the faster you can get your wort through the danger zone of sub-boiling temperature and into a fermenter so your yeast can take hold, the less chance you have of infection due to bacteria or wild yeast.
a wort chiller is not a convenience it is a necessity.
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None, the need is fast cooling (<30 minutes). I find a wort cooler is a good compromise with speed, control, cost & cleaning effort.
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The faster you cool the wort, the better the cold break. This is where the long chain proteins flocculate and drop out of solution. the quicker you cool, the more they clump together and fall drop to the bottom of you kettle. If you cool slowly, they do not flocculate as well, stay in solution and add to off-tastes in your beer.
I agree with krispy - they are a necessity and one of the first things that I recommend people get once they have sufficient equipment to make beer.
Edit: The susceptibility to infection mentioned above is by far the most important aspect though - especially for a homebrewer.
Last edited by agentgonzo; 05-16-2007 at 02:18 PM.
I wouldn't underestimate the time factor even if you weren't concerned about the cold break. It takes a long time for 5 gallons to drop to room temperature which leaves the wort very vulnerable to infections.
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Wort Cooler
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