agentEhrman
Well-Known Member
At what point in time is chilling before pitching taking too long? Is there a general rule of thumb, like "chill within 30 minutes or less for the best beer"?
I keep reading about people who are able to get their wort chilled in 20 minutes. I know that the quicker the better, but I can't seem to get mine chilled anywhere close to that fast.
I built an immersion chiller/pre-chiller out of 50 of 3/8 copper last winter. It's about 30 ft immersion and 20 ft pre-chiller. I usually wait to put ice water in the bucket with the pre-chiller until I get below 120 degrees. This is because that is when the temp drops really slow down for me from using tap water only. With this effort, it's taking about an hour to get to 75 degrees. In the winter, it was a little better and I could get it down to 65 at least. I guess I am a little stingy with the ice since I have to buy it, but my method seems solid.
I am planning to get one the huge tubs to sit the kettle in and fill with more ice, which will cost more money. But I can only imagine that cutting the chilling time from 60 minutes, to 20 or 30 would improve the taste of my beer.
Should I bother changing my current method, given that I'm usually satisfied with my beer currently? Is there a standard time to shoot for? What do you recommend?
I keep reading about people who are able to get their wort chilled in 20 minutes. I know that the quicker the better, but I can't seem to get mine chilled anywhere close to that fast.
I built an immersion chiller/pre-chiller out of 50 of 3/8 copper last winter. It's about 30 ft immersion and 20 ft pre-chiller. I usually wait to put ice water in the bucket with the pre-chiller until I get below 120 degrees. This is because that is when the temp drops really slow down for me from using tap water only. With this effort, it's taking about an hour to get to 75 degrees. In the winter, it was a little better and I could get it down to 65 at least. I guess I am a little stingy with the ice since I have to buy it, but my method seems solid.
I am planning to get one the huge tubs to sit the kettle in and fill with more ice, which will cost more money. But I can only imagine that cutting the chilling time from 60 minutes, to 20 or 30 would improve the taste of my beer.
Should I bother changing my current method, given that I'm usually satisfied with my beer currently? Is there a standard time to shoot for? What do you recommend?