Wort chiller leaked tap water into brew

About five minutes into chilling, we noticed that one of the chiller coils was leaking water into our wort.

How much of an effect will this have?
Will our beer be infected?
Thanks

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The effect (assuming no infection) will be negligible. That was likely a very small amount of water getting into the brew.

Regarding infection, I don't know. Chances aren't great, but it is possible. What was the temperature of the wort when you noticed the leak? If it was above about 150f, I wouldn't worry at all. (Above 160, pasteurization is almost immediate; above 150, it's slower but still under 30seconds, IIRC.)

Keep in mind brewers don't sterilize, they sanitize. Every surface your beer touches has MINIMAL bacterial on it. Minimal is more than none. You added an additional minimal amount of bacteria. An infection is possible, but I'm not concerned.

Let it ride....
Most likely it will be OK.
Only time will tell for sure.

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The same happened to my last batch... Ill check my connections next time...

It'll probably be fine.

That happened to me once. Turned to to be one of my best batches.

Had this happen on several occasions with no issues in the final product.

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Okay, I feel a lot better. We were pretty annoyed when we first noticed the leak.
Thanks again

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The question now is why did it leak? Do you have compression fittings or soldered fittings? Or just hose clamps over the copper/vinyl connection?

Hose clamps. Quick tighten with screwdriver fixed everything.

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Its happened to me once with ill effects. **Preface, I had a few beers this brewday** The output line was on its last leg and busted as soon as I cranked on the hose, so some hose water got into the batch. A quick repair later and it was working fine, until it busted again...So more water got in the now cooler wort. Found some new, denser hosing, fixed again, and the chiller was fine. But the beer def got infected. Now the water I was using was some dirty hose water and a decent amount got in, so I speculate that is why mine resulted that way

I've had good luck doubling up on the hose clamps to make sure the hoses are secure and no leak is possible.

I'm sure it will be fine ferment away and enjoy.


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Not sure if you're using one or not but this is a good time to mention the importance of a yeast starter. If you haven't used them before I suggest looking into making one for every batch you brew. Not only will this ensure that you are pitching a lot of good healthy yeast, but it should also lower the chances for an infection. Pitching a large volume of healthy yeast will make it difficult for any other microorganisms to thrive simultaneously in the presence of all the yeast.


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We used a yeast starter and fermentation was going crazy within 12 hours. There was chunks the size of marbles flying around inside.

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