How do you all cool your wort?

[Beer Viking]

Hello everyone,

I just learned that I will need to rapidly cool my wort down as soon as I am done boiling it to prevent infection. What methods do you all use to cool your wort?

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

I started out doing an icebatch. I would put a few inches of water in my wheelbarrow, set my kettle in (with lid on), add about ~30lbs of ice and add some more water. Swirling ever so often, then adding more ice once the last batch ice melted and the water warmed up. It was a long and expensive process (driving to the store, buying ice, taking several hours).

Then I purchased a 50' SS IC (Immersion Chiller). Now I set it in my kettle with about 15 minutes left in the boil, hook it up to my garden hose and I can get 6 gallons of wort close to pitching temperature in 20 or 30 minutes. 12 minutes and AT pitching temperatures in the winter. Worth every penny! Not to mention the quality of my beers went up a lot since I wasn't over 'cooking' my hops anymore. Cheers!

 

[davidabcd]

I use a wort chiller. You can make one or buy one. When I first started out I used ice in the sink.
I don't know if that's feasible if you're doing full batches.

 

[Beer Viking]

Thanks, when you use an IC, do you just connect it to a hose or does the hose run into a cooler or something with ice in it and then to your wort?

 

[JimRausch]

Thanks, when you use an IC, do you just connect it to a hose or does the hose run into a cooler or something with ice in it and then to your wort?

Interesting question. Generally you attach the hose to the input of the IC and let the outflow drain onto the ground or sink. However, I started out with a 25 foot IC which was OK, but a couple years later got a good deal on a 50 foot which works much faster. When it's really hot out(and my groundwater is warm) I hook up the 25 footer and set it in an ice bath as a prechiller, then connect that outflow to my 50 footer IC. Just a little better.

 

[Beer Viking]

Interesting question. Generally you attach the hose to the input of the IC and let the outflow drain onto the ground or sink. However, I started out with a 25 foot IC which was OK, but a couple years later got a good deal on a 50 foot which works much faster. When it's really hot out(and my groundwater is warm) I hook up the 25 footer and set it in an ice bath as a prechiller, then connect that outflow to my 50 footer IC. Just a little better.

When it's not really hot out do you just use your 50' one without ice?

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

I've never run my 50' with ice (in a bucket/cooler or anything) and in the summer I can cool the wort to 80F in about 25 minutes when it's quite hot and humid. In the winter time, when my ground water is cold and I can lay my hose in some snow it's about half that time. If I were to use the ice method in the summer I would just go get a 50' length of garden hose, set it in a cooler (still coiled up like when you bought it), cover in ice water and run your water through it. But, like I said I'm pretty happy with cooling my wort in 20-30 minutes so I wouldn't mess around with the ice method myself.

One thing I will recommend is one of these. Attach it to the end of your hose, then connect the IC to it. This way you're able to control the flow of water right from the kettle and you don't have to run to the spigot to make adjustments or shut it off. Another thing to keep in mind about using an IC is that there is a proper flow rate you'll have to figure out. Too fast and you won't remove as much heat from the wort, as quickly. Too slow and you'll leave too much heat in the wort and it will take longer to chill. Also, the 'out' end of the IC (as well as the water coming out) is nearly f**kin boiling so be careful as it can burn. Ask me how I know... But, the hot water coming out is great for cleaning up!

Hope this has been some sort of help. Cheers!

 

[Knightshade]

I hook up my IC to an aquarium pump, which is sitting in a 10G cooler of room temp water. I let it go through twice with that water and capture the hot water for cleaning later in Home Depot buckets. I then refill the cooler with more room temp water from the garage sink, and dump a bunch of frozen water bottles into it. I have a variety of gatorade bottles and a couple 1G recycle juice containers. When that water temp equalizes a bit, then I'll dump a bunch of ice into it and this will get me to around 70'ish. Entire cooling window takes about 30 minutes or so.

 

[slurms]

Cheap and easy would be an immersion chiller. Like everyone said, hook it up to a hose and you're good to go. Can get two coils of copper: one as a pre-chiller (put in a bucket of ice water), and the other in your wort, if you want to get fancy. Never thought of putting the hose in the ice as @dawn_kiebawls mentioned, but a pretty neat idea!

