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Most people go to the store regularly (whether that's for soda and Doritos or for something else). If you don't go to the grocery store, this process isn't for you. If you forget to go to the store and you don't have a chiller or a bag of ice, you can cover your wort (in the kettle or...

Time and cost. The chiller will never be as cheap as bags of ice, even over many batches. And while 22 minutes isn't a long cool time, there still is setup, sanitation, and storage to account for. I hesitate to recommend this practice to some specific group. I think anyone can do this and...

I think 5 years is probably an exaggeration. A 1.5 year median wouldn't shock me, and some 5 year junk getting blended in wouldn't shock me. Stuff that old probably goes to livestock. I agree with you and others... If it tastes good and has a good crush, it should be fine. The enemies are bugs...

Sure. If my batches come out infection free, does it matter?

Oh, you're all good. I knew I wouldn't be the only person doing this. I'm glad you chimed in!

You're right. My broader point on the subject is just that we also don't know what kind of condition the water from the store is in, but we accept that it's 100% problem free without question. We don't know what that facility (or the total supply chain) look like either. I do...

I mean... maybe a bit. And I kid you not, threads about brewing with snow come up every winter. That's a little too daring for me. Discussing pros and cons is fine, and I appreciate the skepticism. I think we should be just as skeptical of the things we've come to believe are safe and normal...

I like this suggestion. I suppose someone could take a one gallon container, fill it with RO, put it in the freezer, and then drop the ice in the bucket or kettle. There's no reason it can't scale. I would challenge the assumption that the bagged ice is less sanitary. That's speculation.

Topping off with distilled water is a common practice.

I'm not at all shocked that someone else did this first. There's a lot of smart people out there. Just sharing my experience. Nice to hear it worked well for you and your friend.

That's a good question... I think if it's stored in a clean dry place, it can stay good for a long time. Even in grain bins (which are gross), grains stay good a long time. I guess the enemies are mold and rodents. If you can keep those away...

Asking if there are contaminants in the ice is the wrong question. There are. There are also contaminants in RO bought from the store, in the water from your faucet, in water you boil and leave on the stove to cool, and in all your brewing equipment. Assuming these contaminants can infect your...

Thanks for the support, haha. I know there are some great engineered solutions, like your immersion chiller that runs on a pump. I'm sure yours is excellent (and really cool (see what I did there)). Ultimately it's a hobby... I know a lot of folks have fun designing processes and investing in...

I haven't worked in a plant making ice. But I don't know what to tell you. I'm sure it's not perfect. I'm also sure that starsan doesn't get every single cell of every organism in my equipment every time. I haven't had an infected batch since I made the switch yet.

Sounds like you're ready to go

I make sure my volume post-boil is less than my desired final volume. A gallon of water is 8 pounds. That's a 5 pound bag of ice, which is 5/8ths of a gallon if you want to be really exact. Whatever brewing calculator you're using will let you plug in pre-boil, post-boil, and final volume...

I used to run a grain elevator. I promise, it's gross.

Here's the link to my quick chill method. I thought about doing a full write up on my brew process. But honestly, this is the interesting part. Check it out of you'd like. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/instant-chill-method.687677/

I figured this out a year or two ago, and I've been doing it ever since. It works great for me, and I definitely recommend it. If it doesn't work for you, that's okay. I will say, that it is super fast and cheap. I haven't had an infected batch, and honestly, my beer is better. Anyway, here it...

My dude, I wish. When the time comes, I'll take all the help I can get.