Cooling Wart with Ice??

Hello, newbie poster. I have used the search function but I couldn't turn anything up on this subject (maybe I'm inept!).

My wife got me a full homebrew setup for christmas (Love you babe!) and I wanted to brew my first batch this weekend, so I was going through all of the stuff, and part of the setup was a wort chiller copper coil.

Now my main question: On Food Network's Good Eats, I saw Alton Brown use 1 7lb bag of ice along with chilled spring water to bring his wort down to a cooler temperature very quickly. I read through the beginners section of Complete Joy of Homebrewing and saw no reference to the distinction (or mention of ice).

Is this an accepted method? It seems very smart to use ice to bring the boiling wort down quickly, and seems like it may even be more efficient than a cooling coil with cool water. What is the general consensus on the ice? Is it a sanitation thing? Taste thing? Any thoughts would be helpful!

Thanks!

-Brian

Ice is cheaper in the short term, more expensive in the long term...unless you happen to have a large-capacity icemaker...like the kind they have in restaurants, not the one in your freezer.

I didn't want to spend the $$ on an immersion chiller, so I used icebaths for a long time. My wife finally got me an immersion chiller like yours for xmas, so no more icebaths for me.

Bottom line: spending $6 on two bags of store-bought ice increases your cost per batch considerably, whereas the $50 for an immersion chiller is a one-time investment. Secondly, immersion chillers are much more efficient and quick than icebaths. Since you already have an immersion chiller, use that. If you have ice laying around and want to use it, you could be super-efficient and use both. Good luck!

Definitely put that chiller to work if you got one with your kit. I still use an icebath and can cool my partial (2.5 gallon) boils to pitching temp within 10-15 minutes, but a chiller is the way to go.

Looks like I definitely may have to splurge for one soon as I got a turkey frier and plan on 5 gallon boils in the near future...

Rook said:

Is it a sanitation thing?

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Yes. Some ice plants are quite dirty. This is the main reason why many do not do this. I am assuming you mean adding it directly to the wort?

chillers can also be made easily at home from fittings and copper 'fridge coil that you can get from home depot

$15 immersion chiller, can't beat it!

The last couple of batches I have brewed, I got 2 gallons of distilled, purified water. I placed the jugs in the freezer before brewing and by the time I am ready to dump my wort into my primary the water has chilled. This allows me to bring my wort temp down very quickly.

The only thing you have to beware is if you drop the temp down too much. I did this to my last brew and had to get out the warming blanket to bring the temp back up (70 degrees for APA).

I just use ice from my freezer. It's hooked up to my RO unit, so I get nice clean (though devoid of oxygen) ice. It usually takes two batches of ice from my machine, so I usually keep one batched stored while the second is going. This consistently brings my wort down to ~75°F. It's only an issue when I make 10 gallon batches and need tons of ice. I'm still trying to figure out if my next investment is going to be an aeration system or a counterflow chiller... ok, that's my 2¢

omniscientomar said:

I just use ice from my freezer. It's hooked up to my RO unit, so I get nice clean (though devoid of oxygen) ice. It usually takes two batches of ice from my machine, so I usually keep one batched stored while the second is going. This consistently brings my wort down to ~75°F. It's only an issue when I make 10 gallon batches and need tons of ice. I'm still trying to figure out if my next investment is going to be an aeration system or a counterflow chiller... ok, that's my 2¢

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Your freezer makes frozen H?

Use the Chiller.

olllllo said:

Your freezer makes frozen H?

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Nice!

Yes, it's a special freezer, I can take those cubes and use them in my hydrogen car! ...

RO units do remove DISSOLVED oxygen from water right?...

I don't think it's been mentioned, but if you're doing full boils (no topup water), you don't have the option of using added ice/cold water. If you're doing partial boils (less than 6 gallons) then you could cool or freeze your own tap water in SANITIZED containers and use that to make up to 5 gallons in your bucket fermenter. Aha, yet another limitation. If you're primary is a carboy, the best you can do is use very very cold makeup water.

omniscientomar said:

Nice!

Yes, it's a special freezer, I can take those cubes and use them in my hydrogen car! ...

RO units do remove DISSOLVED oxygen from water right?...

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Nope. RO removes dissolved solids.

