Whirpool hopping ...What is the correct
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Might depend on what your whirlpool intent is. I rarely rely on whirlpool hops for IBUs - I get most IBUs from early hop additions - so my whirlpool hops are pretty much dedicated to character sans bittering. So it's all about the whirlpool temperature being below the AA isomerization point.
fwiw, my wp process: I turn off the burner and drop my SS IC in the boil kettle and let it sit there for maybe 15 seconds before turning on the cold water, and turning on the recirculating pump with its control valve set for ~1/2 full flow to avoid pump head cavitation. Once the wort temperature has dropped to 200°F/90°C-ish I fully open that valve and get the wort really spinning. I then wait for the wort temperature to close in on 170°F/77°C at which point I turn off the cold water and throw in the whirlpool hop pellets "commando style".
The pellets break up within a minute and recirculate through the pump without much issue as the wort spins in the kettle. I will add a touch of heat if the wort temp drops to 160°F/71°C. I keep that up for 20 minutes, then chill to pitching temperature...
Cheers!
fwiw, my wp process: I turn off the burner and drop my SS IC in the boil kettle and let it sit there for maybe 15 seconds before turning on the cold water, and turning on the recirculating pump with its control valve set for ~1/2 full flow to avoid pump head cavitation. Once the wort temperature has dropped to 200°F/90°C-ish I fully open that valve and get the wort really spinning. I then wait for the wort temperature to close in on 170°F/77°C at which point I turn off the cold water and throw in the whirlpool hop pellets "commando style".
The pellets break up within a minute and recirculate through the pump without much issue as the wort spins in the kettle. I will add a touch of heat if the wort temp drops to 160°F/71°C. I keep that up for 20 minutes, then chill to pitching temperature...
Cheers!
Whirlpool hopping a very, very new technique so there is no formal way to do it. We're still learning how to do this.
That said, I'm similar to Day_Trippr. I use whirlpool hops for flavor, not bittering, so I want to dump my temp to 170F to avoid isomerization. I also use an IC, I prefer putting it in at 5min to make certain that it's good and sanitized and I want to use the thermal mass of my IC to reduce my evaporation rate a bit for my finishing hops--but I've also used Day_Trippr's technique and it makes great beer. This isn't mashing, you don't need to hit hard numbers--find a technique that works for you, establish it until you can do it repeatedly, then start experimenting.
Regarding the pump, I like to open my valves at 20min to get boiling wort into the impeller housing, then I'll turn the pump on for maybe 30secs with my LODO/whirfloc/nutrient addtion at 10min, just to make certain.
Regarding time, twenty minutes will get the job done. Personally, I like 40min @170F falling to 150F for lagers, 60min @ 170F falling to 130F for maybe an hour for hoppy ales.
I think whirlpool hopping is much more useful for lagers. For hoppy ales, I prefer dry hopping. But that's just my opinion.
That said, I'm similar to Day_Trippr. I use whirlpool hops for flavor, not bittering, so I want to dump my temp to 170F to avoid isomerization. I also use an IC, I prefer putting it in at 5min to make certain that it's good and sanitized and I want to use the thermal mass of my IC to reduce my evaporation rate a bit for my finishing hops--but I've also used Day_Trippr's technique and it makes great beer. This isn't mashing, you don't need to hit hard numbers--find a technique that works for you, establish it until you can do it repeatedly, then start experimenting.
Regarding the pump, I like to open my valves at 20min to get boiling wort into the impeller housing, then I'll turn the pump on for maybe 30secs with my LODO/whirfloc/nutrient addtion at 10min, just to make certain.
Regarding time, twenty minutes will get the job done. Personally, I like 40min @170F falling to 150F for lagers, 60min @ 170F falling to 130F for maybe an hour for hoppy ales.
I think whirlpool hopping is much more useful for lagers. For hoppy ales, I prefer dry hopping. But that's just my opinion.
fwiw, for ales I always do both wp additions and dh additions. As for lagers, I could count all the ones I've brewed without using toes and they have been quite conservative wrt hop presence, using neither wp or dh hops. I'm pretty stuck on ales I reckon...
Cheers!
For me, I laid off the WP hops in my ales when I started dry hopping at near freezing temps for a 24-36hrs. I'll also add that I remain a firm believer in the importance of a 60 and 20min addition, but like the above...that's just my opinion. Clearly, I'm sailing against the tide on this one, but as a child of the Pacific NW, the whole NEIPA thing is a bit lost on me.
Nevertheless, your really impressive NEIPA results speak for themselves.
If you're curious, on the lager front .75oz of Haller @ 60, 1oz at 20, and a 30min whirlpool with 2oz makes a mind blowing German pils, provided you can get your hands on an especially nice pound of floral Hallertau. It's not so good with the more common herbal stuff. Same with dip hopping.
But that's just my opinion, man.
