First timer

hey guys me and me roommates are just starting to brew. we have an amber going now and started with just pre made kits to get a feel for things. a big question we have though is do you think its worth investing in a wort cooler? one of the copper coil ones? the cheapest ones we can find are over $70... any advice?

Im not the most experienced brewer and I've done maybe 12 batches in my year. And I have never used one, an ice bath and a some water to cool wort has worked for me.. Although it does take longer than a wort chiller could do, I prefer to kick back and drink a beer while it's "chillin.".


I'm sure some may disagree.. It's all in your preference of rapid brew or laid back brew.. I seem to make "dates" with brewing a batch.. While enjoying a previous or even a commercial beer that just might get de-labeled and owned

I honestly recommend the wort chiller. You can make it fairly easily from parts found at a hardware store and save a few bucks. This is a good tool to have if you are doing full boils, as otherwise it take a long time to cool down. Partial boils are a different story, as you can top them off with cold water. So, partial boil, not needed. Full boil, worth the investment.

I love my wort chiller. While it reduces the chance of contamination I think the best thin g it does is speed up the brewing process. And lets face it the ice bath cooling is ot really the most enjoyable part of the brew day.

I think if you're doing full boils (boiling all of the wort that goes into the fermenter, and not topping off with water), then a wort chiller is good investment. If you're only boiling part of your wort, then it's not needed as you can top off your wort with cold water.

Pie_Man said:

I think if you're doing full boils (boiling all of the wort that goes into the fermenter, and not topping off with water), then a wort chiller is good investment. If you're only boiling part of your wort, then it's not needed as you can top off your wort with cold water.

Click to expand...

Yep. For full boils, absolutely. For partial boils an ice bath is fine or top up with cold water. No need for a $70 chiller. I used to put some bagged ice in the fermenter first before I knew better. If I was to brew extract again I might do the same but used boiled then frozen water. If you really want a chiller, go to Lowes or Home Depot and grab a 20' roll of 3/8" copper tube, some hose clamps, and some vinyl tubing. You can make your own for half the price.

Built mine for $45.00. Used 25 foot 3/8 copper tubing. Used the inside of my brew pot as a form and coiled it making a perfect fit. Copper tubing $25.00. Used cheep fountain pump $19.99. Had a 5 gallon bucket around the house. Had vinyl tubing around the house. Fill bucket with ice water, put pump in ice bath and pump through tubing to cool the wort in a few min.

Hey Doty!
Would you be very unfortunatly genetically linked to one Keith Doty down in Houston, Texas?

He's one of my greatest hunting and fishing buddies who talks too much....no commas, no periods, no new paragraphs...........he just talks.

Wort cooler? Blow it off. Ice water bath in kitchen sink and adding cold water at the end works fine.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003UCCLG6/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002NZNJG2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

There you go!

I made one out of 2 20' coils of 3/8" tubing, 1 garden hose fitting, 4 hose clamps and a 10' piece of vinyl tubing. One coil goes in an ice bath and the other in the wort. It was less than a 25' one, even without adding shipping, and works very well.

Bones1948 said:

Hey Doty!
Would you be very unfortunatly genetically linked to one Keith Doty down in Houston, Texas?

He's one of my greatest hunting and fishing buddies who talks too much....no commas, no periods, no new paragraphs...........he just talks.

Wort cooler? Blow it off. Ice water bath in kitchen sink and adding cold water at the end works fine.

Click to expand...

Haha no im not but i do enjoy hunting and fishing very very much lol. must be the name

thanks everyone for the feedback! we ended up making or own for less than 30 bucks and it works great!

I just spent around $110 for the parts for a 50' 1/2" chiller yesterday. Yikes! Don't think swmbo approves.