Whirlpool temp drop. Seeking advice.

[Turfgrass]

Tomorrow will be my first attempt at whirlpool hop additions in the 170* range. Wounding what you all do to drop to those temps once boil ends and how long do you whirlpool for? I usually hook up to my counterflow chiller for the last ten minutes of the boil to sanitize the chiller. What are your steps post boil for hop flavor and aroma. Infection being a concern. Thank you.

1. Allow to cool natural with kettle lid on. 210*F to 170*F

2. Run through chiller coil until kettle temp is reached?

 

[Homergah]

When I was using plate chiller I would circulate thru it to get to desired temp then kill chilling water and continue to circulate/whirlpool. I ran an inline coarse filter/strainer on the kettle outlet. Never plugged anything. If you do this method make sure you stop the chilling water well before your desired temp.

 

[Rob2010SS]

I asked the same question as I'm going to be using a counterflow chiller soon. The advice I got was run through your counterflow chiller back into the BK with the chilling water going as well. Once you get close to your whirlpool temp, stop the water source to your chiller and continue to run through the counterflow back into BK while you're doing your hopstand. I've heard of people doing this anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes.

 

[Turfgrass]

Are you able to maintain that temp, or does it slowly drop from your desired whirlpool temp?

I could probably cut my boil element down from 70% to 10-20% to maintain a consistent temperature if that’s what people are during.

 

[Rob2010SS]

I would think you would do just that and set it so your element maintains the temp. I don't have my system yet, should be this week, but previously when I would do hopstands, the temp would just naturally drop. In this scenario, I think being able to hold at specific temps using your element that is powered down a bit would be quite useful. That's how I would approach it

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

What you are describing is also called a hop stand. I do them on all my IPAs. I run my chiller until the temp hits 175F and then stop. Add hops and cover tightly for 30-45 min. Then continue cooling to pitching temp. The benefit is that below 175F hop flavor and aroma are extracted without adding bitterness (i.e. IBUs). If it cools a bit during the hop stand it's not a big deal. Don't sweat it. Whirlpools at flame out also accomplish some of this but do add some bitterness since hop oils will summarize above 175F.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I chill to my whirlpool temp(170 or 160) and then begin and don't worry about maintaining that temp. I know it's dropping slowly throughout the 20-30 minutes my hopstand lasts but I don't sweat it.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I use an immersion chiller. I chill to about 5 degrees above my target WP temp (because the temp usually keeps dropping a bit after I stop flow of cooling water to the IC). Then I add my hops with the pump still running, put the lid on (it has a factory cut notch in the lid that fits the IC plumbing very well) and let it be for 20-30 minutes. I also soak a tea towel in sanitizer and put that around the IC plumbing where it exits through the lid during the summer to keep bugs out.

I don't worry if the temp drops. When I reach the time allotted for the WP, turn the chiller water back on and chill to the pitch temp, transfer to the ferm and pitch my yeast.