Investing in a wort chiller

Hey brewers,

I'm about to make my first batch of beer pretty soon. I went to my local brew supply shop and bought the basic equipment and two recipe kits (a belgian they call blond ambition and a cascade ipa).

They had a wort chiller for 90 bucks and I hesitated to buy it that day because they told me I didn't necessarily need it. They suggested that I chill my wort by freezing half the water of the 5 gallon batch and only boiling the remaining water with the wort then dumping the block of ice in the wort to make the 5 gallon batch and chilling it at the same time.

So I ask you is this a good method for those without wort chillers or is their a better one out there? If the wort chiller is the superior choice then I have no problem making the investment as I am all in on this.

Thanks for the advice!

Holding some cool water in reserve and adding after the boil works just fine if you are confident that the water has no contaminants.

Related note: smaller water volumes reduce the efficiency of your boil so take that into account when adding hops.

A wort chiller is a very handy addition to your brew gear. I prefer the plate type like "Duda Diesel" brand.

You can use the search option on this site and find out how to make a wort chiller for a lot less than $90.00.

Bobby from NJ has a really good video on how to make one. He also has alot more videos that are helpful

went today and tried to buy copper tubbing . I live in NYC. 1/2 is almost $50 for 20'. 3/8 is $30. i/we may be better off buying our own.

BronxBrew said:

went today and tried to buy copper tubbing . I live in NYC. 1/2 is almost $50 for 20'. 3/8 is $30. i/we may be better off buying our own.

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Looking at purchasing one soon too. I don't think there is a huge advantage to build your own anymore once you figure in all the costs. You can get a brand new 25 footer with fittings and hosing for $50 shipped, doubt you could build one of similar quality for less than $40.

Agreed! I just bought one for $40 on amazon. After adding the cost of materials from Lowes I realized it would cost me about $40 to make my own anyway.