Ice in brew before fermentation

[Jamesbeer]

Hi guys I'm planning on starting my second ever brew this weekend and want to make sure I get the temperature down as low as possible. I doing a Thomas coopers ipa with lme and hop bag. It's a warm weekend here in Sydney. An I ok using ice from my freezer? Or should I boil up some water first? Or can I use regular ice you buy from the supermarket or service stations? Should I use ice at all or us it a bad idea?

 

[alepale101]

Boil it and freeze. Better safe than sorry. I buy a gal. of distilled and freeze it. Has worked so far.

 

[Dynachrome]

What is your intent with the ice?

Are you planning on cooling off the boiling wort before you pitch your yeast.

I wouldn't put ice directly into the wort. It will water the beer down.

 

[antony]

i'm only on my 4th but are you indicating that you're adding ice to the kettle before the boil? or to bring the cooled wort to 5gal before pitching?

if you're just trying to bring the hot wort to pitching temp i found that a simple wort chiller is far easier than dealing with a sink & ice--built mine for $25.

i wouldn't add ice to the wort, but i may be wrong. i'd just put my water in the fridge before i added it to the wort (again, if you did a partial boil). still learnin myself but that's my two cents.

comments appreciated.

 

[Jamesbeer]

I'm mixing a kit and instead of adding water to get to the 23 liter mark I'm considering adding some ice some water before pitching to keep the temp if the mix relatively low. I'm
Probably completely wrong!?

 

[helibrewer]

That will work, it would be best to boil it first (before freezing it). The volume will come down a bit as the ice floats and is less dense

 

[wilserbrewer]

You got the right idea not pitching your yeast warm!! I have heard that ice can have nasty "buggers" in it it so the cleaner the better, as in boiled water and then frozen...aka sanitized ice...but of course, do what ya gotta do...some people report using supemarket ice without a problem, but some claim it is a nasty breeding ground...as Clint said, "Do you feel lucky kid?"

 

[Daydrew]

I have brewed a good number of beers, and this has worked for me so far, but I am not an expert at this yet, so take my advice with some caution:

I usually do a 2.5 gal boil, then to cool it down I put the remaining 2.5gal in my freezer (I buy 5 distilled gallons at walmart for 89c.). I leave it in there for a while but I dont let it turn to ice. I pour some in my pot, and the remaining in my Ale Pale. This only cools it down to about 90-80 degrees if you do it right. I would put try to cool it down in the sink alittle before you do this.

 

[Dynachrome]

I'm mixing a kit and instead of adding water to get to the 23 liter mark I'm considering adding some ice some water before pitching to keep the temp if the mix relatively low. I'm
Probably completely wrong!?

OK, Thanks for the explanation. I think I get it now.