Wort Cooling Issue, looking for advice!

So I just brewed my first batch of beer and everything went smoother than I had expected.... until I got the the point that I never even paid much attention to: Cooling the wort.

I had some ice and a sink, but I obviously underestimated the amount of ice water needed to bring down 5 gallons of boiling hot liquids. I quickly ran out of ice and had only cool running faucet water to use. I finally got the temp to about 90 degrees, but it took a LONG time.

I know that cooling the wort is important (from what I've read at least).... but can anybody explain just how important it is and what the affects, if any, could be for me not being able to rapidly cool it as recommended? I am not sure what to expect in 6 weeks.

Also, I rehydrated my dry yeast with water about an hour before I pitched it. Is there any problem with this? Is there a minimum or maximum time that the yeast/water mixture needs to sit before being mixed in with the wort?

Any advice or words of wisdom would be appreciated! Thanks!

You're fine.

Chilling isn't a big deal. I chill but some brewers put a lid on their wort and let it cool overnight. Chilling quickly can help clarify your beer but there are other means to do this. Chilling quickly can also help minimize the risk for infection. If you sanitized properly you should be fine. You don't want to pitch your yeast until the wort is close to 70 degrees. If you pitched at 90, the yeast will survive. Just don't do it again.

Rehydrating is something you can't really mess up. You could sprinkle dry yeast right on top of your wort and they would get the job done. Anywhere between not rehyrating at all and rehydrating several hours before you pitch would be fine. An hour was probably near the tail end of perfect.

Quick chilling is essential to a good cold break. With that said, I always dump the entire contents into my fermenter (cold break and all). When I used to "ice bath", I would fill the sink with cold water, place the pot in, and stir the wort. Once the wort reached equilibrium, drain the water and refill. Repeat this until you are under 100 degrees, then add the ice and remember to keep stirring. Get the most bang for your buck out of the ice.

Great, thanks for the info ... yeah, I knew I should have gotten the temp down a bit more but admittedly grew a bit impatient. Hopefully the temp will not harm the final product too much. Needless to say, next time I will be more prepared!

I've only brewed twice, but I've had a lot of luck cooling using a plastic keg bucket (something you can find at Walmart for less than $8). I have a 36 quart pot, and the tub is just big enough. I put three 2 inch x 2 inch x 6 inch pieces of wood in the bottom of the bin to keep the pot off the bottom of the plastic bin.

A couple days before I brew, I start freezing big slabs of ice in my extra freezer (the one in the garage). Flexible large Tupperware works great. I make the ice slabs just thick enough to fit between my pot and the side of the plastic tub. Fill at night and empty in the morning. Repeat until I have 10 or so slabs. After the boil, put the pot in the bucket (filled 1/3 or so with cool water) then slide the slabs in place around the pot one at a time. Gently swirl bucket and pot occasionally. Almost got it too cold today in 30 min (est.) . Don't have to buy ice or a wort chiller, but can't do it unless you have freezer space.

Then again, I'm sure the 30 degree temps haven't hurt either.

HomebrewNate said:

Great, thanks for the info ... yeah, I knew I should have gotten the temp down a bit more but admittedly grew a bit impatient. Hopefully the temp will not harm the final product too much. Needless to say, next time I will be more prepared!

Click to expand...

Unless you're making a saison you pitched about 30 degrees too hot.

If you want good beer without funky esters and fusel's you need to get your wort much cooler than 90 degrees.

Patience is a virtue, especially if you wish to drink good beer.

Rick

Go buy an immersion or a plate chiller. You will be able to cool your wort to pitching temperature in 15 -20 minutes. I typically do 5 gallon batches, but I always plan for the future so I use one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FDVD5S/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

TrubDog said:

Go buy an immersion or a plate chiller. You will be able to cool your wort to pitching temperature in 15 -20 minutes. I typically do 5 gallon batches, but I always plan for the future so I use one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/50-Copper-Chiller-Immersion-Coil/dp/B000FDVD5S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358743483&sr=8-1&keywords=Immersion+chiller+50

Click to expand...

+1. I made my own for under $40. Makes a huge difference when doing full boils.

Get a wort chiller. Makes cooling easy and fast. Just get the wort chiller and get a garden hose to sink adapter. Do it right in the kitchen. Dip the wort chiller in star San and then put the wort chiller in the boil for the last few minutes to sanitize it. Cool your wort in like 10-15 mins

dannylerch said:

Get a wort chiller. Makes cooling easy and fast. Just get the wort chiller and get a garden hose to sink adapter. Do it right in the kitchen. Dip the wort chiller in star San and then put the wort chiller in the boil for the last few minutes to sanitize it. Cool your wort in like 10-15 mins

Click to expand...

