Wort Chiller

Hi Everyone,

I am a newbie brewer, I did not boil my wort chiller for 10/15 minutes prior to the end of boil. Rather, I just stuck it in after the boil.. Do you think I've infected my beer?

Thx,

Probably not.

Possibly. Only thing you can do now is wait to see how it turns out. At worst you have to dump it, but it is always best to wait and see.

You were probably at boiling temps after the boil for long enough to kill anything on the chiller.

For future brews if you have something questionable like this happen--your chiller leaks water into the wort, your dog sticks his tounge in the wort, etc, just fire up the burner and boil for a little longer then chill.

Not likely. I would expect the temperature was hot enough to kill any bugs.

But, if it was brand new you might have some metallic or oily taste from the uncleaned metal.

Also, copper has antimicrobial properties... I don't know much about this, but others on this forum have made claims about this being a reason why you shouldn't worry about boiling your chiller.

My first AG i stuck a dirty copper worth chiller into the wort and boiled for 15mins, had oil on it and everything (i was stupid and didnt figure out it was dirty untill 5mins later)

Beer turned out fantastic, was a german weissebier, and now i got a bit improved recipe of that beer fermenting it was fantastic.

A couple of minutes above 162 degrees should kill most organisms. OTOH, if you put the water right to it, the surface of your copper might not have been hot long enough to do the trick.

Suggestion: Go buy an orange 5 gallon bucket at Home Depot for $5 and mix up a batch of Star San before brewing. I keep all my brewing crap (wort chiller, wine thief, hydrometer, stirring spoon, yeast, funnel, airlock and stopper) soaking in that until they are needed.

IdahoSpud said:

A couple of minutes above 162 degrees should kill most organisms. OTOH, if you put the water right to it, the surface of your copper might not have been hot long enough to do the trick.

Suggestion: Go buy an orange 5 gallon bucket at Home Depot for $5 and mix up a batch of Star San before brewing. I keep all my brewing crap (wort chiller, wine thief, hydrometer, stirring spoon, yeast, funnel, airlock and stopper) soaking in that until they are needed.

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I thought Star Sans strips the copper off the wort chiller over time? I was always told not to use star san on my copper wort chiller.

Brak23 said:

I thought Star Sans strips the copper off the wort chiller over time? I was always told not to use star san on my copper wort chiller.

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You are correct. Star san is phosphoric acid solution, and acids certainly do attack metals.

However I temper that knowledge with this thought process:

It will take a *very* long time to do significant damage using a weak acid such as phosphoric (as opposed to strong acids like sulfuric or hydrochloric), and also the acid is a very diluted solution (1 oz Star San per 5 gallons water).

If I was seeing bubbles of hydrogen coming off the copper as it dissolved in the Star San, then I would be worried But by all means if you are concerned about damaging your chiller, do your own thing!

I think it's unnecessary to use star san on the chiller. Putting it in the boiling wort for 15 minutes is much more time than you need to pasteurize it. Anything that goes into the boil doesn't need to be sanitized.
I use the buckets for santizing bottles. I don't sanitize the hydrometer. The hydrometer does not pose a risk of infection to your beer if you discard the measured beer/wort.

Thanks everyone! If my beer is infected, will I have to wait until bottling to figure it out? Will I be able to tell when moving it from the Primary --> Secondary?

If you do have an infection, it's not because the chiller went into boil temp wort. The only way it could be borderline is if it were at room temp and full of water already.

EricF said:

Thanks everyone! If my beer is infected, will I have to wait until bottling to figure it out? Will I be able to tell when moving it from the Primary --> Secondary?

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most on here would advise against a secondary. It takes extra time and increases your chances of making an error (contamination). Let it be in primary for a few weeks after its done fermenting. It should be nice and clear by then.

You could always taste a sample and take a hydro reading. If you notice sour flavors it could be a sign. Some bacteria could take a while to become noticeable. Chances are you're fine but if there is an issue it could take a while. Wait 3 weeks after bottling before passing judgment.