Should I whirlpool chill, or direct to fermenter?

[IndyBlueprints]

For years I have used an immersion chiller, but have recently upgraded to a Duda Diesel 40 plate chiller, which works incredibly well. If I go right from boil kettle to fermenter, my wort is under 70ºF entering the fermenter.

For my pellet hops, I use a metal basket to minimize the debris in my wort:

Of course it doesn't keep 100% of the debris out of my wort. What I'm wondering is, would I benefit by whirlpooling while chilling back into the brew kettle, let it sit for 20 minutes, then drain into fermenter?

The reason I'm asking is, I'm trying to figure out the best way to chill and not block up my chiller.

Thanks!

 

[friarsmith]

Your idea of whirlpooling while chilling back into the fermenter (then waiting) would work, and draining from the bottom may also draw some of the break to the bottom of the kettle.

Perhaps a more simple method would be to whirlpool for a few minutes in one direction after flameout, then let everything settle for 20 minutes before draining into your plate chiller. This is generally what I do and it works especially well if you add Irish moss or whirlfloc late in the boil. With a 20-30 minute rest after the whirlpool, the wort generally runs crystal clear into the plate chiller after the first 16oz or so, and I usually don't have anything filtering/guarding the dip tube (unless it's a super hoppy beer).

A little patience with the whirlpooling process really goes a long way to getting a clearer wort into the fermenter. But often we're antsy (me included) to get done & dusted and on with our life after a long brew day.

 

[Homercidal]

Your idea of whirlpooling while chilling back into the fermenter (then waiting) would work, and draining from the bottom may also draw some of the break to the bottom of the kettle.

Perhaps a more simple method would be to whirlpool for a few minutes in one direction after flameout, then let everything settle for 20 minutes before draining into your plate chiller. This is generally what I do and it works especially well if you add Irish moss or whirlfloc late in the boil. With a 20-30 minute rest after the whirlpool, the wort generally runs crystal clear into the plate chiller after the first 16oz or so, and I usually don't have anything filtering/guarding the dip tube (unless it's a super hoppy beer).

A little patience with the whirlpooling process really goes a long way to getting a clearer wort into the fermenter. But often we're antsy (me included) to get done & dusted and on with our life after a long brew day.

This is a good method IMO. I had pretty clear wort back when I used to chill and siphon clear wort from the top.

That said, I sometimes just pump chilled wort from the chiller directly into the fermentor when it starts coming out at 65F. That contains hops, break, etc. My beers haven't suffered clarity issues from it. In fact, I think my beer are more often clearer now, likely improved by other things I'm doing like having enough calcium, proper pH, fining agents, cold crashing, etc.

You know there is a device that can draw beer from the TOP of your keg, rather from a dip tube at the bottom. This thing floats on the top of the beer and suck it in through a SS port on the bottom of it. The idea is that you will get clearer beer forming at the TOP of the keg before you will at the bottom, so you can start serving clear beer sooner.

I always thought of using one of those to siphon beer from the Bk into the fermentor for the same reason. Never tried it out yet though. I should get one of those things and try it!