Wort Chiller... Cover Brew Pot?

I'm thinking over the process of using a wort chiller.

It seems to me to be a bad idea to just let the brew pot sit open and exposed while it's chilling. Do you just leave it exposed or do you cover it with something? If you're covering it, what are you using?

Thanks for the help!

i've been wanting to get a wort chiller, just hasn't happened in the cards yet. i dotn think you should leave the top off of the brew pot. i normally place the brew pot in the sink, fill with cold water and do this over and over a few times (as the water gets warm...fast) and let it sit like an hour or so. can't remember hwo long it takes for sure. if you have alot of ice this could help cool it quicker.

I cover the brewpot with the lid. With the chiller in, it's a little open on the side but better than nothing.

I keep mine covered with the lid. I cut out a small notch that allows the chiller pipes through. Once the boiling is done your wort/beer is subject to contamination so anything you can do to prevent that you should.

I don't cover mine, because an immersion chiller works best if you stir the wort every few minutes.

but I also chill in the kitchen, with teh room closed off from dogs (no kids) so the chance of something falling in from above to contaminate is almost nil.

haven't have a problem yet.

I cover as much of it as I can with lid from a pot & pan set.

I leave it uncovered so I can give the wort a stir occasionally. I brew in the garage. Haven't had a problem yet.

Never bothered and never had a problem.

orfy said:

Never bothered and never had a problem.

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Ditto. I've never covered, and I've had one contaminated batch in about 15 years (and I attribute that to something else).

Now, if I were concerned about stuff falling out of trees and into the beer, I might cover (or just cool it under a cover). Otherwise, I want to cool that beer down as quickly as I can, and that means leaving the cover off.


TL

I leave my pot uncovered when chilling with my IC. I'm stirring it pretty much the whole time to speed the cooling process.

uncovered or covered works fine......I would suggest you sanitize your lid though, as steam from the wort will create droplets that may pick up bugs from the lid. I always revert back to the "Ancient" argument; that is, "Hey, they made good beer 500 years ago, without these conditions!"

Do whatever makes you less paranoid about your beer!

ScubaSteve said:

"Hey, they made good beer 500 years ago, without these conditions!"

Do whatever makes you less paranoid about your beer!

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I couldn't agree more

Just tossing out an idea here - I have no idea if this is correct, but it seems like if the objective is to cool the wort as quickly as possible that you'd want to leave the lid off so that more heat can escape quickly ?? Just an idea.

I cover mine with a clean towel. It keeps bugs & leaves out while letting the steam escape without condensing and falling back into the wort.

EdWort said:

I cover mine with a clean towel. It keeps bugs & leaves out while letting the steam escape without condensing and falling back into the wort.

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Same here. A little off topic, I bought a huge package of bar mops (cheap hand towels) at Sam's Club for really cheap and they are great for brewing. I use them for cleaning up wort spills, as potholders when dealing with the hot brew kettle/lid, toss one on the floor to protect it when I bring the brew kettle inside to hook up the IC to the sink, lay a clean one over the kettle during chilling, and then use them to clean out the kettle at the end - just to name a few uses. Then the pile of them goes right into the washing machine afterward.

orfy said:

Never bothered and never had a problem.

Click to expand...

+1 ..........

I'm usually a little more concerned once the wort temp hits 130F or lower especially since I sometimes mill my grain in the same garage where I brew. I cover the pot as soon as the temp hits 140F and leave it there but then again, I use a CFC so I don't need to stir.

Uncovered for me (using an immersion chiller). The cooling process is a lot faster when you can stir.