If you're handy, you can just buy some soft copper tubing and shape it to how you want it, attach some tubing with some hose clamps, and a hose adapter-to-barb adapter and you're good to go. Otherwise, just buy one. I snagged a 25' copper chiller for $35 on sale.

 

[rkhanso]

I made a CFC similar to the Jaded Cyclone. You can see it in my Avatar. It works very well. But you'll need a pump (I use a small, cheap brown solar pump).

I can get the 11 gallons of my 200F wort down to 120 pretty quickly by recirculating through the CFC and back into the kettle. Then a single pass in the kettle at 120F, through the CFC and I'm down to 65 in the Fermenter. This takes only about 15 minutes or so.

 

[FromZwolle]

Hello everyone,

I just learned that I will need to rapidly cool my wort down as soon as I am done boiling it to prevent infection. What methods do you all use to cool your wort?

Those two things aren't quite related. It's good to rapidly cool the wort to lock in the bitterness, flavor, and aroma from your hop additions. Good sanitation procedures and a healthy yeast pitch are going to be your top methods of preventing infections.

If you don't have the means or money to spend on buying or building a chilling system, you can always look into no-chill brewing. It will require a little clever thinking, but you can essentially pour your boiling wort in to your fermenter and pitch the yeast when it has cooled on it's own.
Make sure your fermenting vessel can handle both the heat and the rapid heating!!!

There are plenty of tutorials and guides around for no-chill brewing, so I'll let the more experienced fill in the details on that one.

Cheers.

 

[RetroGameBoy]

I put down a layer of ice then my kettle on top of it. Then I put in some water then more ice around the sides (from an ice bag) and then more water. Usually cools it down enough in 20-30 minutes to pitching temps. I also fill up some Tupperware and put in the freezer before I hit my smack pack Wyeast. On my last brew I also put in a gallon of water into my fridge at the beginning of brewing to add cold water to the wort to cool it down even faster. Right now this works best for me until I figure out a wort chiller, though I may stick with the ice bath method.. I do extract brewing on the gas stove top inside of my kitchen at the moment. Picture below to show the room I have to work with when chilling with the size of my kettle. I push the dish rack out of the way for chilling.

Edit: I put the lid on my kettle when adding the ice to the sides to be sure no ice goes into the wort. I have only done 5 gallon batches.

 

[NGD]

I’m surprised noone has asked if your doing all grain or extract.

One of the techniques I’ve been doing lately for extract is doing a shorter partial boil, and adding a few gallons of pre-chilled/nearly frozen bottled water at flame out. Works well and cools as fast as you can pour.

Otherwise for full boils I use a 25ft immersion cooler and garden hose, then recirculate ice water to pitching temp once the temp has dropped to 120-130.

 

[Kharnynb]

I'm doing things a bit different than others, I first transfer to my fermenter(steel "kettle style" one), then drop the fermenter in a big tub of cold water, swap the water after 15 minutes and i'm ready to pitch in 30 minutes or so.

I prefer this as it reduces the risk of infections during cooldown and transfer.

 

[Miraculix]

Hello everyone,

I just learned that I will need to rapidly cool my wort down as soon as I am done boiling it to prevent infection. What methods do you all use to cool your wort?

The other possibility is, get a fermenter that can take high temperatures, steel or many HDPE fermenters can take boiling water, transfer the boiling wort directly into the fermenter, air lock it and let it cool on it's own or in a water bath.

The steam will also sterilise the part of the fermenter that's not in direct contact with the wort and you won't have infections in there. Pitch when it's cooled down, usually next day.

 

[hittnikash]

I used to do ice baths. Now I use a wort chiller. Sooo much quicker.

 

[PGWolfe]

I use a wort chiller (homemade, as described above), and set my fermenter in my slop sink. I also clog the drain and let the water rise and cool the outside of the fermenter...because even though the water has gone through the wort chiller it is still cooler than the fermenter. Once the water rises close to the top I remove the drain plug...and place it back in when the sink is empty. I also aim the water after it goes through the wort chiller to hit the side of the fermenter. Using this methodology I am able to cool the wort in about 10-15 minutes (5 gallon batch). Side note, I live in Indiana and our water is very cold all year round.

 

[grzrk]

Those two things aren't quite related. It's good to rapidly cool the wort to lock in the bitterness, flavor, and aroma from your hop additions. Good sanitation procedures and a healthy yeast pitch are going to be your top methods of preventing infections.

