with traditional hops where they would more easily collect in the centre. Whirlpooling pellets may be pointless - at least for moving the hops away from the outflow is concerned. Distributing the flavour may be another question. Well it's an idea anyway.

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

How much of pelleted hops get swirled up into a nice neat pile in the middle of the kettle? I would think not much as the hop particles are in suspension. Fresh hops are another matter - big leaves floating about in a, relatively, clear wort. I suspect whirlpool works far better with traditional hops where they would more easily collect in the centre. Whirlpooling pellets may be pointless - at least for moving the hops away from the outflow is concerned. Distributing the flavour may be another question. Well it's an idea anyway.

The whirlpool is not necessary as pointed out above by Mark and Nosey for getting the most out of hops. The heat and a little agitation does that. You do have a point that homebrewers don't benefit from whirlpool very much, the smaller kettles don't work very well. It does work better in the big vessels found in larger breweries. The whirlpool can be as simply as stirring with a big spoon or whatever. The term "whirlpool" often refers to a point in the process where the boil is done but the wort has still not been cooled yet, it's not necessarily the wort "spinning" in the kettle.

If you have an immersion chiller, a quick "spin" of the wort after cooling with a spoon will create that cone of debris in the center better in the smaller kettle, but it's not perfect. Heat interferes with the debris falling from suspension.

 

[Hawkbox]

I've never gotten a cone out of a whirlpool in the 3 years I've been brewing. I just stopped trying.

 

[Donoroto]

My Brewzilla's pump port is halfway to the center, so a whirlpool (to corral debris to the center) is futile unless I use only the ball valve on the side. But what's the pump for then? Pumping makes my counterflow chiller more, er, Chill.

 

[Nosybear]

I've never gotten a cone out of a whirlpool in the 3 years I've been brewing. I just stopped trying.

I get some separation every time. I'm pumping the wort through my counterflow chiller so might as well whirlpool at the same time.

 

[Hawkbox]

It tends to just all settle to the bottom in an even layer for me so I just leave the bottom bit behind if my numbers are accurate.

 

[56 Firedome]

@Hawkbox Same for me, no cone after Whirlpool. As I circulate the Wort through an Immersion Coil submerged in a tub of water, ALL my Trub gets emulsified by the pump. I whirlpool to cool the Wort not so much to create the cone. After cooling I pump into the Fermenter, let it sit an hour or overnight. The trub settles to the bottom of the fermenter & gets fermented. Never have more than 1/2" on the bottom after done. So, my whirlpool is not to separate the trub but to cool & Hop the Wort.

 

[Josh Hughes]

Kegged! Man that tasted good. Awesome recipe and instructions @HighVoltageMan! i have only brewed maybe 5 APAs and none of them had the aroma taste that an APA should. This one did.

 

[Craigerrr]

Kegged! Man that tasted good. Awesome recipe and instructions @HighVoltageMan! i have only brewed maybe 5 APAs and none of them had the aroma taste that an APA should. This one did. View attachment 14297

That would some bang for your buck!

 

[Josh Hughes]

Im an now no longer afraid to drop hop. Next ESB I most likely will. The one currently fermenting is past my comfort zone since the krausen dropped a day or two ago.

 

[Craigerrr]

Im an now no longer afraid to drop hop. Next ESB I most likely will. The one currently fermenting is past my comfort zone since the krausen dropped a day or two ago.

Ahhhh, grasshopper, you have snatched the pebble

 

[GFHomebrew]

Ah great to hear @Josh Hughes!

This is Exactly what I thought would be great about the brewersfriend community Recipie! brewing beer the way we normaly wouldn't, brewing styles we normally wouldn't , changing up our brewing process.

Eg. Changing up the Whirlpool for a much larger dose than Dry hop has made me reconsider the importance of a good chunky whirlpool addition when brewing more hoppy styles.
Lots of flavour I've found.

Cool .

 

[Josh Hughes]

Same @Trialben its fun to do things differently and just blame @HighVoltageMan! if its bad lol. Just kidding. I’m definitely going to do the whirl pool thing and dry hop more. Especially with beers I’ll brew this spring. Wonder how doing this with Hallertau in a German lager would do?

 

[HighVoltageMan!]

Same @Trialben its fun to do things differently and just blame @HighVoltageMan! if its bad lol. Just kidding. I’m definitely going to do the whirl pool thing and dry hop more. Especially with beers I’ll brew this spring. Wonder how doing this with Hallertau in a German lager would do?

I do this with Tettnang/Hallertau. 5-6 ounces in a 170F whirlpool. It’s surprising subtle. Not nearly as “in your face” as the pale ale hops. More and more brewers are doing this technique in German Pils.

 

[soccerdad]

My Wayner's at noon today. Still clearing and carbing, but so tasty. I used Simcoe, Centennial and Amarillo. I think you could use a number of different hop combos. It is actually more bitter than I anticipated, which I think I will attribute to 2 doses of Simcoe - one @ whirlpool and one @ dry hop. This is a winner!

 

[soccerdad]

Nice lacing too