Cooling wort with frozen plastic bottles
I have been doing this lately and find it works well as part of a "no chill" schedule. However, for me it is more like passive chilling, where I don't really care if it takes a couple hours. Lately my chilling routine goes something like this...
1. flameout
2. hop stand, adding post flameout hops till the wort hits about 160 degrees. This usually takes about 2 hours.
3. Cover kettle with lid and revisit 10-12 hours later, this is usually the following morning, or late night if a morning brew session. The wort is usually around 90 degrees at this point.
4. Dunk 2-3 frozen 2 liter frozen soda bottles in a 1 gallon pitcher of star san and add to kettle, approximately 2 hours later the wort is at the lower end of ferm temps, roughly 60 degrees. Easy and quick to do, I also have the benefit of a fridge keezer, with plenty of freezer space to freeze the 2 liter soda bottles. While certainly not the BEST method, I have come up with what I feel to be the least labor intensive. I have been brewing a long time, and have gotten very LAZY! To the point where I won't do something if I feel it won't have a noticeable benefit to the finished beer.
While this method is not fast by any means, it is not labor intensive.
While I own an IC, only during the coldest months of the year is my tap water cold enough to bring the wort to pitching temps. Truth be told, I am too lazy to hook up a prechiller, or recirc ice water through the chiller with a pump, and then baby sit my wort and stir during the chill, so my chiller often goes unused. My typical batches are over 8 gallons, so while I have moved the kettle to an ice bath, it is getting rather heavy and is a hassle. I also brew in my basement, so stretching out a brew session over many hours is not an issue, as it would be if I was brewing outside or in a kitchen.
I don't fear infection, never had a problem. The bugs that MAY be present in a plastic scratch are likely outnumbered a billion to one by a healthy yeast pitch.
I have a 20ft chiller that reduces 5g of wort to pitching temps in 15-30 minutes depending on ground water temperature.
antony, I am envious how quickly you can get to pitching temps. Is your water supply on a well? My climate is considerably cooler than Texas, and my water typically is not that cold, only during the frigid winter months. FWIW, I like to start fermentation at the lower end, low sixties, and getting there with just tap water is challenging, hence the need to incorporate ice in some amount and fashion. Not the best way, just what works for me.
http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/78660