hmbrwsj

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I just brewed my first batch on my own. Everything went well except one boil over when adding the first batch of hops to the wort. After the wort was done I added it to the fermentation bucket which had cold water already in it. So once I combined the mixture and aerated it, I took the hydrometer reading and took note of the high temp. I waited to add the yeast thinking it would cool down after a bit; an hour later it still read as 120°F after an hour. My friend had added yeast to his batches before when the bucket still seemed to radiate as much heat. Well, I added the yeast but am wondering if it all dies how I should continue: add more yeast or toss it and figure out a better way to cool the wort? Any criticism is welcomed.

emjay

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If it was at 120°, they're dead.

If you've managed to keep it pretty sanitary, add more yeast when it's at least close to room temp.

5 gallons of wort is a LOT of thermal mass. It really won't cool down much in an hour. People who do full boils but don't have a chiller pretty much have to let it sit until the next day.

cadarnell

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i dont have a chiller yet .. I get mine down pretty quick putting it in two pots and into the bathtub with cold water for 20 mins or so ... then cold water with ice for another 20 mins or so .. i hope it turns out .. i dont know enough about what yeast do in 120 degrees to comment to that .. just thought I'd share a cooling method I am using .. good luck

Scooby_Brew

Recipes 

120F is too high. Cover the fermenter and get some more yeast tomorrow. 100F is OK, I pitch my yeast at ~90F, the "experts" recommend 80 or lower.

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cadarnell

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i just watched your youtube vid .. great vid .. I never knew you could pitch at 90 ... do you then get it down to ferm temp pretty quick? ...(sorry to the poster for highjacking the thread a little)

emjay

Recipes 

If you plan on sticking with this hobby and eventually doing full boils or even All-Grain, it really is in your best interests to figure out a better way to cool your wort though. I would never personally advocate no-chill brewing... partially because of the increased chance of infected batches, but mostly because it makes hop utilization really difficult to predict.

The best solution would be an actual chiller... I prefer counterflow chillers (CFCs) and plate chillers as they are the most effective, but many people prefer to save some upfront money and go with a more basic immersion chiller. I've seen FAR too many people end up being unhappy with their immersion chiller and/or finding it to be insufficient after moving to bigger batches, eventually wanting to upgrade to a CFC or plate chiller, to necessarily recommend it to all beginners. They all work on the premise of heat exchange with flowing water though, usually from the tap/plumbing, but people with an overly warm "cold water" source or no way to connect to their plumbing often use ice water with a pond pump.

If you really plan to stick with homebrewing though, a chiller is, IMO, one of the important and useful tools a brewer can have. If you don't have a bunch of money to spend ATM, an immersion chiller may be best for you, CFCs and plate chillers (which are just a special, more compact type of CFC) are more expensive than even the price of the chiller would suggest. A valve on your kettle is absolutely required, although valves are fairly inexpensive and are just such an amazing thing to have, that I would recommend it to everyone anyways.

The bigger expense is a beer pump able to withstand boiling temps. A pump is not *technically* required, but I would never use a CFC without one, because otherwise they will likely cause a lot of infected batches. With a pump, you are able to recirculate boiling wort through the CFC and back into your kettle for a few minutes, effectively sterilizing the whole setup. A pump is useful for a lot of things, and has made my brewdays significantly easier and safer, but although I consider them a great investment, when you combine the costs of the CFC, pump, valve, and even hoses and fittings, it is just too expensive for most new brewers to buy all that at once without being absolutely sure that this is a hobby that will last a lifetime, and an immersion chiller may be the best way to hedge one's bets. But if one KNOWS this hobby is for life, and is able to spend that kind of cash, IMO it's better to just buy the best stuff and not spend money on a chiller they'll soon want to upgrade from anyways.

hmbrwsj

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Thanks guys. I appreciate all the responses and have made notes to all the possible solutions. In Papazian's book he DOES mention an immersion bath, which I reread after the fact, and will pursue mainly do to cost. I was prepared to make mistakes but will be off to the brewers supply with hopes of saving my first batch.

@cadarnell No prob. I should probably watch some videos too.

@emjay I'm definitely an enthusiast but am hoping to make it a lifelong hobby. Once I get a bigger space I'll look in to some of these options.

NordeastBrewer77

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I can chill 4 gal to 70* in about 45 mins in an icewater bath. Should work for ya.

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hmbrwsj

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That's music to my ears. I'll definitely have a bath ready for the wort next time. I have re-pitched the yeast and the beer is fermenting.

emjay

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Damn, back in the day it'd take me about 3 hours to do that for *3* gallons... that doesn't seem very typical.