Why use a chiller?

[Knittycat]

Other than getting the wort to yeast-pitching temperature quickly, is there any advantage to using a chiller? Does it improve the taste of the beer somehow? What happens if you don't use a chiller?

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Using a chiller is useful for a few reasons, most notably:

- Quick chilling creates a "cold break" in which proteins coagulate and drop out of suspension. This prevents chill haze in your later product

- Quick chilling discourages the creation of DMS (dimethyl sulfide) which can lend a cooked corn taste to you final product

- You can get your wort from boiling to pitching temperatures in 10-20 minutes (depending on size of coil) with very little effort on your part

Hope that helps.

 

[pericles]

DMS precursers form in wort that is in the in-between temperatures after boiling and before pitching. Wort that sits for a long time at 120 is therefore more likely to have a lot of DMS in the final beer. If you don't like the flavor of DMS, then yes, rapid cooling will improve the taste of the beer.

 

[spokaniac]

From what I've read, improvement in taste comes from minimizing the time the wort sits in the temperature range that DMS is formed but not boiled off. Not sure how huge this is, for me it is more a question of not twiddling my thumbs for half an hour.

 

[H-ost]

On the other hand...

I get a ton of cold break after my wort sits over night, I have a ton more solids settle to the bottom after an overnight chill than compared to when I used a chiller.

I've never heard of DMS being a result of slow cooling but I can say it is no issue for me.

 

[ludomonster]

From what I've read, improvement in taste comes from minimizing the time the wort sits in the temperature range that DMS is formed but not boiled off. Not sure how huge this is, for me it is more a question of not twiddling my thumbs for half an hour.

It depends on how much light grain you have and the length of your boil. If you boil for 90 minutes, you'll have a little more than half the DMS than was present at 60 minutes. DMS has a half-life of about 40 minutes.

When the wort is hot, DMS will form and part of the purpose of the boil is to let it evaporate. Eventually, you have to stop and leave some of the precursors to DMS in the wort. You drop the temperature rapidly to prevent it.

 

[Knittycat]

My biggest concern I suppose is that it seems like it wastes a lot of water. I may live in the swamps of Texas now, but I was born and raised in the deserts of Utah. Wasting water is so verbotten to me that I just can't get my mind around the idea of letting the water run down the drain for 15-20 minutes.
Are there other options for quick chilling other than ice? Are there water conserving techniques y'all would care to share?

 

[ChickenArise]

On the other hand...

I get a ton of cold break after my wort sits over night, I have a ton more solids settle to the bottom after an overnight chill than compared to when I used a chiller.

I've never heard of DMS being a result of slow cooling but I can say it is no issue for me.

The speed at which you cool will primarily affect the particle size when the proteins coagulate (think of water vapor condensing into rain drops). You can definitely clear beer with less/no chilling, but a fast chill will sink the coagulated proteins like rocks.

 

[H-ost]

@ChickenArise My example is just speaking from personal experience but I get much more "stuff" settled out after ~24 hours.

@Knittycat No-chill sounds like it is right up your alley, it uses no extra water, it is nothing "new", and many many people use it. That said, if you want to minimize your water usage and still use a chiller you would need to get a pump, a kiddy pool, and a lot of ice. With that you can recirculate the same cooling water until you are down to temp.

 

[Knittycat]

The speed at which you cool will primarily affect the particle size when the proteins coagulate (think of water vapor condensing into rain drops). You can definitely clear beer with less/no chilling, but a fast chill will sink the coagulated proteins like rocks.

This is good to know!

 

[Reno_eNVy]

My biggest concern I suppose is that it seems like it wastes a lot of water. I may live in the swamps of Texas now, but I was born and raised in the deserts of Utah. Wasting water is so verbotten to me that I just can't get my mind around the idea of letting the water run down the drain for 15-20 minutes.
Are there other options for quick chilling other than ice? Are there water conserving techniques y'all would care to share?

I run the output of my chiller to the washing machine. It's usually just enough to run a load of laundry. No water wasted.

 

[BrewTutorials]

My biggest concern I suppose is that it seems like it wastes a lot of water. I may live in the swamps of Texas now, but I was born and raised in the deserts of Utah. Wasting water is so verbotten to me that I just can't get my mind around the idea of letting the water run down the drain for 15-20 minutes.
Are there other options for quick chilling other than ice? Are there water conserving techniques y'all would care to share?

I collect mine in buckets and use for cleaning and sanitizing or watering my plants.

 

[duboman]

I run my water into a rain barrel and then use it to water the veggies and the hops!

 

[Knittycat]

I run the output of my chiller to the washing machine. It's usually just enough to run a load of laundry. No water wasted.

Clever!

 

[eastoak]

I run the output of my chiller to the washing machine. It's usually just enough to run a load of laundry. No water wasted.

you could argue that a top loading washing machine is a water waster but that's for another forum i think.