Is it safe to leave wort over night to cool?

[madkap_78]

I was brewing a double chocolate stout today. Everything was going great. When I started using my wort chiller to chill down the wort, one of the hose broke and water starting pouring everywhere, thankfully none got in the beer. The problem is I now have 115 degree wort and I don't know what to do. I siphoned it into the carboy and put a bung on it. I thought about leaving it in the garage and waiting till the temp comes down over night before putting the yeast starter in. Will this be an issue? Will it be ok to just pitch in the morning when it has cooled down to safe temperatures? Have any of you ever had this problem?

 

[Dangeruss]

You'll be okay all though you could do a water bath with some ice in a sink/bathtub/bucket/tote

 

[Miraculix]

I always leave my Wort on the hob to cool over night with the lids on and pour it into the fermenter the next day. Never had any issues, it is just quite handy. Don't know if this is the best way, but so far it worked for me.

In fact I have a nice spelt Stout chilling on my hon atm

 

[madkap_78]

Thanks. That puts me a ease. I was worried, I might have to dump it.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Many people do it. I almost always cool to around 100 and let it naturally drop to pitch temps overnight...youll be fine

If you use a ferm chamber put the carboy inside and set to pitch temp. Tomorrow youll be at the exact temp for pitching. It's my routine method

 

[Roadie]

Here in SC I find myself chilling to ground water temperature (80's) then putting into the fermentation fridge and pitching the next day. All summer I do this without issue so no big deal.

 

[Jwin]

My concern here is you said carboy, but didn't mention the material
If you put 115° wort in a glass carboys, you should be very careful with it until it has been emptied and inspected well for hairline cracks.
Pay close attention to where the bottom meets the sides as the bottom took the first blast of hot wort.

 

[glugglug]

+1 on above

 

[Lefou]

I always leave my Wort on the hob to cool over night with the lids on and pour it into the fermenter the next day. Never had any issues, it is just quite handy. Don't know if this is the best way, but so far it worked for me.

In fact I have a nice spelt Stout chilling on my hon atm

Just another variation of the "no chill" method.

 

[Miraculix]

Just another variation of the "no chill" method.

Brilliant, did not even know that a "no chill method" exists. Googled it, yep it is what I am doing. Also always alternate the hop schedule accordingly, seeing that the others do it this way as well gives some confidence.

 

[catdaddy66]

I cool to about 80-90° and fill up my primary, which then sits in the swamp cooler overnight to reach 65-68° for me to pitch early the next am.

 

[seatazzz]

If I'm too lazy to borrow my friend's plate chiller (or he's using it that day) I've got no problem leaving the wort in the keggle, covered with a clean towel with a fan pointed at it, until it cools down to pitching temp. I've done it several times with no problems at all and got good beer from it. It's a lot less work than sanitizing the hoses and the chiller, then the cleanup afterwards. I gave up on my IC a long time ago since it's a cheapo 3/8" x 25' SS that takes about 45 minutes to chill a 5 gallon batch down to 80. With "no chill" I can get almost everything cleaned up while I'm waiting to pitch and only have to clean the keggle after I've pumped into the fermenter.

 

[Jwin]

With "no chill" I can get almost everything cleaned up while I'm waiting to pitch and only have to clean the keggle after I've pumped into the fermenter.

How many hours/days does t take you to clean almost everything?
I thought I was a procrastinator.

Of you, or OP, want t continue do want the no chill path(and by all means do if you wish), consider obtaining some of the hdpe cubes that are popular on the Aussie forums(where no chill mostly originated due to water temp and usage restrictions). You can damp you hot wort in, squeeze ay remaining air out, and close it up. The wort sanitizes the cube, so no infection worry. Sorry seatazzz, but, to me, the ~$30 is well worth the risk over the towel and fan method. If it saves one bad batch, it pays for it's self, and maybe then some.
I don't have a link for the cubes, but you can find plenty of info with some Google fu.
Also, seatazzz, I as well as many others, have repurposed our old and short 3/8 chillers as prechillers.(this assumes you invest in another chiller) Cool as much as water temp will allow with your chiller. Turn off water. Place the old 3/8 chiller in bucket of ice water(I freeze mine in a 2g bucket) and put it in line before your chiller. This will drop your chilling water down significantly. You may even be able to recirculate your chiller water once you get down in the 80s or so, depending on the volume of ice used. Most use a cheap harbor freight pond pump to do so.
IIIFFF(if) I could travel back in time a few years I would:
1)Have used SS fo my current IC.(1/2, 50ft) instead of copper. I will eventually replace it with SS but until then I preboil my chiller. I later use that hot water for cleanup. If it looks cleaner coming out of boiled water, then God knows what that would have left in my beer.
2)Shaped my old chiller in a matter that fully drain when inverted(later re bent it, but not ideal).

Cheers.

 

[Jwin]

Also, as a happy Speidel 60l owner, I will note that they are rated by the company as safe up to 140°F iirc. They are hdpe 2, so I'm not sure why that is the limitation. Should he higher... maybe sure to the gaskets, spigots or simply liability.
Something to take into consideration if you ever look into a new fermentor.
I have pondered, but not executed, dropping a big steeping addition into my Speidel and racking 130-140° wort onto it and transferring it to the ferm fridge to chill overnight.
My only worry in doing so is the extra trub added. I would have to whirlpool and let the kettle settle first...

 

[Lefou]

Was looking at the Speidel lineup a couple days ago. The HDPE containers would make great replacements for glass carboy fermenters.

 

[popsicleian]

Also, as a happy Speidel 60l owner, I will note that they are rated by the company as safe up to 140°F iirc. They are hdpe 2, so I'm not sure why that is the limitation. Should he higher... maybe sure to the gaskets, spigots or simply liability.
Something to take into consideration if you ever look into a new fermentor.
I have pondered, but not executed, dropping a big steeping addition into my Speidel and racking 130-140° wort onto it and transferring it to the ferm fridge to chill overnight.
My only worry in doing so is the extra trub added. I would have to whirlpool and let the kettle settle first...

I mostly use corny kegs for no-chilling (and fermenting), but I also have 2 Speidel fermenters. I have successfully done 2 no chill beers in the Speidels--I racked from the kettle right after flameout, so the wort going in was 200+ degrees. Manufacturer claims to the contrary, they can handle the temp just fine. I would not seal it up, however, as I don't think it could handle steam expansion nor the cooling vacuum--I use a foam stopper, boiled then soaked in starsan.