Any good tips or tricks out there for chilling wort faster without the aid of a wort chiller? It's on my "to purchase list" but I'm about 10 minutes from finishing up a boil. I'm planning on an ice water bath but I'd appreciate any help. Thanks a bunch!
Ice baths have worked great for me, and I have absolutely no need for a wort chiller at this time. I can always get my wort down to 70-75 degrees F within 20 minutes. In fact, the last two batches were colder than I wanted them to be when I topped off to 5 gallons. So, tomorrow, I'm going to chill down to 80 degrees, and I'm not going to chill the top off water as much.
Wort chillers become essential for all grain brewing, when the entire volume is boiled. But, for extract, I wouldn't bother. If you do plan on going all grain down the road, however, I guess it would be a pretty cool thing to have.
I do both extract and all grain and I would'nt brew without one. The ability to chill and pitch my yeast within 5 to 10 min max is priceless and a great time saver. Before I had a chiller I chilled in my wort in the kitchen sink what a mess I had water and ice and a big wet fermenter to deal with now it all stays outside. It's a great benifit!!!!
I just made my chiller yesterday. 20" of 3/8 copper tubing runs $37!!!!!! Its amazing how expensive copper is these days.
Anyways... I'm not yet at the all grain level, but I plan on doing a full boil extract brew today. I bought a 100 quart stainless pot... This has to be the largest pot I've ever seen.
I do both extract and all grain and I would'nt brew without one. The ability to chill and pitch my yeast within 5 to 10 min max is priceless and a great time saver. Before I had a chiller I chilled in my wort in the kitchen sink what a mess I had water and ice and a big wet fermenter to deal with now it all stays outside. It's a great benifit!!!!
What sort of chiller did you construct? How much wort do you chill in that 10 mins?
Chilling a full boil to pitching temp in 5-10 minutes is probably only possible if your tap water is really cold. Otherwise, you'll need a prechiller or you'd have to use pumped ice water to do it that quickly.
We made homemade ice cream a few months ago and gave me an idea; In an ice bath, add mostly ice and a little water, then sprinkle salt over the top of the ice. It makes it colder and chills the wort faster. I'm not sure how much faster it is, but it turned the ice cubes into a solid block.
We made homemade ice cream a few months ago and gave me an idea; In an ice bath, add mostly ice and a little water, then sprinkle salt over the top of the ice. It makes it colder and chills the wort faster. I'm not sure how much faster it is, but it turned the ice cubes into a solid block.
That's exactly how I do my ice baths, also. It works great!
Maybe a dumb comment, but I thought the salt helps to melt the ice. I'm thinking this because they sprinkle salt on the roads when they are snowy or icy.
???
Chilling wort without wort chiller.
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