Freeze gallons of purified water in plastic gallon jugs/cartons, cut open jugs, dump ice blocks in fermenting bucket, pour wort over ice. Bang! Glass wouldn't work in this instance of course. I need to buy purified (UV sterilized) water anyway because our water quality in Vegas sucks. So, its money I would spend whether I had a wort chiller or not.
__________________
"May your glass be ever full. May the roof over your head be always strong. And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead."
Primary:Triple Rye Red Ale
Secondary:Empty :( Bottles: Lights Out (#8) Belgian Trappist ale Surly Cynic PM clone, Sierra Red Rock IPA, St. Paul Porter, Pumpkin Ale, Carribou Slobber
People have discussed a no cool method and it works just fine. I have done it couple of times and sometimes I do a partial cool down method. I do icebath but dont change the water multiple times and let it sit overnight. Cover your pot when you are doing it.
__________________ Old school or the new, doesnt mean a thing if your heart's not true!
Primary: 01/29 Cranberry Apfelwein Secondary: Kegs drinking: 11/24-12/25-12/31 Lacto Brevis Lemongrass Wheat, 11/20-12/19-1/05k-1/15 TWR Belgian Golden Ale Kegs conditioning: 10/30-11/20-01/07 Houblomonstre Tripel IPA, 01/07-01/29 Lemongrass Wheat RIP: 11/07-11/28-01/29-05/04-11/17 Flanders Brown Ale
I'd like to hear about this no cool down method...
I've always been under the understanding that you need to crash cool it to get some of the proteins out of the wort that can produce off flavors and or chill hazes. Plus the quicker it cools the quicker you can pitch your yeast which means less time for bacteria.
So, anyway, I'd like to hear more of the science behind the no cool down method.
so I've done the standard ice bath for all of my brews so far which has worked just fine. but i was thinking about trying a new way. would it be ok if i just poured the wort into the fermenter right after the boil, and then dumped in a few bags of ice? It seems that would kill 2 birds with one stone (cooling the wort and adding the extra water)
I place my 7.5gal aluminum pot in a 6.5 gal bucket and poke my garden hose between the two, letting the water overflow and stirring the wort. I can cool down boiling wort to the low 20's C in 15 min or so.
i do this frequently but always use my own ice, which is triple filtered for that smooth, icy taste. The water into my home is filtered at 30 microns, then 20, then to my freezer/ice maker, which is about 10 microns. I have NEVER had an infection using clean ice. A gallon (about 9 lbs) of ice will lower my beer to 120F in SECONDS. I then use Jamil's whirlpool chiller with ice water input into a coil.
Yes, there are those here that will lynch you for saying that you have done it. I would admit that it is NOT best practice.
If you can put ice cubes in your drink, you sure as hell can put them in Wort. That is my take on it.
I only have 2 batches under my belt but I buy a 1 gallon plastic jug of water for 1$. Freeze it and when it's time to brew I cut the jug open, let the ice into the fermenter and poor the wort on it. Worked good so far.
Crushed ice will chill the beer much faster. At least break up the ice a bit and it will get colder faster because of expanded surface area of the ice. Of course, the ice will be gone sooner, also.
Making beer is all about controlling variables: quality of ingredients, temperature, sanitation, etc. Using ice to chill is obviously a method employed by many people, and with success. The two problems that I see are 1) contamination (which has already been extensively covered), and 2) the inability to do a full boil, which is important to me. I just use an entry-level copper wort chiller, and am fortunate enough to have 55F well water to do the chilling.
I was invited over to a brew session by an acquaintance, and he & his brew buddy use ice to cool partial boils. At that time, they were having no trouble. Suddenly, within the last few months, they've thrown out three batches. They haven't found the cause yet, but given my observation of their techniques, there are several things they need to eliminate as possible causes, and the ice chilling is one.
If it fits your setup and schedule, I think no-chill may be a way to go, although I haven't tried it yet. There is a huge thread on no-chill brewing; it is practiced a lot by Australians, and there seems to be a growing contingent in this country that is trying it. Personally, the idea of brewing one day and not being able to pitch until the next kind of bugs me, but given the fresh water situation that already exists in some parts of this country, and the crisis that is predicted, it may be the way of the future.
__________________
“Malt does more than Milton can / To justify God’s ways to man”
-A. E. Housman (1859–1936). A Shropshire Lad , 1896.
Linear Mode
