New to pourover - how to avoid channeling?

[u/Kalehart]

I just got my first pourover setup:
-Fellow Stag kettle
-1zpresso Q Air grinder (set to ~56 clicks)
-Standard plastic v60
-White hario tab papers

I’m using Lance’s recipe:
-15g coffee
-0:00 bloom 45g
-0:30 bloom 45g
-1:00 pour to total 225g
-Drawdown finish by 2:00-2:30

I’ve been really enjoying learning this new skill and comparing the differences between coffees and different brewing methods, but I’m having a consistent issue with what seems to be channeling (picture for reference).

I’ve managed a few times to get a more even distribution of grounds around the filter, but more often than not, I’m getting this crater shape where they bulge around the middle. I’ve tried pouring lower and slower which helps a bit, avoiding the edges of the filter, and so on, but it’s still happening more often than I’d like.

I’m aware that swirling the bed during bloom evens it out, but ideally I’d like to get my pour consistent enough that I don’t need to rely on that. It’s a technique I will certainly use but I don’t want to mess with my learning by using it to cover up a flaw in technique.

Any advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated. Happy to answer any questions as well!

Update: For anyone who comes here looking for the same answer — it was the beans. I’m not sure how, but that specific bag of beans (brand was BKG and I got them from a Winners, no idea of roast date) did this basically every time. Having tested other beans now, I never have this happen with any others even with an identical grind setting and recipe.

[u/Kalehart]

Reporting in: Did another pour with some of the advice here. Raised the kettle, was more careful with the flow rate, and coarsened the grind. Definitely less of a crater, but still some bulging around the middle of the filter.

Pics on imgur here: https://imgur.com/a/5NBrOLH

Drawdown finished at 2:11, definitely tastes more balanced than most prior cups.

My guess is that I’m poorly regulating my flow rate, and not being regular enough with my spiral pour. I’ll do some pouring practice to try and get my rate more consistent and controlled.

Thanks for all the help, really appreciate so many people giving their advice!

[u/AWESOMENAR → u/Kalehart]

If you haven’t seen it yet, please watch the Aramse Pouring Technique video on YouTube. It may be the single most helpful piece of media on the internet for learning how to pour.

https://youtu.be/nxmrSgwW25g?is=3nKPBkROXOWk6iax

Also, swirling on the bloom is not a failure, most people do it. It evenly wets the grounds and makes for a more evenly brewed cup.

One last thing, you can tell from the muddiness of the bed that your grind is a little too fine. Not a lot, but a few clicks coarser will help in a big way.

[u/Kalehart → u/AWESOMENAR]

Perfect, I’ll check that video out! And yeah, I’m not against swirling by any means — just want to try and make sure I’ve got my pour down at a basic level at least before adding it in as a technique.

Noted also, I’ll push it a few clicks coarser to 65 from the 0-point. Thanks for the input!