Cooling Wort with cold water

[Millsy]

So I have just started and made two batches, one week apart from each other. The first time I brewed, When the wort was done, I put the pot into an ice bath until the wort was at the right temp and then transferred it to the carboy. It took a while for the wort to get to the right temp.

Anyways, the next brew, the recipe called to add 3 gallons of cold water to the fermenter before transferring the wort. I put the water into the bucket and then added the wort and it brought the whole wort temp down to almost 70.

I am just wondering if this was abnormal in any way, or if adding the hot wort to such cold water would shock the wort or cause harm to it.

 

[Ski12568]

I did this when I used to brew extracts to bring my temps down quick. I think as long you don't open the gallon before you poor you should be ok. I'm sure there is some chance but I didn't have a problem. I even stuck them in the fridge the day before.

 

[hikemor]

Sounds like you are brewing partial boils using extract. When you pitch your yeast you want two things: the right volume (e.g. 5+ gallons) and the right temperature for your yeast (65-70F, YMMV). How you get there is up to you.

The wort is most vulnerable to infection when cooling from flameout to yeast pitch; so the faster, the better. This is when good sanitation is most critical.

 

[pdog44450]

No, that is not abnormal at all. That is how extract brewing should be done. There is no sense in using a wort chiller or ice bath with extract brews. I would however add the wort to the carboy, then add the water because you would get more aeration that way.

Now when you move to all-grain, you want to avoid top-up as much as possible because it will lower your efficiency, but for now don't worry about that.

 

[Subdivisions]

I would however add the wort to the carboy, then add the water because you would get more aeration that way.

This, but mainly because if you put the wort in first you can top off to an exact amount. If you put a certain volume of water in first and don't really have a good idea of the amount of wort you could over dilute it.

There is no sense in using a wort chiller or ice bath with extract brews

You still need to chill the wort first. Mixing half 40 degree water and half 200 degree wort doesn't get you to pitching temp

 

[pablosbrewing]

Nice table to help with ending at a target temperature for 5 gallon batches:
http://jadedbrewing.com/pages/jaded-s-extract-chilling-table

 

[shortyz]

top up the boil kettle in the bathtub and fill the tub with cold water. go watch a movie, come back. strain, top up to get proper OG and pitch yeast. done.

 

[brewkinger]

This, but mainly because if you put the wort in first you can top off to an exact amount. If you put a certain volume of water in first and don't really have a good idea of the amount of wort you could over dilute it.



You still need to chill the wort first. Mixing half 40 degree water and half 200 degree wort doesn't get you to pitching temp

Totally agree with above...
AND
I feel it is CRITICAL to mention that you NEVER want to add hot wort to a glass carboy. The thermal shock will shatter the glass, create a mess and can be dangerous and even fatal.

 

[Goon]

When I brewed extract I would fill the sink with cold water, drop the pot in rhe cold water, stir the hell out of it, drain the warm water, and repeat until I got it down to about 100, then would top off with cold water and mix back and forth between the brew kettle and fermenter.

 

[unionrdr]

I do pb/pm biab, so I chill the wort in an ice bath down to 75F. Then strain into sanitized fermenter & top off with cold spring water that's been in the fridge a day or two before brew day. This gets the 75F wort down to 65F or even lower. Then stir to mix well & aerate a bit more.

 

[CJ-3]

There is nothing wrong with using your top off water to help lower the wort temperature.

With that being said, you may want to look into making or buying a simple immersion chiller, you would be surprised how much easier you cooling process will get.

 

[unionrdr]

No, but chilling it down to 75F or so in an ice bath or with wort chiller, etc first will make it easier to get it to pitch temp with the top off.

 

[compumasta]

I'll throw my hat in here as well.

I brew extract kits, and I think it is important to note that, just because you brew extract, it does not mean that you only brew 2.5 gallons at a time and dilute. I brew in a large pot that requires about 5 gallons of water for the water to be high enough to reach the thermometer. At the end, i end up adding a little over a gallon of water to the carboy to bring the level up to 5 gallons, but I definitely need a wort chiller.

I used to do the ice bath method, but it took nearly an hour to cool the wort. I use a copper chiller with garden hose combo now, and i am ready to pitch in about 12 minutes.

All in all, from getting everything together to reducing times at various points, my brew days last about 2 hours total now from start to finish, yeast pitched and everything cleaned.

Now if I could figure out how to get beer ready to drink the same day, I will be sure to sell, i mean share my wisdom.

But in terms of harming the wort by cooling too fast? They make chillers to cool it in a couple minutes, so I would say you will most definitely be just fine.