TacoGuthrie

Recipes 

As a beginner extract brewer with only a few batches under my belt I haVE yet to buy or make a wort chiller. So far I have only used ice baths to cool. I have never put ice cubes directly into the for fear of contamination.

However I was trying to come up with a way to speed up the cooling process and thought of this : what about taking a frozen icepack or two, putting them in a ziploc bag or two, sanitizing them with a spritz and dropping them into the wort.

Does anyone see any potential contamination issues with that?

oxiderush

Recipes 

it's the same as taking frozen 2 liter bottles, and sanatizing the outsides before a dunk. Kitchens use thinks similar to that to get soups and sauces out of the danger zone quickly. Totally safe.

__________________
Primary 1: Empty
Primary 2: Empty
Primary 3: Empty
Secondary 1: Empty
Bottled: EdWort's Apfelwein
Bottled: Brewers Best American Light
On Deck: some sort of Kolsch

Clayton

Recipes 

"I haVE yet to buy or make a wort chiller."
why not just make or buy one ?
would you attempt to make beer with no kettle?
just carefully boiling wort in large green leaves over a fire?
nan i did not think so.
just get a wort chiller is just a tool you have to have to play the game

__________________
Once, during Prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water. ~ W.C. Fields

TacoGuthrie

Recipes 

This is just a quick fix thought.

I don't have a lhbs within 150km and I doubt that one sells them. I will make soon but I am gonna brew this weekend and I just wanted to be sure this idea was safe. Sounds like it is so I'm glad I spent the two minutes making this thread.

fishnfever

Recipes 

If you are only doing partial boils then a wort chiller is not needed. What I use to do was, put the pot with the wort in it in the sink with cold water and after five minutes or so I would drain the sink add more water and add lbs of ice. Add more ice as needed. I never used more than 10 lbs of ice and had it cooled in 15ish minutes.

Now if you start doing full boils a wort chiller is a must.

Saccharomyces

Recipes 

Yep done this before. Also, some folks use this method even when chilling with a wort chiller in summer, when tap water is warmer than the target pitching temp.

__________________
[How to Calculate Mash Efficiency | Do I Need a Yeast Starter? | My Ghetto Fermentation Chamber | Twitter | 6 Gal. HDPE Fermenters | Slanting Yeast | No Sparge Brewing]

Edcculus

Recipes 

I wouldn't be that harsh. Yea, a chiller is one of the best pieces of equipment I invested in. I probably brewed for 2 years without one.

A good ice bath in one of those keg tubs will work in a pinch too.

nebben

Recipes 

Seriously, the tools necessary need not be complex nor expensive. I have a rubbermaid storage bin that is just barely taller than my brewpot. I put some bricks in the bottom, to allow the pot-lip to sit higher than the top lip of the rubbermaid, then fill the rubbermaid with water from the garden hose. As soon as it is nearly full, I put in the brew pot that is just coming off the burner. Leaving the garden hose in the bin on a low/medium flow allows constant flushing of warm water, and I stir the wort during this process as well. 20 min for 5.5 gallons of nearly boiling wort to 70F with this method for me.

I believe my materials cost, including the bricks and rubbermaid, aren't more than about $6.00 USD.

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible

Recipes 

A chiller is best by far, but don't feel bullied into making one until you are good and ready. Your method will work reasonably well for smaller batches. It's just not Ideal is all.

__________________
Why do they never tell you they are a guy until AFTER you put your hand up their skirt?

wilserbrewer

Recipes 

I disagree...brewed an all grain 1/4 keg, around 8 gal post boil late last night in my basement. After the boil I set the kettle in a keg tub w/ around 10 gal of tap water (50 degrees). After about 15 minutes I set the kettle in the bath tub full of cold tap water and went to bed. This morning I pitched w/ the wort at 60 degrees.

I have a chiller, sometimes it is easier to chill in the tub. I would need some ice if it were summer time, but I would also need ice in the summer w/ my chiller.

Yea I know how important a good cold break is, also about lag time as well. Not to worry, after 3-4 weeks in the keezer, the beer will be brilliant.

Lots of options here.