Any magic in 80 degrees?

Is there anything "magic" about cooling your wort down to 80 degrees within 15-20 minutes of killing the boil? By that, I mean is the point just to cool the wort down quickly, or is 80 degrees an important threashold for a cold break.

I added 2 gallons of ice slush and a half gallon of room temp water to my wort and that brought it to 94*F in about 2 minutes. Unfortunately, I had virtually no ice on hand to bring it down colder and my tap water is warm so it probably took an hour to get it from 94 to 80.

Thanks,
Doug

From what I understand, there is not much magic involved. You want the wort to cool quickly, to minimize the opportunity for infection, and 80 degrees is a good temperature for pitching the yeast... not too hot, not too cold.

I would steer away from adding ice directly to your wort (although some here will tell you differently). I dont think that temps in the higher 80s to low 90s will kill the yeast.

Are you at the UT in Texas (or Tennessee?) If your in Austin, we should grab a beer sometime.

- magno

The temperature range of 80-120 is perfect for bacteria growth and they multiple at amazing speeds, but an hour to cool down is no big deal.

I'm no fan of adding ice that could be infected to wort either.

Like David said it is the temps where bacteria start to grow fast.

Your cooling would have been better had you cooled with some other method BEFORE adding the ice. You can make or buy an imersion chiller pretty cheaply.