IFlyEm

Recipes 

I do not have a wort chiller, I suck I know, so Im trying to cool as fast as possible to get the wort below 80 degrees so I can pitch my yeast. It has now been over an hour and I am still at 100 degrees. Is it more important to wait to get below 80 degrees, or should I pitch the yeast now, seal the bucket and take it down to my basement?

mcwilcr

Recipes 

Definitely wait! As long as your sanitation is good you can wait days before pitching but if you pitch too high you will kill the yeast. Some yeasts can handle higher temp than others but you will be fine waiting until your temp is lower.

stpug

Recipes 

Get below 80. In fact, get to 70 if you can. IMO, given good cleanliness and a good lid, you can take several hours to get to your pitching temp (afterall, the yeast will have a many-hour lag phase anyway). The single biggest drawback to slow cools are any late addition hops that went in to the boil kettle, otherwise a slow cool if fine as long as you keep the wort covered so stuff doesn't get in.

IFlyEm

Recipes 

Thank you! I sanitized the heck out of everything, so Im not worried there. I just hear all the horror stories about cooling as fast as possible because bacteria starts to grow and will ruin your beer...then they try selling you an expensive wort chiller. I am going to buy one eventually...just not yet. Thanks again!

CatHead

Recipes 

Did you ice bath it? I pitched my first too early and I would definitely wait to at least below 80.

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Jon73

Recipes 

I don't pitch until the following day. I let the wort sit on the counter overnight (covered, sanitized, etc) so that there is never a temp issue.

BBL_Brewer

Recipes 

Definitely get the temp down to at least 70F before you pitch the yeast, preferably lower. If your chilling method sucks, you should check out "No Chill" brewing.

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CDGoin

Recipes 

I have a double sink in my kitchen with the divider in the middle lower than the rim of the sink.. I sit the covered Wort in the one side and let the water (~50-60 degree) fill that side slowly and just over flow into the other sink.

Then I:

Stir the wort every few minutes.. and usually its dropped to about 70 within a hour.

I pull the pot out of the water bath

Put the fermentor in the sink and transfer the wort (using a stainless steel colander and dumping as it gets filled, then fill with water to the proper OG.. at that point its close to 65 degrees..

Pitch the yeast

Put the top on and the vent

Then put the fermenter in the garage.

I have to say the little 6.5 Gallon fermenter I have is cool.. I haven't seen the like of it anywhere.. I was told it was from an older Mr. Brew or maybe Mr. Beer kit. It's in my avatar. I can't find any info on it anywhere online, no pictures, nothing. Anyone know where it came from..? It was given to me by a friend.

Anyway, I like it as it fits nicely into my kitchen sink and no where near as cumbersome as a carboy, and yet better than a bucket as I can see through it, etc..

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Grossy

Recipes 

Your fine. Relax. Have a home brew.
Get to 70 degrees or lower.
Once you pitch the yeast, and the yeast start chugging along, the yeast are going to increase the temperature of your wort, about 5 - 8 degrees.
Get a tub, even your bath room tub, carefully place your wort in there and add ice.

65 degrees or lower is when I pitch. temperatures above 75 degrees produce banana beer.

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cluckk

Recipes 

As long as your kettle is covered no worries about it taking longer. Yes, bacteria can be a problem but they first have to get in and if you have your kettle covered by a sanitized lid that is taken care of--everything on the inside was killed by the boiling. Though I haven't done no chill, I have friends who do. They put the boiled wort into a plastic cube container that has been sanitized and they seal it up. They let it sit overnight to cool to ambient temps then they aerate and pitch. Your yeast don't know anything about the temps, the time or the danger of bacteria. If they get in too hot of wort they die. So the question is better phrased, "Do I wait for my wort to cool to where my yeast will survive to make beer, or do I go ahead and kill them now?"