In Charlies book he says to pour the wort into the fermenter with water right away after the boil. In Palmers book he says the wort has to be cooled to 80 degrees first and then add water. Has anybody done this both ways and does it affect the taste?
Cool Wort with water?
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fartinmartin
Well-Known Member
You dont want to be adding air to the wort till its cold.
Hot side aeration is a myth, at least at home brew scales. It's been repeatedly debunked.
I'd go with pouring the water in while the wort is hot. It will help with the cooling that way!
I'd go with pouring the water in while the wort is hot. It will help with the cooling that way!
Depends on the temp of the wort. Provided once mixed with the water it is at pitching temp, yes, go ahead. If not, then no. It takes much longer to cool a larger volume of water to pitch temp then a smaller volume. If you pitch while the wort is too hot you just have to wait that much longer for the whole batch to cool.
What they're saying is that the wort needs to be cooled before you add the yeast. It doesn't matter at all when you add the water - you can add it in the fermenter, or add water to the kettle and pour the whole mix into the fermenter. 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of the other.
The only thing you DON'T want to do is pour hot wort into the fermenter because plastic will warp and glass will be thermal shocked. You can, however, add your cold topoff water to the fermenter and slowly add hot wort so that the temps equalize to something safe.
The only thing you DON'T want to do is pour hot wort into the fermenter because plastic will warp and glass will be thermal shocked. You can, however, add your cold topoff water to the fermenter and slowly add hot wort so that the temps equalize to something safe.
brent77
Well-Known Member
Not entirely true. I'd have to agree with what the guy before your post said. It will drop the temperature of your wort down a bit if you add the water to the hot wort. However, like he said the temperature of a smaller volume of water will drop more quickly, than a larger volume of water. Better to chill it down as far as possible, then add the water when its dropped, and it will bring the temp down further. If you're using jugs of spring/DI/RO you can put them in your fridge for a bit too which helps drop the temp even more when you top off. Also, I've dumped hot wort into buckets multiple times, they are pretty resilient and didn't warp one bit, but it may stress the plastic and not last quite as long.
Um yeah! Why no one say ice is better? In my extract days I would fill my bucket 1/3 with ice cubes and dump the boiling wort right in and then top it with ice if needed! Bam and you're ready to pitch! Just thought I would share 
dannyhawkins
Well-Known Member
Um yeah! Why no one say ice is better? In my extract days I would fill my bucket 1/3 with ice cubes and dump the boiling wort right in and then top it with ice if needed! Bam and you're ready to pitch! Just thought I would share
Ice can be unsanitary depending on where you get it and who you ask. Thats why it is not unanimously recommended.
I used it for a while when I started out with no problems. Then I decided not to chance it and I eventually got a chiller and started using the ice outside the pot instead of inside, works good that way too.
Ice can save alot of time but its up to you if you want to use it.
I've used ice a few times, but always ice I made from either store bought distilled water or pre-boiled water and frozen in sanitized Tupperware, never store bought ice. Really speeds up the cooling process, but requires a little bit of planning ahead to prepare the ice. In my mind, combine this with a bath of cold/ice water and this is the way to go as long as you're careful about it.
John
John
CircusHooker
Well-Known Member
Um yeah! Why no one say ice is better? In my extract days I would fill my bucket 1/3 with ice cubes and dump the boiling wort right in and then top it with ice if needed! Bam and you're ready to pitch! Just thought I would share
This is what I do for every batch. 14# of ice in my bucket and I pour the wort over the top. Works like a charm.
DoublePeak
New Member
still only a few brews in to this hobby but during my previous brew got 2 gal of wort down to 85 and had 4 gallons of bottled water waiting in the freezer for about 4 hours. Combined the wort and bottled water and leveled to about 63F after aeration, this seems like a super easy way to get the temp down quick.
