Chilling wort with polar packs?

Would there be any issue with throwing a dozen polar ice packs that have taken a dip in my sanitizer bucket into my hot wort to aid in the cooling process?

I also plan on having an ice water bath on the outside of my brew pot in the sink

I'm not sure ow effective they'd be and would a dozen of them make your kettle overflow?

definitely wont make my kettle overflow

As long as they're well sanitized I guess you could give it a try. I'm just not sure if they'd be more effective than an ice bath.

Are you doing this because you already have them and want something reusable to save money?

I saw some at my LHBS, last time I was there...I wonder if that's what people are doing, sanitizing and chucking them in.

I already have a bunch of these, and I figured that if I can cool the wort using these inside the kettle and an ice bath for the surface outside the wort, I may be able to cool it down quicker.

I've added frozen water bottles and a few of those packs to my ice bath outside of my pot but (just my .02) I wouldn't throw anything like that directly into my wort, sanitized or not. Doesn't seem worth the risk. Even the smallest little leak would ruin it and I'm not sure what the effects of sinking that soft plastic into 170 degree wort would be. There is some scary shizz to read about the chemicals in some plastics and what can be released in extreme hot/cold.

Not saying anything bad whould happen...but the risk doesnt' seem worth the reward. I only use ice baths and have never had any trouble cooling my wort in a moderate amount of time.

Keep some frozen water bottles or ice packs pressed up against your pot. You can use some rubber gloves to hold them against the pot in your ice bath. Really does speed things up.

I've often found that my packs like this leak a bit when thawed. I wouldn't put it in my beer.

I wouldn't take the chance!!! To much work for something so simple to go wrong.

I have seen a thread here somewhere about someone boiling water and placing in freezer bags and then chucking the ice from the bag directly in the wort. Has anyone tryed this. It would help cool and cut down on the top off water.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=49104&highlight=freezer+bags


Any thoughts?

no way in hell... put them in the sink to make an ice bath, but not in the wort!

use them in the ice bath, not in the wort. The extreme diferental in temps is going to cause the seams on the polar packs to split, if not a total failure at least enough to get some in you brew. Just let the ice bath do the work.

i would not use the ice packs in the wort itself. if you wanted to use them in the ice bath that would be fine. if you are looking for something to put into the wort you may want to consider a foodservice style ice wand. i used to be a chef and we would use these along with an icebath to cool large volumes of soup and sauces. they work very well and can withstand high heat.

+1 on everyone's advice. those are known to leak a bit, and even if not...the plastic isn't meant to hold up to those high temperatures.

use them for sure, though. keep them in the freezer, throw them in the ice bath!

sflcowboy78 said:

i would not use the ice packs in the wort itself. if you wanted to use them in the ice bath that would be fine. if you are looking for something to put into the wort you may want to consider a foodservice style ice wand. i used to be a chef and we would use these along with an icebath to cool large volumes of soup and sauces. they work very well and can withstand high heat.

Click to expand...

What's an Ice wand? I googled it and came up with something to control the bacterial growth in icemachines...and discussion of the ice wand in roleplaying games....

well, maybe a cold spell would work

Revvy said:

What's an Ice wand? I googled it and came up with something to control the bacterial growth in icemachines...and discussion of the ice wand in roleplaying games....

well, maybe a cold spell would work

Click to expand...

sorry i was at work when i posted and did not have time to search for a link but here it is

this is the page i found it on
http://www.chefsfirst.com/Dept.asp?Cat_ID=2911&web_name=Rapid+Cool+Sticks&lobby=1

and here is a picture
http://www.chefsfirst.com/popup.asp?url=product_images/KATCRCU-128.jpg