Adding ice during cold break

I have read several threads where people suggest ice to cool down wort. Correct me if I am wrong, but if you add ice aren't you just dumping in non-sanitized water, thus increasing the chances of infection?

This wholly depends upon the source of your ice.

I think you can boil the water, place in sanitized containors and then freeze. Never done it but it would seen to be OK.

Ice bath is more like it.

Heineken said:

I think you can boil the water, place in sanitized containors and then freeze. Never done it but it would seen to be OK.

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+1. Boil it, cool it, freeze it. Sanitized water can def. cool down the wort. If you are like me, however....you buy a 20lb bag of ice at kroger and give the wort a nice ice bath. I have brought it down from 212F to 68F in an hour with continious(sp?) stirring.

Just remember the ice you buy at store is RO. Same thing as bottled water labeled "drinking water," only frozen. Completely safe for use in your wort if the bag is sealed.

arturo7 said:

Just remember the ice you buy at store is RO.

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Forgive me, what is "RO"?

mahilly said:

Forgive me, what is "RO"?

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Reverse Osmosis

Reverse osmosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Heineken said:

I think you can boil the water, place in sanitized containors and then freeze. Never done it but it would seen to be OK.

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I did this for my first n batches. n being whatever number I brewed before I finally broke down and got a wort chiller. It works fine and never had any contamination problems. I used "virgin" tupperware that had been sanitized inside and out for my containers. The cold break is actually very fast when you do this, but you have to plan ahead for it by boiling only a couple of gallons of high-gravity wort for a 5-gallon batch since most of your water content is going to come from the ice. That means also modifying the amount of hops you use since the utilization is affected by gravity.

Completely safe for use in your wort if the bag is sealed.

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That's a big 'if' IMO. I've used bags of ice in my swamp cooler enough to notice that most of the bags I get have little holes in them from being tossed around between trucks and freezers.

I use a wort chiller to get me to around 95 deg F and let ice made from pre-boiled water (frozen in sanitized, air-tight containers) take it down the rest of the way. I would advise against using store-bought ice because of sanitation concerns.

ArcaneXor said:

I would advise against using store-bought ice because of sanitation concerns.

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Store bought ice goes through R/O, just like store bought water.

arturo7 said:

Store bought ice goes through R/O, just like store bought water.

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It's not a question of the water, it's a question of the packaging and storage. Store bought water is stored in airtight containers that can be considered safe. Store bought ice is in plastic bags that often have holes in them, and some are even tied closed with twist-ties or those same things you find on bread. Not exactly airtight.

weirdboy said:

It's not a question of the water, it's a question of the packaging and storage. Store bought water is stored in airtight containers that can be considered safe. Store bought ice is in plastic bags that often have holes in them, and some are even tied closed with twist-ties or those same things you find on bread. Not exactly airtight.

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Yes, but it is still ice from a freezer. It's not like you've got a bag of raw pork chops sitting on the floor.

arturo7 said:

Yes, but it is still ice from a freezer. It's not like you've got a bag of raw pork chops sitting on the floor.

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Do you realize how much bacteria the typical freezer has floating around in it? It's not a sanitary place. If it's not in a sealed container, you shouldn't trust anything straight from the freezer as sanitary regardless of its state when it went in there.

Can't disagree with that. However, I don't think a couple pinholes is an issue. A simple inspection of the bag will reveal any larger problems. If you see a hole, put it back and grab another.

you are taking your chances using bagged ice, they have been known to contain traces of fecal matter even.

here is an old link to a story on it 10News Tests Packaged Ice, With Chilly Results - 10News I-Team Investigations Story - KGTV San Diego

You guys are cracking me up here. I have been using bagged ice for 10 years to crash cool my wort. Never had an infection. You are not gambling by doing this. As far as bacteria and fecal matter, that is in air regardless. Beer is not produced in sterilized environments. Hell, for the first 2000 years it was made in vats outdoors.

weirdboy said:

Store bought water is stored in airtight containers that can be considered safe.

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Just my 2 cents: When I did partials, I would buy spring water for top off and throw that in the freezer so that when I was ready to pour it in, it was just about ready to freeze....instantly chilled my wort to pitching temps.

...I have no opinion on the store ice vs water thing.

linkstorinks said:

you are taking your chances using bagged ice, they have been known to contain traces of fecal matter even.

here is an old link to a story on it 10News Tests Packaged Ice, With Chilly Results - 10News I-Team Investigations Story - KGTV San Diego

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Dont know where you are getting htat from. the article states: “no detectable levels of E. coli or fecal matter in the ice.”

I have been using ice to cool my wort for about 3 years now, no infections....