Whirlpool and final hop additions

General Homebrew Discussion
1

Hi all,

I’ve been brewing for a long time, and one thing that has confused me for that time (apparently not enough to ask, say, years ago) is the timing of my final hop addition. I manually whirlpool at flameout with a spoon and let it settle for about 20 minutes before chilling. I have traditionally tossed in my 0 minute hop additions before I do this. However, I know that in order to get the most out of these final hop additions I should be chilling as quickly as possible. My beers tend to have lower hop aroma than I would like, and I’m pretty sure that having the final addition sitting in a pot of near-boiling wort is the culprit.

Would I get a better result from tossing the hops in AFTER the 20 minutes that I allow the wort to settle out? It’s obviously still pretty hot, and I would basically start the chilling process immediately. However, I’m not sure whether the temperature drop during the 20 minutes would counteract what I’m trying to accomplish.

Also, if anyone has a better way to whirlpool, I’d love suggestions. I have built whirlpool arms and such and have never been happy with the results.

Cheers!

2

I don’t whirlpool but have had good success with hop stands due to recommendations here. After flameout, I chill to about 170F, shut off the chiller, stir in the hops, and let sit for 30 minutes usually. After the 30 minutes are up, I chill as usual normally. So it’s basically just a delayed chilling method…

3

+1.  Check your wort temp as it sits for the 20 minutes, Once it hits 170-175F toss those hops in and give them 20-30 minutes, stirring every few minutes. You’ll see a nice bump in aroma and hop flavor. If you don’t want a lot of extra hop flavor (depending on what you’re brewing), steep for less time or reduce your amounts a little. Works great.

4

I’ve become a fan of the 170f hop stand as well. I tend to let them sit longer though (for an hour and a half if I’m not pressed for time) after reading about the Rock Bottom Brewery study that showed in taste tests that produced the best results:

That coupled with a lot of dry hops (~1oz/gallon) has made my hoppy beers a lot more aromatic & flavourful.

5

if the hops go in above 185 + you will diminish flavor and aroma and increase AA extraction.

so as suggested here… monitor temp down to 170 then add WP hops and start stirring. i wouldn’t go over 10-15 min then chill as fast as possible.