If you don't have the means or money to spend on buying or building a chilling system, you can always look into no-chill brewing. It will require a little clever thinking, but you can essentially pour your boiling wort in to your fermenter and pitch the yeast when it has cooled on it's own.
Make sure your fermenting vessel can handle both the heat and the rapid heating!!!

There are plenty of tutorials and guides around for no-chill brewing, so I'll let the more experienced fill in the details on that one.

Cheers.

I'm planning on trying the no-chill method this winter since my outdoor faucets are already winterized and I'm too lazy to modify the laundry sink setup to accept a hose. Looking at something like this
https://www.amazon.com/5-Gallon-Plastic-Hedpack-cap/dp/B0064O8OYK
.. or maybe 2 smaller 2.5 gallon ones so I can split the wort and experiment....

 

[Miraculix]

I'm using a speidel 20 liters HDPE fermenter and fill it with the boiling wort. Officially it is only supposed to be safe for temperatures up to 60 degrees Celsius but it is made of HDPE which usually should be able to take more heat than boiling temperature and the two times I've used it this way, it didn't show any sign of problems with the boiling wort.

 

[BigDave1303]

The other possibility is, get a fermenter that can take high temperatures, steel or many HDPE fermenters can take boiling water, transfer the boiling wort directly into the fermenter, air lock it and let it cool on it's own or in a water bath.

I did this once a few years ago. The fermenter made from HDPE was ok, however the soft plastic/rubber seal inside the tap at the bottom softened & started leaking. I had to drain the liquid off & replace with a metal tap.
I now have a SS conical fermenter.
I have made my own IC using 2 coils of 10m long 10mm copper tube (see pic) which go into the wort 15mins before the end of boil to sterilise.
I also attach another coil in the summer when mains water is warmer, this goes in the sink as shown which I fill with cold water & freezer blocks to further chill the incoming water. Recapture the first few minutes of exit water (very hot) for cleaning.

 

[Miraculix]

I did this once a few years ago. The fermenter made from HDPE was ok, however the soft plastic/rubber seal inside the tap at the bottom softened & started leaking. I had to drain the liquid off & replace with a metal tap.
I now have a SS conical fermenter.
I have made my own IC using 2 coils of 10m long 10mm copper tube (see pic) which go into the wort 15mins before the end of boil to sterilise.
I also attach another coil in the summer when mains water is warmer, this goes in the sink as shown which I fill with cold water & freezer blocks to further chill the incoming water. Recapture the first few minutes of exit water (very hot) for cleaning.

View attachment 705264

I'm using the original speidel parts and so far, no problems.

 

[BigDave1303]

I'm using the original speidel parts and so far, no problems.

Mine was just a bog standard plastic fermenting bin with a plastic tap.
After replacing the tap I added a 240v 2.5kw heating element (live in the UK) I now use it for pre-heating the sparge water using an inkbird as control.

 

[NGD]

I'm using the original speidel parts and so far, no problems.

Thank you for trying this. I have a speidel and never thought about it using it this way.

 

[Beer Viking]

Do you submerge the IC for the last 15 mins of the boil without water running through it just to sterilize it? I'm going to be doing all grain by the way!

 

[NGD]

Yes. Although be careful because if there is any leftover water in the cooler it can shoot out once its heated up. Make sure the ends of the IC are secured before hand

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

Do you submerge the IC for the last 15 mins of the boil without water running through it just to sterilize it? I'm going to be doing all grain by the way!

Yes, put the IC in the kettle without running water through it. The purpose of this is to sterilize the IC.

There will be a slight reduction in boil vigor for a few minutes when you put the IC in but nothing to worry about. Just keep the flame on and proceed as normal. Once your boil is over, cut the flames and turn on the IC. Cheers!

 

[Beer Viking]

I see in recepies people seem to dry hop at the final 15 minutes mark? Would you suggest that I should add the final hops and then throw in the IC to sterilize it?

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

I see in recepies people seem to dry hop at the final 15 minutes mark? Would you suggest that I should add the final hops and then throw in the IC to sterilize it?