I use sterile Ice bricks. Boil 2 gallons of water two days before brew day then put it into sanitized gladware in the freezer. I pop out the bricks of ice and use it to chill the wort in about 10 minutes. Be sure to use the lid on the Gladware to keep the nasties out of the ice.

I top off the fermenter with ice water I boiled the day before.

Using an immersion coil chiller like yours is considered an "upgrade". By all means use the damn thing instead of ice, it will chill it 1000 times faster and provide you with a cold break. Enough said.

beer4breakfast said:

Copper is quite expensive these days. What length and diameter tubing are you talking about? There is nothing very big for $15. It cost me $80 for 25 feet of 1/2 inch ID tubing to make a chiller. I then bought a 50 foot 1/2 inch OD chiller for $70.

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Thankfully, copper prices have come down a lot in the past couple of weeks, but who knows how long until that shows up in the stores. I ended up making my chiller for not very much money, 'cause the Depot didn't know how much a 25 foot length of 1/4 tubing cost so they sold me (two of them) for the price of 10 foot lenghts. 50 feet of tubing (did a dual-coil design) for $30.

I checked Lowes this past weekend, $30 for 25 feet of 3/8 copper tubing. Not worth it when you can get a professionally built and welded unit for under $50, unless you really like to build things.

Not really much to build. Open the box and coil it around a pot or bucket. Add hose and clamps. I used a plastic hose quick disconnect as a hose threaded barb and it was $2.50 for two.

Bobby_M said:

I don't think it's been mentioned, but if you're doing full boils (no topup water), you don't have the option of using added ice/cold water. If you're doing partial boils (less than 6 gallons) then you could cool or freeze your own tap water in SANITIZED containers and use that to make up to 5 gallons in your bucket fermenter. Aha, yet another limitation. If you're primary is a carboy, the best you can do is use very very cold makeup water.

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Right on...Prior to getting an immersion chiller & doing full boils, I would cool my "top off" gallons right to the point of ice starting to form inside the containers. I figured that they were as cold as possible yet still pourable through a funnel. It worked fairly well to lower the temp pretty quick.

New to all this but was thinking of a very cost effective method, at least during the winter. Here in Boise, ID it is in the teens or low 20s at night...so what about boiling a couple gallons of water, placing them into smaller sterilized buckets or plastic bags and freezing them overnight? Then take the blocks of ice and pour the wort over it to cool it down.

I am about to start my first batch and thought this might be a better alternative to store bought ice or freezing 16lbs of water in your freezer. I simply don't have the room in my freezer for that.

cwb124 said:

New to all this but was thinking of a very cost effective method, at least during the winter. Here in Boise, ID it is in the teens or low 20s at night...so what about boiling a couple gallons of water, placing them into smaller sterilized buckets or plastic bags and freezing them overnight? Then take the blocks of ice and pour the wort over it to cool it down.

I am about to start my first batch and thought this might be a better alternative to store bought ice or freezing 16lbs of water in your freezer. I simply don't have the room in my freezer for that.

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Should work. Careful pouring though...

I don't know what Home Depot your shopping at but my local depot sells a 20' coil of 3/8" copper tubing for nearly $45. The LHBS sells a 20' chiller for about $50. Go figure...

cwb124 said:

New to all this but was thinking of a very cost effective method, at least during the winter. Here in Boise, ID it is in the teens or low 20s at night...so what about boiling a couple gallons of water, placing them into smaller sterilized buckets or plastic bags and freezing them overnight? Then take the blocks of ice and pour the wort over it to cool it down.

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How about just partially covering your kettle and setting it outside for about 45 minutes? Take adtangate of the cold. If you have snow, place you kettle in a snowbank.

Cheesefood said:

How about just partially covering your kettle and setting it outside for about 45 minutes? Take adtangate of the cold. If you have snow, place you kettle in a snowbank.

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That's what I do. It works. I'm now doing a full wort boil, but don't have a chiller. But I brew outside after dark, when it's in the teens. Once the boil is done, I bury the brewpot in snow to about two inches from the top and start a whirlpool. I have to keep packing the snow around the sides for a few minutes because the heat from the pot will create space. But it does pack in, and is down to pitching temp in 30-40 minutes. When spring comes, I'll have to get a chiller.

I used a 7-10lb bag of ice and then the shower head to fill up the fermentor. I never had issues with this method.