Hop spider

[kw642]

I?m about to use a hop spider for the first time.  Does this mean I can skip the whirlpool?

 

[Oginme]

All the hop spider does is contain the hop particles.  It does not change anything in your recipe, per se.  If you had previously just added hops without any containment (toss them into the wort without a bag), then you might encounter a slight loss of utilization.  The only way to know is to try a recipe you are confident in the results and compare to your past brews using your senses. 

In short, if you have a recipe which requires a whirlpool addition, you will still perform the same whirlpool addition.

 

[GigaFemto]

Since the hop spider will contain the hop particles you will not need a whirlpool to collect the hops and keep them from plugging your kettle drain. You might still want to use a whirlpool to collect the break material and trub so that doesn't all go into your fermenter.

--GF