How Long is Wort Fresh? (ie. Mash, Refrig, & Boil Later)

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Doc Robinson

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Say I mash and sparge tonight to collect my wort in my brew kettle. Can I cover the kettle, refrigerate it, and do my boil in 24/48 hours? Does the sweet wort go bad?
 
Man, that is tough, it is FULL of bacteria before you boil it. You would run a huge risk of souring the wort Id think, even cooled.
 
I do it all the time and so do a bunch of others here...you'll be fine. It won't go sour that quick and you'll be boiling it for an hour at least soon enough.
 
Okay, good... I understand that the boil will kill tha lacto, but they get 48 hours to live in the wort. Mashes go sour very quickly... good to hear the cooling inhibits it.
 
I've done it a couple of times without issue, but I've never gone more than 14 hours between collecting and starting the boil. You might try bringing the runnings up close to a boil to kill the bacteria before turning in for the night.
 
I've done it a couple of times without issue, but I've never gone more than 14 hours between collecting and starting the boil. You might try bringing the runnings up close to a boil to kill the bacteria before turning in for the night.

Yes sir. That sounds like a fine idea. But then do I have to worry about hot-side aeration on the cooling? :drunk:
 
Yes sir. That sounds like a fine idea. But then do I have to worry about hot-side aeration on the cooling? :drunk:
You'll get differing opinions on that, but I believe the consensus round here is that HSA is the bogey-man of homebrewing. I've not experienced it under this scenario, or any other for that matter.

EDIT: And The Pol beats me to it. Figures, I offer some help and I'm a day late and a dollar short.
 
My biggest con to the plan is the energy waste. Heating to 150, then cooling, then heating from 38 to 212.

Hahaha...wait, really? I have 73 beagles in the basement on giant hamster wheels generating electricity for a custom burner in my garage, so really, I am only out a few dead beagles...which, by the way, only motivate the working beagles even more. It actually works out to net positive in terms of resource consumption.
 
Hahaha...wait, really? I have 73 beagles in the basement on giant hamster wheels generating electricity for a custom burner in my garage, so really, I am only out a few dead beagles...which, by the way, only motivate the working beagles even more. It actually works out to net positive in terms of resource consumption.

I am now very disturbed... But still laughing.
 
Hahaha...wait, really? I have 73 beagles in the basement on giant hamster wheels generating electricity for a custom burner in my garage, so really, I am only out a few dead beagles...which, by the way, only motivate the working beagles even more. It actually works out to net positive in terms of resource consumption.

LOL! Thanks, needed a good laugh this evening.
 
Follow Up: In your opinion, which situation would I be safer in?

1) Mash Today, Refrigerate Wort Today, & Boil Tomorrow or the Next Day

2) Mash Today, Boil Today, & Pitch Yeast Tomorrow or the Next Day (assuming that my post-boil sanitation is near flawless)

It seems to me that option #2 would be far superior.
 
Follow Up: In your opinion, which situation would I be safer in?

1) Mash Today, Refrigerate Wort Today, & Boil Tomorrow or the Next Day

2) Mash Today, Boil Today, & Pitch Yeast Tomorrow or the Next Day (assuming that my post-boil sanitation is near flawless)

It seems to me that option #2 would be far superior.

#2 - You are now in the realms of no chill. I've no chilled around 10 batches now and not one bad batch. When you finish your boil you can drain it into your primary as long as it's not a glass carboy or PET better bottle. I use buckets and cubes. Sanitize a piece of tin foil and lay it on top of the grommet hole or stuff a sanitized paper towel in the hole. The wort will shrink as it cools down and you don't want your bucket shrinking with it.

Do a search for "no chill", there's a couple of good threads.
 
I'd be worried about #2, simply because the wort is most vulnerable to infection between boiling and pitching. Mainly when the temps get below around 140 down to the 70's. Sitting overnight may increase that risk.

I've wanted to to use this method myself because even with my best efforts, it still takes me a while to cool to a good pitching temp. Those who know better than I, warned me of the vulnerability issue.
 
#2 - You are now in the realms of no chill. I've no chilled around 10 batches now and not one bad batch. When you finish your boil you can drain it into your primary as long as it's not a glass carboy or PET better bottle. I use buckets and cubes. Sanitize a piece of tin foil and lay it on top of the grommet hole or stuff a sanitized paper towel in the hole. The wort will shrink as it cools down and you don't want your bucket shrinking with it.

