lorglath
Well-Known Member
So last night I was brewing a 10 gallon all grain, Cream of 3 Crops brew, and everything was going well, I mashed right on temp, got between 85-90% brewing efficiency, and everything was going great. When it was time to start cooling the brew i set up my immersion chiller, and the outflow went to a sprinkler in the yard. I kept the top open and stirred the wort trying to get more contact with the cooler to get it to drop temps fast. after 15 minutes, it seemed that the temp hadn't dropped at all. I checked the connections, looked at the sprinkler - it was still going strong; there was plenty of water going through it. I have no idea why it wasn't cooling, granted, the water is warmer, but it is still around 70F trying to cool 212F wort... so after drinking, we decided we'd put ice in a zip-lock bag, sterilize it, and submerge it to help cool it down. Well I got the bright idea to add salt to get it colder faster, all was going well until my bag opened while submerged in the wort... so... I now had a 10 gallon batch of beer that wasn't cooling, had a TON of salt in it, and watered down slightly.... I gave up and dumped it out, completely dejected...
next time I am thinking of having two immersion chillers, one going into a bucket of ice water to cool the water before it goes to the chiller in the wort, then to the sprinkler... thoughts?
next time I am thinking of having two immersion chillers, one going into a bucket of ice water to cool the water before it goes to the chiller in the wort, then to the sprinkler... thoughts?