1st try at grain

[jimjam1973]

Hi all, myself and a friend have been given all the stuff to do an all grain brew, well apart from a wort cooler, I was advised that I could just let the wort cool overnight and then pitch the yeast ? Again I was told this may just make the beer a little less clear, but can use finnings to get over this ..is this correct ...will buy a wort chiller at some point but don't have a water supply easily available where we will be brewing .any one done this and is the advise correct....cheers

 

[Vamptrump]

I did it once, and never want to do it again. I ended up having protean strands all throughout the beer. What I used to do before getting my wort chiller was to place the kettle into an ice path in the sink (I use a galvanized tub now so I can stay in the garage the entire time). It does a pretty good job at cooling. 1 large bag of ice from the gas station + water is all you need and it will chill in about 30 min.

 

[bowserm]

I second the ice bath in the sink. Bags of ice (filled water bottles frozen over night work great too)

I made my own wort chiller for less than $60, and so far has worked very well.

The ice bath may take a bit longer, but it's better than letting it sit overnight. That brings a better chance of something contaminating your wort, which you certainly do not want.