Open pot (keggle) during chilling process

I use a counterflow chiller and I can usually chill a 5 gallon batch in 15-20 minutes.

However, during that time, I'm always kind of scared some wild yeast or bug is going to find its way into the boil kettle via the air and ruin my batch since the wort is no longer boiling or hot enough to kill any intruders.

It hasn't happened yet, but is this something I should worry about?

If you are using a counterflow chiller, then the wort isn't getting chilled until it goes through the chiller. The wort in the BK is still around 200-210 degrees...plenty hot to kill anything that would drop into it.

Remember: the "danger zone" for microbial growth is 40-140F. If the wort in your BK is dropping below 140F before you get it through your CFC, then something is wrong.

Probably not. It's never been an issue for me. You could put foil over the kettle while chilling to keep the nasties out.

You could find a lid that fits your boil kettle.

My chiller doesn't chill in one pass from boiling. I have it going back into the kettle, then when it actually starts getting to the mid 70s I put it into my fermenter.

Am I doing this wrong?

badmajon said:

My chiller doesn't chill in one pass from boiling. I have it going back into the kettle, then when it actually starts getting to the mid 70s I put it into my fermenter.

Am I doing this wrong?

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Lots of guys have to do that if their chillers don't cool in one pass... well, for other reasons too.. but no, that's not "wrong". If you are worried I would do as the others suggested, find a lid to fit.

I am wondering though, maybe its not an issue, if something gets in (like a few spores of wild yeast), isn't it going to be overwhelmed by the yeast I pitch a few minutes later?

I have always left the lid off of my kettle when cooling simply because I need all the help I can get. The ground water here is too warm to chill 5 gallons quickly enough as it is. I have never had a problem.

Since the keggle was hot a short bit before it starts out ok, and as long as you're in a clean-ish environment you should be fine.

I think I know what you mean, though. Last week I brewed outside under one of our spruce trees and it sprinkled a few old needles into the cooling brew whiich worried me a little. Then a few days ago it was extremely windy and I was worried about dirt blowing in so I cam inside to do the cooling.

All this to say - I think if you watch the environment you're in and use common sense you'll be fine.

B

Wingfan13 said:

I have always left the lid off of my kettle when cooling simply because I need all the help I can get. The ground water here is too warm to chill 5 gallons quickly enough as it is. I have never had a problem.

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Same for me.

i use an immersion chiller and it takes about 20 minutes to get to pitching temp. i've never used a lid over it while cooling. i wouldn't sweat it too much if I were you. as long as you are pitching a good, healthy crop of yeast, it shouldn't be a problem.

You do realize you are inoculating your wort, if pitching correctly, with millions of yeast cells right? Any stray microbes that do make into the wort are going to be out competed very quickly. Unless you are brewing in a clean room your cooling wort is constantly being exposed to microbes in the environment. This is why it is so important to make a starter and pitch the proper amount of yeast.

Darwin18 said:

You do realize you are inoculating your wort, if pitching correctly, with millions of yeast cells right? Any stray microbes that do make into the wort are going to be out competed very quickly. Unless you are brewing in a clean room your cooling wort is constantly being exposed to microbes in the environment. This is why it is so important to make a starter and pitch the proper amount of yeast.

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That's sort of what I was thinking before, so I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. Thanks for all the replies though, I won't worry about it any more.

darwin18 said:

you do realize you are inoculating your wort, if pitching correctly, with a couple of hundred billion of yeast cells right? Any stray microbes that do make into the wort are going to be out competed very quickly. Unless you are brewing in a clean room your cooling wort is constantly being exposed to microbes in the environment. This is why it is so important to make a starter and pitch the proper amount of yeast.

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ftfy