15 minute hop additions are common, but it all depends on the style/recipe you're brewing. For a hop schedule, it goes as follows:

the timing of a hop addition refers to the amount of time left in the boil, or how long the hops will be boiled. Meaning, a 60 minute hop addition gets boiled for 60 minutes, 15 minute addition gets boiled for 15 minutes.

EDIT: To answer your question, yes. If your recipe calls for 15 minute hops you can just add them right in with your IC. Also, hops are naturally antimicrobial so as long as you have good sanitation and hygiene practices there is no need to sanitize/sterilize hops.

Dry Hops are done in the fermentor while fermentation is taking place (or sometimes after fermentation is done..either way, dry hopping is done on the cold side).

Other types of hopping include:

FWH (first wort hops) - add hops to your kettle before you start collecting wort

Whirlpool - Added after you've started cooling wort. Usually done around 160F. This increases flavor/aroma without much (shouldn't be any) contributed bitterness

Hopstand - (in my opinion) this is the same as Whirlpool hopping.


Not that any of us mind answering any or all of your questions, but I would recommend picking up a copy of How to Brew, by John Palmer this book is a fantastic resource for beginner and advanced brewers alike. It really does contain a plethora of valuable information and covers both basic and in depth scientific topics all about homebrewing. Cheers!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

No chill is an option. Seal the kettle and let it cool naturally overnight.

 

[jerrylotto]

I have three brew kettles - the largest (25 gal) can contain the middle one (12 gal), and the smallest (6 gal) fits inside both. I usually brew 5 gal batches in the middle kettle and then when the boil is done, I put it inside of the next larger kettle filled with cold water, surrounding the brew kettle with ice paks. That generally cools the wort in about 2 or 3 hours. The small kettle is for 1/2 size batches and/or sparge water preheating. I'm making a coil cooler and will add that to the mix which should cut the cooling time even more, hopefully to under an hour; and also potentially give me the option of making larger batches in the big kettle. Finally, I have a trash can filled with water outside that fits my conical fermenter, so I can transfer when I get down to a comfortable handling temperature (about 80F) and continue to cool as needed before pitching yeast.

 

[govner1]

I have two CFC’s for chilling. One is the typical copper coil inside a larger diameter hose. It was made for me by the owner of my LHBS and I have used it for over 8 years. It is very effective and allows me to chill and whirlpool directly from my 15g BK. I do need to pump water from an ice slurry during summer. My other is a Blichmann Therminator that I received as a gift but haven’t used as yet.

 

[deuc224]

No chill is an option. Seal the kettle and let it cool naturally overnight.

I did this once for a chocolate stout. I brewed, got buzzed and let it stay in the kettle all night and mid day. My brother raved about that beer and it didnt last a week and a half. But the one regret is that the beer matured so beautifully in one week that next time ill let it sit for a week before i crack it. You dont need to chill it, its just getting the beer into the fermenter I guess.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I did this once for a chocolate stout. I brewed, got buzzed and let it stay in the kettle all night and mid day. My brother raved about that beer and it didnt last a week and a half. But the one regret is that the beer matured so beautifully in one week that next time ill let it sit for a week before i crack it. You dont need to chill it, its just getting the beer into the fermenter I guess.

One small drawback is the possibility of a little chill haze which wouldn’t be very noticeable in a stout. It doesn’t effect flavor, but for competition it could be a concern.

 

[deuc224]

Damn I didnt know that. I wanna compete someday but ive way early in my brewdays right now. Hefe will get cracked today and i pray it tastes like it smells, it fermented real vigorously and smelled of banana and gum but who knows how it will turn out. Ill find out in 2.5 hours.

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

Damn I didnt know that. I wanna compete someday but ive way early in my brewdays right now. Hefe will get cracked today and i pray it tastes like it smells, it fermented real vigorously and smelled of banana and gum but who knows how it will turn out. Ill find out in 2.5 hours.

If bubblegum is something you're after I'd suggest brewing a Saison with WLP590. I've used it once and that was only because I was out of WY3726 but it threw a lot of 'gum' for me. Either way, Cheers to the Hefe and I hope it turns out well for you. That's one style I have't had the balls (or time..) to brew yet!

 

[deuc224]

Dawn, I wasnt after it really but its what everyone wants in a hefe so I just did what I thought it was suppose to be. Fermented high and kept it high and it really turned out well. Ill keep this one on rotation.