ice bath colder then ice

brian_g · 06-14-2009, 06:00 AM

It's late and I have church tomorrow. I just finished my first all grain boil. I'm trying to get to pitching temperature as soon as possible. I don't have a wort chiller, so I'm giving the brew pot an ice bath in the sink. I've been wanting to try this for a while, but I've been thinking that if I could make ice colder I could cool down my wort faster. "How can I make ice colder?" you may ask. Is it possible? It is. This is a trick I learned from making ice cream. If you put salt on the ice, it reduces the freezing point of water, lowering the temperature of the ice. So I've got my brew pot packed with ice which I've heavily salted. I put it on the ice bath at 1:50am. Let's see how long it takes to get to pitching temp.

Rick500 · 06-14-2009, 06:18 AM

I used to use salt in the ice bath as well, before I made an immersion chiller. Works well.

brian_g · 06-14-2009, 06:33 AM

I'm down to 120F. But I used a whole bag of ice. I don't want to open the other bag because I need it for the next batch. I think I'm going to go to bed.

ODaniel · 06-14-2009, 07:00 AM

Never thought about that. Maybe I'll try it next time. I fill my tub and throw a big bag of ice in there, usually takes 20-30 min to cool to room temp.