Whirlpool/Secondary Fermentation Question

[jferguson78]

Hello,

Below is a copy of an email that I just recently sent to the crew at brew strong with a couple questions that I have. I figured I'd post it here to see what everyone else thought as well.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

Jesse

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Hi Guys,

I listen to your podcasts religiously yet I have a couple questions based on some of your suggestions. First, about me: I've only been brewing for about three years and I am currently an extract only/partial boil brewer. Here is my scenerio and related questions:

When I boil a batch (3 gallons or so), it is on an electric stovetop. My brew kettle is a four-five gallon pot that I bought at Target without a valve to drain it. My typical process is to add my immersion chiller 15 minutes before the end of the boil and then cool the wort as soon as the boil is done. From there, I pour the wort into my better bottle using a funnel. My issue is that the majority of the trub from my kettle is making it's way into my fermenter. This leads me to my questions:
You have advised to not transfer wort into a secondary fermenter...however I presume that recommendation is based on less trub being in the primary fermenter. Considering that the majority of what is in my kettle is ending up in the fermenter, should I still be transfering to a secondary fermenter when fermentation is done?
Short of getting new equipment (which I can't necessarily afford to do right now), is there an effective way using my setup to do a whirlpool? Will having my immerssion chiller in the pot interfere with the whirlpool? Should I try syphoning the wort from the outside of the kettle instead of pouring it? Should I invest into a weldless valve to add to my kettle?
When whirlpooling, should it be done before of after the wort is cooled? I was under the impression that it was optimal to cool the wort as fast as possible after the boil, but it sounds like you were recommending to whirlpool before cooling, wait 30 minutes, and then cool.
Anyway, if you have the chance I'd love to get your take on these questions-either by email or on your show.

Thanks in advance!

Jesse
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[Westco]

If you are making Ales then there is no need to worry about trub getting into the fermenter. You are also correct in not racking to a secondary vessel. Lagers on the other hand are different. You would want to keep out most of the trub. If you are trying to ferment lagers then you may need to invest in equipment that can make this possible.

I don't think doing a whirlpool will help much beings you are tipping the kettle to get it into the fermenter. That would just disperse the trub at the bottom. If you were to whirlpool you would do that before you chill not after.

Personally I would not put any money into a 5 gallon kettle. I would sell/save for a converted 15 gallon "keggle". This would allow you to do full boils and also keep more trub out beings the valve is about 2'' above the bottom of the kettle.

Hope this helps

Westco

[brewinhard]

Your best bet with your setup is too chill the boiled wort down to pitching temps, then carefully rack the wort into your fermenter with an autosiphon and tubing from the side (and not quite all the way to the bottom) of your kettle. This should eliminate most of the trub/hops and you will get a cleaner fermentation. After a few times doing this you will get better at knowing how deep to put the autosiphon so you only rack mostly clear wort. Best bang for your buck!

[11amas]

Or you can use a second carboy/bottle, chill the first one down and let it settle out, then autosiphon to a second one.