So.... how do you chill?

[iamwhatiseem]

... the wort that is.

I use an immersion chiller. I like the ease of cleanup, and not having to worry about thoroughly cleaning the lines of a counterflow etc.
I use to do it like most, hooking it up to a faucet/spigot and wasting a ton of water. But during the summer it just took waaay too long. And I didn't like wasting all that water.
So I got the idea of using one of the 10 gal cooler/mash ton and filling it with ice water...use the steelhead pump I have and recirculating it.
Worked real quick at first, but the ice would melt very quickly and although I got the wort down to around 90 within a few minutes, I struggled to get it cooler.
Soo...it didn't take long to figure out I need to not recirculate in the first minute or two when the water coming out is so hot.
Long story short.... I use 3 small bags of ice, the rest water...at the beginning drain the water into an old carboy for about 2-3 gallons and then recirculate.
I can get the wort from boiling to the 70's in about 7-8 minutes.

 

[VikeMan]

Sounds like you discovered the "secret" to ice water immersion chilling, i.e. use (just) water until the temp change slows noticeably, then switch to ice water pump.

This beats the "pre-chiller" method, and it's not even close. Back in the day, I built a second chiller (hand wound and perhaps the ugliest piece of gear ever) to use as a pre-chiller and it's been gathering dust for the last 10 years or so.

 

[Paul_Aris]

Built this counterflow years ago and it works awesome. Usually have to throttle hose way down

 

[Paul_Aris]

 

[iamwhatiseem]

One of the things I love about brewing is all of the DIY little projects/methods that people develop to solve problems.
As in a different thread here, I wanted to build a venting system to get all of the heat/humidty out of the brewroom.
I was trying to figure out what to use for the "hood" and someone here posted up a pic where they used a cheap metal commercial grade mixing bowl. So that is what I did and it works perfect!
Love it

 

[Transamguy77]

I get not wasting water, I used to fill my washing machine, in the winter the bath tub and give the kids a bath and if I was able to brew 2 days in a row I would use it for my mash and sparge water.

I just moved and I was wondering where I was going to put my waste water now.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I get not wasting water, I used to fill my washing machine, in the winter the bath tub and give the kids a bath and if I was able to brew 2 days in a row I would use it for my mash and sparge water.

I just moved and I was wondering where I was going to put my waste water now.

We water plants with it, we have a large fountain on the property with fish in it. I will pour it in there in dry months to replenish the water.

 

[Paul_Aris]

I get not wasting water, I used to fill my washing machine, in the winter the bath tub and give the kids a bath and if I was able to brew 2 days in a row I would use it for my mash and sparge water.

I just moved and I was wondering where I was going to put my waste water now.

My keggle gravity drains into my counterflow chilller then from there into my fermentor. It takes me about 20 mintues to drain the entire 11 gallonsthrougy my chiller. So I have to throlle the water way down and I have a ball valve on the end of my output hose I have to turn to almost shut. When its 50-60 outside It takes my wort down to 64 degrees with everything throttle back and just a light spray coming out of the output water hose. So I barely have the water on at that point. On a hot day in the summer just turn the hose on a little higher.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Okay so I timed it today... not as awesome as I thought....but what do you think?

212 degree start
4min - 138
5 min - 120
6 min - 108
7 min - 98
8 min - 90
10 min 84
12 min - 80
15 min - 74 - stopped

 

[Dave Sarber]

I fill my sink with cold water, then put a swamp cooler pump in there and hook it to my immersion chiller, with the return hose going to my other sink. My cold tap water runs about 78° (yesterday).
When the wort temp gets down to 100-120, I dump a bag of ice in the first sink, and move the return hose to the first sink.

 

[VikeMan]

Okay so I timed it today... not as awesome as I thought....but what do you think?

212 degree start
4min - 138
5 min - 120
6 min - 108
7 min - 98
8 min - 90
10 min 84
12 min - 80
15 min - 74 - stopped

That doesn't seem too awful. A lot depends on ground water temperature, up until you switch to ice water. Around here (PA), ground water has been warming up lately.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

That doesn't seem too awful. A lot depends on ground water temperature, up until you switch to ice water. Around here (PA), ground water has been warming up lately.

Funny how you think time passes, and then actually time it - and your not even close
Would rather get it down to 10 minutes. During the summer, it just may not be possible.

 

[VikeMan]

Funny how you think time passes, and then actually time it - and your not even close
Would rather get it down to 10 minutes. During the summer, it just may not be possible.

Just curious... why are you shooting for 10 minutes?

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Just curious... why are you shooting for 10 minutes?

