Quick cool down before pitching?

Doing my second brew tonight, and with an ice bath in my sink, it still took close to an hour and a half before I could get my wort down to 68 to pitch the yeast.

Without a wort chiller (already spent well over my beer budget this month...), what's the best strategy to speed that up? If it takes an hour+ to get it down to temp, what am I risking?

Throw in 6 frozen water bottles, I can get mine to pitching temp within 20 minutes.

Before I got mine (get one as soon as the money comes to you, you WON'T be sorry) I would add plenty of salt to the ice water (like how you make ice-cream) and I would make frequent Ice/water batch changes. Also keep moving the water around the kettle moving. As the water gets warm around the sides of it, swirl more in.

If you notice the water start to get warm, drain the sink, add more ice, salt, and water, and proceed.

In the last 15 minutes of the boil, drop your brew spoon inside the kettle, and don't touch it, that way it will be sterile. Every little while stir the wort to move it against the cooler sides of the kettle. Also have a thermometer in there, either a floating one, or one hanging from the side....

After a couple of ice changes, partially cover your drain with something, but leave it partially open so water flows down SLOWLY (I could actually position my kettle to block the drain, and put a small plate under it to lift one little corner of it, OR if you have a double sink, let the water overflow into the other sink and drain, and turn the faucet on to a slow to medium trickle to keep the water moving and changing.

Hope this helps

What Revy said...the salt and the stirring of the wort and ice water made a dramatic difference for me. I actually have to rush around and get my yeast ready if I want to pitch it around the 60s.

Check under your sink for leaks after you do this. I did this several times in my sink and the weight cracked a drain pipe and I had a hell of a mess in my basement. The Sink is upstairs... DOH

Check out my latest cheap wort cooler thread.

RIC0 said:

Check under your sink for leaks after you do this. I did this several times in my sink and the weight cracked a drain pipe and I had a hell of a mess in my basement. The Sink is upstairs... DOH

Check out my latest cheap wort cooler thread.

Click to expand...

Yup,on my tax time honeydo list. Except it was the right side where the insinkerator is,& the seals on the damn faucet. It's a Moen too. Cheap junk. Now I gotta replace the cabinet too. Good think Blowe's has it for about $65. Might be able to do the whole job better for $200 or a bit less. And pipe dope on the PVC connectors with those lil plastic valve seat insert-lookin things. I'll seal this damn thing up yet.

My tap water is sanitary. I boil down to 4 gallons and add 1 gallon of ice. 10 minutes (or there-a-bout)