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We are about to move from our pilot system to 15BBL production and the biggest thing I'm hung up on is hop whirlpool techniques. Everyone seems to have their own style that works best for them and I'm trying to figure out what will work best for us. My current whirlpool schedule is like this.
- Flameout
- Run through heat exchanger until wort hits 185F, stop cool-water on heat exchanger
- Add whirlpool hops and recirculate at 185F for 15-20 minutes
- Cool water on and recirculate until wort hits 145F, cool water off
- Add 2nd addition of whirlpool hops and recirc 15-20 minutes
- Cool water on, chill as normal and transfer to fermenter
I do this for two reason. I'm trying to minimize the IBU contribution on the whirlpool hops. 185F will volatize some oils and get me some bitterness/flavor/aroma, 145 does NOT volatize oils therefore I get NO bitterness from this addition and just pull aroma (maybe some flavor too). It's been working wonderfully on our pilot system for about the past year (1/2 BBL) but I'm not sure if this is normal/acceptable at 15BBL. Additionally, there might be a better/easier way to achieve the same effect.
What is your process for Whirlpool additions? The 185/145 temps is something I came up with last year after reading the Hops book and doing some research into hop oil temps after we were pulling too much bitterness out of our flameout hops.
- Flameout
- Run through heat exchanger until wort hits 185F, stop cool-water on heat exchanger
- Add whirlpool hops and recirculate at 185F for 15-20 minutes
- Cool water on and recirculate until wort hits 145F, cool water off
- Add 2nd addition of whirlpool hops and recirc 15-20 minutes
- Cool water on, chill as normal and transfer to fermenter
I do this for two reason. I'm trying to minimize the IBU contribution on the whirlpool hops. 185F will volatize some oils and get me some bitterness/flavor/aroma, 145 does NOT volatize oils therefore I get NO bitterness from this addition and just pull aroma (maybe some flavor too). It's been working wonderfully on our pilot system for about the past year (1/2 BBL) but I'm not sure if this is normal/acceptable at 15BBL. Additionally, there might be a better/easier way to achieve the same effect.
What is your process for Whirlpool additions? The 185/145 temps is something I came up with last year after reading the Hops book and doing some research into hop oil temps after we were pulling too much bitterness out of our flameout hops.
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