ice in wort

[gonpce]

I'm just about to start my first batch and wanted to know the general opinion. Good idea to put ice directly in wort to cool down or bad idea?

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

if your using bottled water like i do as a general control standard in all my beers than you just introduced a new water source with varied hardness plus as clean as it might be in your freezer theres gotta be some sort of bug living up in those icemakers

i usually clog the sink drain fill halfway with cold water, submerge your pot in the water and dump ice around in the water...add ice as it melts. i usually cool 3 gallons down to 70* in 10 min

 

[Calichusetts]

if your using bottled water like i do as a general control standard in all my beers than you just introduced a new water source with varied hardness plus as clean as it might be in your freezer theres gotta be some sort of bug living up in those icemakers

i usually clog the sink drain fill halfway with cold water, submerge your pot in the water and dump ice around in the water...add ice as it melts. i usually cool 3 gallons down to 70* in 10 min

This...swirl the wort as well. Not sure how well it works for 5 gallon batches but it works fine smaller batches. Though 10 minutes is impressive. I must be doing something wrong

 

[gonpce]

thanks for the advice

 

[cheezydemon3]

I do ice in every batch, straight from my ice maker so same water. It works fantastically and cools fast resulting in very clear beer.

 

[jmprdood]

I freeze ice blocks in one liter sanitized plastic containers, and routinely use those in my wort to cool it down. Its the same water I top up with, so I'm not in the least concerned that it would negatively affect my beer.

Cheers

 

[dbhokie]

Use frozen kittens.

 

[Maddoghoek]

Everything I've read says you shouldn't put it directly into the wort because of possible infection. If there were nasties there before you froze the water, they'll be there just as the wort is at the right temp for them to start working on it before the yeast can get going.

I use a Rubbermaid container that is just big enough to fit 8 gallons of water, my 30 qt pot, and four 5lb blocks of ice. Worked better then my "uh now what do I do" let it sit out method.

 

[PhelanKA7]

Generally ice in your wort is a capital Bad Idea (tm). Its a fantastic way of introducing bacteria into your unfermented wort. I highly recommend dishing out the $40 and getting a wort chiller. Its way more effective than ice and more sanitary.

 

[jmprdood]

So when you top up with tap water you risk infection - sorry I raise the Bu!!$hi+ flag on you there. Been doing it for years with never a problem - all over the country. Paranoia is rampant on this board - with the advice some of you give it is no wonder we have 500 "did I ruin my beer" threads
on here every day. If your water is safe to drink, it is safe to brew with.

 

[dbhokie]

So when you top up with tap water you risk infection - sorry I raise the Bu!!$hi+ flag on you there. Been doing it for years with never a problem - all over the country. Paranoia is rampant on this board - with the advice some of you give it is no wonder we have 500 "did I ruin my beer" threads
on here every day. If your water is safe to drink, it is safe to brew with.

Well you do risk infection to a higher probability. Most likely it is just a tiny probability to begin with. It's like buckling your seat on an airplane. Really, it's not going to help, but I suppose there are some instances where it could.

Many off flavors are produced by infections, most people here strive (albeit perhaps sometimes with too much anal retentiveness) to reduce the risk of infection where they can.

 

[AgentHubcap]

Generally ice in your wort is a capital Bad Idea (tm). Its a fantastic way of introducing bacteria into your unfermented wort. I highly recommend dishing out the $40 and getting a wort chiller. Its way more effective than ice and more sanitary.

A wort chiller is in no way more effective than ice. It can be more sanitary, though.

If you want to use ice, I recommend boiling the water in advance, then freezing in a frozen container. I've been known to freeze ziplock bags of pre-boiled water.

You can use this method for full boils by sanitizing the whole bag and throwing it in the kettle to cool the wort. I even re-use these bags as long as they are not damaged.

 

[Pie_Man]

To me, you do increase the risk of contamination to some degree. Also, depending on your water source, you can be introducing chlorine into your beer.

When I did partial boils, I boiled the top off water ahead of time, put the water into a sanitized container and chilled the water in my fridge. When I chilled my wort, I'd add the cold, pre-boiled, water while submerging the boil kettle in an ice bath. That was my approach. You probably won't get an infection, but you're not controlling your process and you can introduce undesired flavors and maybe an infection. I prefer not to risk my hard work, time, and money up to chance.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Use frozen kittens.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f45/add-hopssss-270241/

add "kittens" isn't even an option........(WTF????)

Generally ice in your wort is a capital Bad Idea (tm). Its a fantastic way of introducing bacteria into your unfermented wort. I highly recommend dishing out the $40 and getting a wort chiller. Its way more effective than ice and more sanitary.

I'm not sure what wort chiller you have but it would have to be a V8 glycol double helix infused bad ass chiller to beat ice....it might not even be possible.

So when you top up with tap water you risk infection - sorry I raise the Bu!!$hi+ flag on you there. Been doing it for years with never a problem - all over the country. Paranoia is rampant on this board - with the advice some of you give it is no wonder we have 500 "did I ruin my beer" threads
on here every day. If your water is safe to drink, it is safe to brew with.

+1 here, whether or not you use ice 90% of new brewers are topping off with tap water.

 

[dbhokie]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f45/add-hopssss-270241/

add "kittens" isn't even an option........(WTF????)

Brilliant thread

I'm not sure what wort chiller you have but it would have to be a V8 glycol double helix infused bad ass chiller to beat ice....it might not even be possible.

I use a cold fusion motorized chiller. Obviously, it is cold.

+1 here, whether or not you use ice 90% of new brewers are topping off with tap water.

I can honestly say that I have never topped off. Ah it's the 90% vs the 10%. Heh, nah I just never have because I always end up boiling down to my batch size. I did add Ice before I got a wort chiller, never had an issue. I just used the water I had boiled for my yeast washing purposes.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Brilliant thread





I use a cold fusion motorized chiller. Obviously, it is cold.





I can honestly say that I have never topped off. Ah it's the 90% vs the 10%. Heh, nah I just never have because I always end up boiling down to my batch size. I did add Ice before I got a wort chiller, never had an issue. I just used the water I had boiled for my yeast washing purposes.

oh wait...........I thought you used frozen kittens?!??!?!?!?!?

Oh, I see.

 

[dbhokie]

oh wait...........I thought you used frozen kittens?!??!?!?!?!?

Oh, I see.

You people are so behind. I use frozen kitties to power my cold fusion chiller.

 

[cheezydemon3]

You people are so behind. I use frozen kitties to power my cold fusion chiller.

Are frozen kitties considered renewable? I had heard that 90% of the worlds kitties will have been mined by 2023.

Maybe you should consider something a little more "green" mr smartypants. Like maybe frozen toddlers.

 

[dbhokie]

Are frozen kitties considered renewable? I had heard that 90% of the worlds kitties will have been mined by 2023.

Maybe you should consider something a little more "green" mr smartypants. Like maybe frozen toddlers.

That just blows my mind and my whole process to s***.

 

[cheezydemon3]

That just blows my mind and my whole process to s***.

aahhhhh crap.......Sorry man! Tough love, tough love. Gotta Suck it up.