Getting beer into the fermenter

I use the glass carboy as the primary, and when I move the beer from the boiling pot to the carboy, I scoop it out a cup at a time, and pour it into the carboy through a funnel.

The recipes/kits I have used so far have a 3 gallon boil, and 2 gallons in the carboy (cold) to add to, so I can scoop it out almost right after it boils.

I guess this aerates the wort, as it gets added to the fermenter. Is this a bad thing?

It's good to aerate the wort but only after it has cooled down below 80 or so. Aerating at high temps causes oxidation. Cool your wort in an ice bath in the sink or better yet use a chiller. Then transfer to your carboy, using a siphon makes it a lot easier. Then shake the heck out of it to aerate before pitching yeast.

Unconventional? Yes. Time consuming? Also yes. Risky? yuppers. Why not get an auto siphon and some vinyl tubing?

You are aerating the wort, but unless you are adding the wort to the cold water (that is to say, you have your 2 gallons of water in there first) you are risking hot side aeration, and risking cracking your carboy.

Also, if your funnel, or your cup you are scooping with is not sanitized properly, you are also risking infection.

9" anti-splash funnel in the carboy and dump the wort in.

Cooling the boiled wort in a different number of methods is the preferred technique, but there are many that use a 'no chill' method. The wort must be cool enough not to kill the yeast when pitched.

I usually place the brew pot in a sink of cold/iced water and stir the wort to create a whirlpool. This speeds the cooling. My sink is small so I will drain the now hot water and refill a few times until I get the wort to <100 degrees, then ill pour into the fermenter and add water (cold) until I get a volume of 5 gal.

There are many ways to cool quickly but some don't.

Ok, so oxidation is a problem.

I cool the wort down by putting it outside (cool here in the mountains), or putting it in the sink with ice, before pitching the yeast. The carboys have temp strips, so I know what they are at. Stirring helps get a good reading.

It sounds like I should cool down the brew pot first, then transfer to the carboy at a lower temp.

At my altitude, 8000 feet, there are few "bugs" to infect beer. I instinctively felt that aerating it was good, but I'll wait until it cools first.

I put two gallons of *cold* water in the carboy first, so no chance of hot water breaking the glass.

billpaustin said:

I put two gallons of *cold* water in the carboy first, so no chance of hot water breaking the glass.

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do not trust this method. put cooled wort into the carboy.

amandabab said:

do not trust this method. put cooled wort into the carboy.

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+1. It's the abrupt changes in temperature which will cause the glass to fracture.

It's also much faster to cool wort that's in a metal pot/kettle (good conductor of heat) than in a glass carboy (not so good).

Thanks, this is just what I wanted to hear.

Ok - it's a little crude of a method. Maybe get a funnel and pour it in if you don't want an auto-siphon - but just cool it down to pitch temps and then pour it from the ceiling if you want. No need to worry about oxygenated beer prior to fermentation.. Only afterward...

I cool my wort in the pot in the kitchen sink in the coldest water that comes from the tap. Constant whirlpooling of the wort in the pot to help dissipate the heat into the sink water for 5 minutes (you'll know its working because the sink water will be HOT now). Change the sink water for cold water and resume stirring for 5 minutes. Change the water one more time, stir, and after 5 more minutes your wort temp will likely be just a little below 80F and ready to pour into the carboy. Combine with 2 gallons of 40F (~fridge temp) water and your final mixed temp will be in the low to mid 60s, perfect for pitching and fermenting an ale. If you need the wort colder, add some ice cubes to the last water bath. Don't waste the ice cubes in the first water bath.

amandabab said:

9" anti-splash funnel in the carboy and dump the wort in.

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Do you not get a crap load of trub in your carboy / bucket this way?

jwalk4 said:

Do you not get a crap load of trub in your carboy / bucket this way?

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I dump everything, including trub, into my fermenters. No problem.

jwalk4 said:

Do you not get a crap load of trub in your carboy / bucket this way?

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it settles out.

OP - hot side aeration is a boogeyman that really does not apply on the homebrew scale. That being said, you'll do way better to cool the wort, then pour it all at once. Maybe shake it once poured.

Don't put hot wort into a glass carboy. Don't put cold water in a glass carboy and add hot wort... that's asking for a break.

HSA (hot side aeration) is sort of a homebrewing boogeyman. It does not effect anything on the homebrew scale. Read Revvy's response here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/confused-hsa-hot-side-aeration-272527/ for more info.

Here's my recommendation:

Cool all of your wort to at least below 80F before transfering if not to avoid hot side aeration, then to avoid a large temperature change which can fracture the glass carboy.

Start using an auto-siphon with a clip. This reduced chance of infection, makes your life easier, and reduces the amount of trub that gets into your fermenter.

Since it's a bad idea to pitch yeast at temps around 80F, you might as well let your wort chill to about 60F before transferring, then pitching as soon as the BK is drained.

When it comes to adding the wort to the fermenter, I normally just pour it in so that it splashes nicely and is well aerated, but only after cooling enough that adding cold water will bring it to pitching temperature. I shake the cold water about in a plastic fermenting bucket before adding it for extra oxygen for the yeast.
When pouring, I pour slowly and leave a small bit of break sludge in the bottom of the kettle.

catdaddy66 said:

Cooling the boiled wort in a different number of methods is the preferred technique, but there are many that use a 'no chill' method. The wort must be cool enough not to kill the yeast when pitched.

I usually place the brew pot in a sink of cold/iced water and stir the wort to create a whirlpool. This speeds the cooling. My sink is small so I will drain the now hot water and refill a few times until I get the wort to <100 degrees, then ill pour into the fermenter and add water (cold) until I get a volume of 5 gal.

There are many ways to cool quickly but some don't.

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This is what I do too (small sink also), and as the OP i used 3 gallons of boiled wort and 2 gallons of cold on my last batch. I ended up cooling it down too much without realizing it, and had to boil some water and add it to get the wort back up to yeast temperature.

amandabab said:

it settles out.

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Agreed. I dump everything but the solid sludge from the bottom of the pot into my fermenter. It all settles out. Never had clarity or flavor problems from this.

I used the method someone else used on here (I can't remember his name):

I cooled the brew to 100 and transferred it to my bottling bucket. To that, I added chilled, distilled water until the volume reached what was required by the recipe. That brought the temp down to 80 degrees. Then, I aligned my carboy with the bottling bucket's spigot and opened the spigot. Easy aeration, and it seems to have worked well.