Do a search for "no chill", there's a couple of good threads.

Why can't I use a glass carboy with a rubber stopper?
 
2 reasons:

1) glass + boiling wort = bad news
2) hot wort shrinking 4% to make cool wort = rubber stopper inside carboy

Ahh...I plan on using a chiller to cool the wort. I just want to store the chilled wort in the sanitized glass carboy with a sanitized rubber stopper for 2 or 3 days.
 
I've done that before with no problems. Actually, I'm doing it right now. I haven't gone more than 18 hours like that, though, and if you plan to go longer I'd recommend dropping $5-10 on a HDPE "cube" and doing full no-chill. Less chance for problems that way, I suspect.
 
Ahh...I plan on using a chiller to cool the wort. I just want to store the chilled wort in the sanitized glass carboy with a sanitized rubber stopper for 2 or 3 days.

That would probably work, I think people are pushing the no-chill since it sanitizes the brewing vessel while it is closed and can be kept like that for quite a while before pitching.
 
Hahaha...wait, really? I have 73 beagles in the basement on giant hamster wheels generating electricity for a custom burner in my garage, so really, I am only out a few dead beagles.

You laugh now but Underdog is on his way. Mmuuaaahhahahahahaha
 
Ahh...I plan on using a chiller to cool the wort. I just want to store the chilled wort in the sanitized glass carboy with a sanitized rubber stopper for 2 or 3 days.

But why would you want to do that? If you're going mashing, boiling and chilling why not just pitch the yeast and be done with it? When you started the thread I figured you only had time to mash or mash/boil, but the only step you're skipping now is the least time intensive one.
 
But why would you want to do that? If you're going mashing, boiling and chilling why not just pitch the yeast and be done with it? When you started the thread I figured you only had time to mash or mash/boil, but the only step you're skipping now is the least time intensive one.

Because I bought a chest freezer this weekend but my Ranco & Thermowell haven't arrived. I also bought all the ingredients and equipment to do my first all-grain batch. I want to play with my new stuff ASAP but don't want to start fermentation until I have my temperature regulation stuff.
 
I'd be worried about #2, simply because the wort is most vulnerable to infection between boiling and pitching. Mainly when the temps get below around 140 down to the 70's. Sitting overnight may increase that risk.

Wort is not most vulnerable between boiling and pitching. #1 runs a MUCH higher risk. With #2, at least the wort itself doesn't have anything left alive in it, so you're just worrying about other things contaminating it. With #1, the wort is already contaminated from everything on the grain (including lacto).
 
Because I bought a chest freezer this weekend but my Ranco & Thermowell haven't arrived. I also bought all the ingredients and equipment to do my first all-grain batch. I want to play with my new stuff ASAP but don't want to start fermentation until I have my temperature regulation stuff.

Most temp in homes up north are already perfect for fermenting right now. I you have to I would just pitch the yeast. I'm sure you can find a room in your home where fermenting temp is perfect.
 
If you want to just leave your mash overnight, you can do that. I've had to do it a couple times, and I know others that have done it, as well. Just mash in and then leave it closed. Don't lauter, and you do not need to refrigeerate. It should not sour, as the mashing effectively pasteurizes the mash.

I don't know that I would leave it over two nights, though. I don't have any experience as to why, but it just feels weird.

Frankly, though, it sounds like you want to get into this just so that you can play with your new toys right now. If I were you, I would just wait to have everything before I brewed.


TL
 
I want to play with my new stuff ASAP but don't want to start fermentation until I have my temperature regulation stuff.

Ah, now I get it. I'm sure this isn't what you want to hear and others might disagree, but my gut would be to tell you to just wait the extra couple days to start your beer at all. You're laying out the coin for the chest freezer and temp control so that you can give your process the best chance at making great beer. Then you're compromising your process on the first batch you put in that great new equipment..

Think of how bummed you'll be if you taste your first batch fermented in your temp controlled yeast paradise only to find out that you pitched those yeast to into an infected wort. Not saying people don't make great beers with no chill methods, but if you've got a process that you're already comfortable with I'd focus on refining it and executing it perfectly every time rather than running experiments with refrigerated wort.
 
Hahaha...wait, really? I have 73 beagles in the basement on giant hamster wheels generating electricity for a custom burner in my garage, so really, I am only out a few dead beagles...which, by the way, only motivate the working beagles even more. It actually works out to net positive in terms of resource consumption.

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rotfl.
 
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