You don't need the starsan if you put the chiller in the boil. Most people put it in with 15min left in the boil.

A worth chiller is definitely easier. If you don't have a wort chiller, place the hot wort in a tub and surround it with ice. I use 4 10 lb bags of ice to create an ice slurry around the brew kettle. I keep the lid on the pot while I do this.

Once the pot is surrounded by ice, stir it like crazy. Stir it like it owes you money. This drops the temp fairly quickly and aerates the wort well.

As others have said, getting to pitching temps quicker lowers the chances of infection.

I've seen several people on here say you shouldn't stir vigorously until the temp comes down. Not sure of the science behind that, but I thought I'd mention it.

Lots of good advice about chilling. Regarding the yeast rehydration, you do not want to let it sit too long after rehydrating. I think most yeast manufacturers say 30 or 45 minutes. If you let it sit longer it starts to eat some of its nutrient reserves. Sitting for an hour won't ruin your beer, but it isn't optimal.

Hot side aeration is one of the great debates of homebrewing. I think everyone agrees that it's not a good thing but can't agree on the severity of it. Personally, i try to avoid it but don't get worked up over it. If you want to cool faster in an ice bath you could whirlpool so you don't aerate hot.

I have a question about chilling the wort. Seeing as I live in the midwest it is pretty darn cold outside. Could I just set the wort outside?

ivota: yes, but....
Air is a relatively poor heat conducter, even if it is subfreezing air. Water is a much more efficient conductor. I'm in Maine and what I do is set my pot(I ducttape the lid to make sure it's sealed) in a large plastic tub, add cold water to below the lid level, spin the pot to set up a whirlpool inside (movement of the wort helps, but I don't want to splash it at this point), and change the water as it heats up. If there's snow, I add that to the water bucket. Works pretty well. I can get it below 80 in less than 30 minutes.
The brewpot is 5 gallon, the tub is 30 gallon, so there is plenty of room for water. I also use the tubs as swamp coolers to help maintain an even fermentation temp.

Just buy a wort chiller. The amount of times you gotta buy ice will add up to the price of an entry level chiller after just a few batches. Trust me you'll never look back. All you gotta do is set it and forget it. If you really wanna spring for something sick, get a plate chiller. It cools the wort in the amount of time it takes to drain your kettle.

I found it easier to go to the local hardware store and purchase 25 feet of 3/8 copper refrigerator tubing, some small hose clamps, some rubber hosing, and a small fish pond pump. All cheaper than buying a new premade immersion wort chiller. I recirculate cold water through the wort chiller and depending on the temp of the ground water, I usually get it down to 75 ish in 30 minutes. I do have to replace the recirculating water a few times as it does get hot. Looking back when I put my partial boil in a sink of water to chill it I see I could have contaminated it with all that sink water.ewwwwwww..... there are many times I have set my 5 gallons of wort in the primary fermenter in the basement to cool overnight. Never had any contamination problems with that. I believe Faster chilling is good for a better cold break and making a more pretty beer. Imo ugly beer taste good too. He'll who can tell if its perdy or if its ugly after a few of them?

itsme6582 said:

You're fine.

Chilling isn't a big deal. I chill but some brewers put a lid on their wort and let it cool overnight. Chilling quickly can help clarify your beer but there are other means to do this. Chilling quickly can also help minimize the risk for infection. If you sanitized properly you should be fine. You don't want to pitch your yeast until the wort is close to 70 degrees. If you pitched at 90, the yeast will survive. Just don't do it again.

Rehydrating is something you can't really mess up. You could sprinkle dry yeast right on top of your wort and they would get the job done. Anywhere between not rehyrating at all and rehydrating several hours before you pitch would be fine. An hour was probably near the tail end of perfect.

Click to expand...

This pretty much says it all. The only ill effects you might notice is a cloudier beer than if you'd have been able to chill very quickly.

Lid on, leave it overnight. 30+ batches done and not a single problem plus no wasted water!

mgr_stl said:

I've seen several people on here say you shouldn't stir vigorously until the temp comes down. Not sure of the science behind that, but I thought I'd mention it.

Click to expand...

I respectfully disagree with this.

The concern in doing this is hot side aeration. If you search hot side aeration on this forum and others, it may put your mind at ease.

Thanks