Hot wort into keg fermenter?

[t^3]

How much temperature can a keg take? Can you put basically boiling wort into the keg and put it into a chest freezer to cool it to pitching temperature?

 

[sibelman]

Don't melt the plastic parts of your freezer! Keg O-ring materials might not like such temperatures either, but if you rack/siphon/pump/pour straight into the keg (rather than through the dip tube), tit would almost certainly be fine. I'm thinking the steel body of any keg should easily handle hot wort.

 

[Kickass]

My concern would be how incredibly taxing that'd be on your freezer compressor. Have you ever touched the side of a normal chest freezer in the garage on a warm day? those things get toasty without 5 gallons of 200* wort in them. If you want a low water waste, easy, "no chill" method try this: wet towel wrapped around your brew kettle sitting in front of a fan. stir every 15-20 minutes for an hour or two, then into the keg and chest freezer. It's what I'd do, and have done.

 

[Beekeeper]

I pour directly into keg, and then wrap the keg in the wet towel to cool the batch.

 

[TBA]

Do you think the rubber base and handle would come loose?

 

[sibelman]

Do you think the rubber base and handle would come loose?

Not if you leave them alone until they cool. I'm guessing, though.

 

[Beermeister32]

Why do you want to do this? I have a standard stainless steel coil chiller, works great at getting the temp down to groundwater temperature usually 70-80F here in SoCal. Then I bring it down to pitching temperatures in a mini refrigerator.

Doesn’t seem like the greatest idea to be handling a keg of just-boiled wort. You want to chill it down as quick as possible on your system.

 

[TBA]

I have been reading up on several topics, low oxygen and ways to shorten brew day in particular. I have a copper chiller so not good for oxygen. Also I am in Florida where the ground water is hot. I chill to 100-110 then switch to a pump and recirculate ice water. Usually take 45-60 minutes. Just a lot time and steps. I see that people use brew cubes and chill in a chamber before pitching. Wanted to see if a keg could be used instead.

 

[Beermeister32]

I switched the coil from copper to stainless for similar reasons (getting the copper out of the wort).

I found it cooled about 10 minutes quicker than the copper - bonus!

 

[Beermeister32]

I guess if you transfer your hot wort into a keg, you could toss the whole thing into your Florida swimming pool... that would cool it about as fast!

 

[TBA]

I had not thought of that! I do brew on the patio. I could move closer to the pool and actually fill the keg in the pool on the steps.

 

[khannon]

Also look at no-chill brewing.. Popular in places where there are water shortages..
Only problems I have had are increased hop utilization and no cold-break. The upside is that you minimize infection risk.

 

[BigDave1303]

As the wort cools it will also cause negative pressure within your kegs. All the valves are designed to hold positive pressure on the inside, so negative pressure would allow whatever is outside the keg to get sucked into it past the valves. Air, pool water etc...

 

[Beermeister32]

Good point. Don’t throw the kegs in the pool.

 

[Gusso]

I had not thought of that! I do brew on the patio. I could move closer to the pool and actually fill the keg in the pool on the steps.

I do.just that on occasion in Charleston, SC!

 

[Beermeister32]

If course on the other hand, it would take quite a bit of surface area for the vacuum to counteract the springs on the poppets and PRV’s. Kegs usually do OK holding some vacuum preventing suck-back...

Go ahead and toss it in the pool, let us know how it works!... call it a pool-side drink!

 

[Gusso]

I sit the keg on a step so the top of the keg is not submerged.

 

[TBA]

I was thinking of putting some gas in after filling and sealing hoping to prevent suck back issues.
@khannon thanks for the tip on the no chill. I just read the brulosophy exbeerment. I am brewing mostly NEIPA so I guess I am going to come up with a different plan. Maybe use my chiller to cool it some then transfer. I recall reading that you shouldn’t transfer over 80-90 degrees though. That may have been in the low oxygen brewing. Ideas?

 

[Beermeister32]

I think I’d call pool cooling a Low Oxygen procedure..!

 

[T Murph]

Do you think the rubber base and handle would come loose?

Yes, the heat will soften the adhesive and will cause the rubber base to pull away from the metal cylinder as they will cool at different rates. The handles may remain intact since they wouldn't have the weight of the tank and beer pushing on them.

 

[Beermeister32]

The rubber base and top may be vulcanized directly to the keg. If that’s the case, you would be safe, not going anywhere..!