I don't know...
I guess because I was disappointed after I thought it was half that time.
Silly I suppose

 

[Yesfan]

I have a plate chiller and an immersion chiller. Lately, I've been just chilling down to about 100-90F and just let it chill on down naturally to mid 60s, then pitch my yeast. I've not timed mine doing it this way vs trying to chill all the way to pitching temps. I know with an immersion it takes forever in the middle of July to cool to pitch temps (if I can even get there) if I don't employ some sort of ice water recirculating method. My plate chiller seems a bit quicker, but not noticeable to me and then there's the clogging potential when brewing hoppy beers.

I used to fill a 36qt cooler with ice water and use a sump pump to recirculate through my im chiller that until the pump I used for recirculating bit the dust. Never thought about using the mashtun to hold the ice water and my chugger to recirculate it. I may have to think about going back to this method.

The current idea I have was chill to 100-80 (depending on season) or to the point where it more or less stops dropping. Then, pump the wort to my conical and use a glychol setup to chill it on down to pitching temps. The goal for me is to chill as quickly as possible with the simpliest way possible.

 

[SouthBounds]

I have a slightly over sized plate chiller. 5 gallons takes under 10 minutes from 212d to 78d. I put a sprinkler on the output and water my lawn.

 

[Stand]

I do similar method to what OP does, except I freeze water bottles. I take it to about 90-100 with ground water and then use a cheapo pond pump to recirculate cold water.

I live in NC, so mid-summer I might buy a bag of ice as well.

Made beer yesterday, and I think it took about 20 min.

 

[wepeeler]

After using a cheapo SS immersion chiller for my 5 gallon batches, which took about 20 min to cool to pitching temps, I picked up a Jaded Hydra. It's insane how fast it works. The smaller one would barely cool my 10 gallon batches, but the Hydra cooled 10 gallons in about 15-20 min. Takes 5-7 minutes for a 5 gallon batch with 50 degree ground water from hose. It's a thing of beauty.

 

[Stand]

50 degree ground water is a thing of never in my neck of the woods, but those are slick chillers!

 

[wepeeler]

50 degree ground water is a thing of never in my neck of the woods, but those are slick chillers!

Usually only works for me from late Fall to early Spring. In the Summer, I use a pump and cooler to recirculate ice water, after running the first 7 or so gallons into the garden. The Hydra is the real deal though. Amazing piece of equipment.

 

[Taylor Jackson]

I used to use an immersion chiller, then converted it to a counterflow chiller. For the last few years, I haven't even bothered with that...now I use the no chill method. Just put it outside for a while, then into my fermentation chamber to get it to pitch temp. Never noticed a single difference in my beer compared to chilling fast.

 

[Stand]

I think no chill is an awesome idea. Haven't tried it, but rock on.

 

[day_trippr]

15 minutes boil to pitch is pretty darned good, should drop break material like rocks.
Best I ever did was 13 minutes (~11 gallons post-chilled) and thought that was like a moon shot

Cheers!

 

[verboten]

I just ordered the stainless hydra, it’s one of the last pieces to streamline my day

 

[seatazzz]

My little 20-plate chiller gets my wort from 180 (usually do a whirlpool) to 68 in less than 8 minutes. Granted, I'm usually chilling the wort around 8-9am when the ground water is still pretty cold. The "waste" water gets used in cleaning or watering the lawn. In the summer I get it down to 80 then set the fermenter in the kegerator to finish chilling down to pitching temps.

 

[Andy Brosius]

I have the Blichmann plate chiller, but my ground water is so hot (nearly 100 F) that it's basically worthless. Even combining it with a (small) immersion chiller, I struggle to cool the wort down to the high 80s, and even that takes a very long time (30 minutes).

Until I figure out some sort of solution, I'm stuck with ice baths.

 

[IBRUTOO]

Split water to 3/8" 50' immersion and 40 plate chiller (use hose quick disconnects to simplify setup and teardown). Circulate with riptide and whirlpool arm. Put plate chiller in a bucket of cold water and go from boil to 70 in 4-5 mins for 6.5-7 gallons. Tap is around 65f. First bit of waste water put in buckets for cleaning then to gutter downspout.

Trying to shorten brew day was my reason to add the plate chiller and think there is more to get on the heating side.

Next thing I want to speed up is temp ramp for strike water and boil. Use propane currently and going to use a hotrod heat stick with my propane to heat strike water faster. Thinking heat stick from then on to control mash and not caramelize wort during ramp to boil but might try both there with lots of circulation with riptide.

 

[jonny24]

I usually shut the burner off, put the lid on, and come back the next day.

I do have an IC that I built, but it's a bit of a hassle to drag out. And I just changed taps in my kitchen so now it doesn't fit.

 

[Carolina_Matt]

I have a 50' stainless steel immersion chiller that I got pretty cheap about two years ago. It's not as efficient as the Hydra, but it does well. In the winter I'm down to the 70's in less than 10 minutes. I run the waste water into my garden, even though it's not necessary in the winter.

