Explain Whirlpool please

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Hi
I've done a few extract brews some with steeping grains. Just preparing to do a partial mash.
I keep running into mention of whirlpooling hops.
Don't see any mention of it and any of the beginners guides I have read so far including the one in the forum here.
By the name I am assuming you are creating a whirlpool after flameout for a few minutes.
Is this correct ? And if so exactly how long?
 
By the name I am assuming you are creating a whirlpool after flameout for a few minutes.
Is this correct ? And if so exactly how long?
Pretty much...usually at temps of around 180F and any from 10 minutes to around a half hour. Part of the reason it's done on a pro scale or with larger capacity homebrew equipment is to pile the hops in the middle of the boil pot so that clear wort can run out of the ball valve. You can accomplish the same thing in terms of hop flavor/aroma by just adding extra hops at flameout and/or after the wort has cooled to 180 and letting them sit for a while.
 
I don't bother with the whirlpooling part of the whirlpool hops. I just add the hops either soon after flameout or once the wort has cooled to some target temperature that someone tells me is the secret to the perfect extraction of hop flavour/aroma (that I'm yet to notice the difference). I think of the whirlpooling part as one of those things that's much more important at a commercial scale than a homebrew scale.

I'm not that fussed about clean wort into the fermentor. There's a bit of evidence that a cloudy wort helps the yeast ferment well, which seems to give clearer beer. And there's a few experiments out there showing that cloudy wort into the fermenter doesn't mean cloudy beer out of the fermenter.
 
I'm not that fussed about clean wort into the fermentor. There's a bit of evidence that a cloudy wort helps the yeast ferment well, which seems to give clearer beer. And there's a few experiments out there showing that cloudy wort into the fermenter doesn't mean cloudy beer out of the fermenter.
+1 on yeast fermenting well. I typically see around 90% attenuation regardless of the yeast used
 
I just started whirlpooling. With one "whirlpooled" beer under my belt, I can't say much about its virtues. But to do it without a pump and appropriately aimed nozzle, stir to get a good whirlpool going, then let let it spin and settle.
 
Got it, so I'll essentially whirlpool when I'm cooling. And just leaving the hops in while I'm stirring to cool. Thank you
 

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