In the summer it hits a plateau around 90 degrees because the ground water is too warm. I hook up the hose to a sprinkler and water my front yard with it. I've thought about getting a pump and recirculating ice water to get from 90 degrees to 70 degrees, but I feel like it would just be a hassle. Instead, I put the 90 degree wort into my fermenting keg and just let it stay in the chest freezer (fermentation chamber) until it gets down to pitching temperature. It typically takes about 2-3 hours, but it's hands off so the time doesn't bother me.

No-chill would be the easiest way, obviously, but at the very least I'd like to get it under 170 so that the hop bitterness is more predictable.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I used to use an immersion chiller, then converted it to a counterflow chiller. For the last few years, I haven't even bothered with that...now I use the no chill method. Just put it outside for a while, then into my fermentation chamber to get it to pitch temp. Never noticed a single difference in my beer compared to chilling fast.

I have certainly read about the no chill method... of course it is attractive. Chilling is the least favorite part of brewing beer for me, time conusiming... a lot of setup etc.
So if I felt I could get the same result by skipping chilling and just pop the fermenter in the chamber and just wait till the next day to pitch - I am on it.
But, the reports I have read, and people's experience it is very hit and miss. Like yourself, I read people saying everything was fine... then just as many saying they would never do it again as their beer tasted different.
Glad it works for you... maybe I will try it

 

[Jim R]

There are good scientific reasons to cool the wort fast. I definitely wouldn't skip that step. It doesn't even take that long. I use the time to clean up and I also use the first hot water from the immersion chiller for my clean up water.

Here are John Palmers ideas.

http://howtobrew.com/book/section-1/boiling-and-cooling/cooling-the-wort

 

[Taylor Jackson]

Completely agree that there's good science on beneficial reasons to chill fast. But while Palmer mentions oxidation, DMS and chill haze, if it's happening, it's not to a degree that I can recognize.

Brulosophy did identify a difference, but primarily mentioned higher hop utilization. That is a difference I noticed too, but was easy to adjust for.

If any of you are intrigued by the idea, it might be worth an experiment of your own.

 

[Teufelhunde]

Ice water bath in the sink......20 minutes.....

 

[Yesfan]

I've been looking at those Hydras. Pretty slick looking chiller. What kinda of times are you Hydra owners getting for cooling down a 5 and/or 10 gallon from boiling to 70F? If you're able to post times, please include the temp of the ground water if able.

My immersion chiller is the one from More Beer that has the recirc arm. The plate chiller is a Duda Deisel I think (bought it used from a club member). I don't know what times I'm getting, but the next batch or two I'm going to try to document what my numbers are. I'd like to be a lot more efficient in that area.

 

[IBRUTOO]

Stick the plate chiller in an ice bucket when chilling and it will cool really fast!

 

[Yesfan]

Stick the plate chiller in an ice bucket when chilling and it will cool really fast!

I have a dial thermo installed on my plate chiller. Wouldn't fully immersing it in ice water ruin it?

 

[Dland]

Right after BK off, I run low volume water though immersion coil, takes about 4 gallons & 4 minutes slow flow at 56f well temp through a 50 ft SS coil to drop from boiling to around 170F. Cooling water is quite hot at end, save for cleaning.

Then wort is gravity fed into cleaned out MT (4th vessel)though leaf hops in fine mesh SS spider for a flavor hop step and clears up wort., then pumped though plate cooler into fermentor in cellar. That cooling step takes about 10-12 mins. Wort usually is usually in low to mid '60sF at end of process in winter, warmer in summer by about 10F.

If still to warm to pitch for particular yeast, fermentor is chilled with DYI glycol rig. Celler is pretty cool so usually only have to do that in summer/early fall.

 

[day_trippr]

I have a dial thermo installed on my plate chiller. Wouldn't fully immersing it in ice water ruin it?

I'm going to believe that was a joke, because how is immersing a PLATE CHILLER going to actually do anything beneficial to the inner passages - and given the two outer passages carry cooling water?

Cheers!

 

[IBRUTOO]

It helps dissapate heat in the chiller itself, ever touched it when cooling down the wort? Conduction works,can also help a bit if tap water isn't that cold. Wouldn't submerge the dial temp gauge, I don't use one on the chiller but have two probes in the wort and a dial in the kettle.

 

[myndflyte]

If you're going with an immersion chiller, I can't recommend enough the hydra. The thing is a beast and I use a 5 gallon paint stirrer attached to a drill to move the wort around while chilling. With the ground water still being cold, I can get down to pitching temp in under 10 min. Once it warms up, I just use an aquarium pump to recirculate ice water. It was definitely worth the investment.