Immersion Wort Chiller Cooling Time

[Brewmegoodbeer]

I have heard some say that they can get their wort from boiling to 65 deg in 15-20 mins. I run ice water through my chiller and cant seem to get it below 80 at around that time. For those who get it that cold that quick, what in the heck do you do?

 

[MeakMills]

I stir my wort to create a whirlpool while chilling with an immersion chiller. I usually get to around 70 degrees in 10-12 minutes then let it sit for another 2-3 minutes before autosiphoning from the kettle to carboy. I cut the IC when I've got about half of the wort in the carboy. It's a bit of an arm workout, but it works pretty well.

 

[brewbama]

I use a Jaded Hydra and gently raise and lower it in the wort. Cools the wort very quickly.

 

[20grit]

I have 50 degree ground water. Using a 25' coil, my cooling times are nowhere near that. I'd be thrilled with 30 minutes.
I stir with the chiller to create a whirlpool while cooling.

 

[mrdauber64]

I bought a paint stirrer and attached it to my drill. I can get my wort to 65 in 15 minutes or less. The drill also helps help to introduce oxygen and is just easier that constant stirring!

 

[Brewmegoodbeer]

Ok, it sounds like I need to continuously stir for 10-15 minutes while running the ice water through the wort chiller. I stir but only periodically (like once or twice the whole time). Ill be sure to use the "fun in the shower" arm. Haha. With a paint stirrer, id be worried about too much aeration causing hot side aeration. Maybe at half speed with a nice gentle whirlpool would work (which im sure you do).

 

[Murphys_Law]

I use the Jaded Hydra with the whirlpool arm. I bought a cheap pump that goes from my valve to the arm.

Works great and I can do some cleanup while cooling instead of standing there stirring or moving my IC up and down.

 

[CanAm]

Two weeks ago I had my fastest cooling time. I use a homemade 50 ft half inch diameter copper immersion chiller: eight and a half minutes for ten gallons. Midwest winter water temp is cold!

 

[ba-brewer]

I get to about 100F in under 10min with constant gentle stirring for the first 4 or 5min then intermittent stirring ever couple mins after that. Normally get down to about 70 in 15 to 25 min depending on the season. I use a 50ft copper IC.

Use tap water in the beginning then switch to ice water later when the temp starts to not drop so quickly. I use chunks of ice to get wort down to lager temps sometime. Seems to work better if I keep the ice out of the water with a strainer and run the return water over the block. I use 2 or 3 1.5qt frozen blocks to get down below 50F.

 

[JLeuck64]

I was dissatisfied with my IC after several brews so I built a CFC based on this thread

Now I just sip home brew while I adjust the inflow or the outflow while the kettle is draining

 

[skraeling]

im lazy + my IC sucks + i have a new stainless bucket.

my new mode of chilling is...

chill to under 150 which doesnt take long.

stick in ferm fridge let it do the work to get it to pitch temp.

pitch in the morning.

 

[Horseflesh]

My cheap LHBS copper IC will chill to 66F in 30 minutes... with the help of a pump and whirlpool arm. When I stirred it manually it took about 45 minutes.

 

[RM-MN]

Ok, it sounds like I need to continuously stir for 10-15 minutes while running the ice water through the wort chiller. I stir but only periodically (like once or twice the whole time). Ill be sure to use the "fun in the shower" arm. Haha. With a paint stirrer, id be worried about too much aeration causing hot side aeration. Maybe at half speed with a nice gentle whirlpool would work (which im sure you do).

Hot side aeration seems to be mostly a myth but it would require the wort to be near boiling and would take some time at that because oxygen doesn't dissolve well in hot water. How long will your wort stay hot enough to cause hot side aeration problems (if they even exist) if you are stirring and have your wort chiller going? I doubt it would be very long as the temperature differential between the very hot wort and very cool water going through the wort chill would cause the temperature to drop precipitously at the first.:rockin:

 

[Conan]

My DAY 20', 1/2" chiller cools 5.5 gallons from boiling to 70°Friday in about 15 to 20 minutes. That's with a Chugger recirculating full bore through a whirlpool arm. I also use upwards of 35 gallons to do it, throttling the chiller based on its output temp. A plate chiller is in the works for water savings. Kyle

 

[Redlantern]

Use a 50' x 3/8" triple coil in the wort and a 50' x 3/8" double coil in an ice bath with a fish pump.

boiling to 68°F in 11:30

 

[hafmpty]

I use the Jaded Mantis chiller. Keep in mind I'm chilling 3.25gal. Here's a video of my chill times.

You can watch the whole video for an overview, but the link below starts at the point in the video I'm actually chilling. Hint...hint...it's FAST!

https://youtu.be/r2-uHc8DX8k?t=153

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, my well runs in the mid 50s year 'round, and my IC will chill a 5g batch in as little as 8 minutes from boil to ~65°F while the BK is recirculating. Without that recirculation I have no idea how long the same size batch would take to cool but I'm guessing three to four times as long...

Cheers!

 

[brewprint]

6 minutes or less for a 5.5 gallon batch using a Hydra while using the chiller to stir the wort.

12-15 minutes doing an 11 gallon batch with a whirlpool using a pump.

The key is to turn your water on full blast. That will knock off minutes.

 

[flattie]

I just recently got a immersion chiller. Hoping I didn't screw up my beer because I agitated the heck out of the wort with the chiller, alternating between stirring with the chiller and moving it up and down. With 55 degree groundwater it dropped from boiling to below 70 degrees in about 15 minutes.

I didn't realize hot side aeration was a problem - I thought I was doing the right thing since everything I've read says to chill as quick as possible and aerate before pitching yeast.

I guess I will know in another week or two when I check my bottles for carb level and taste.

 

[day_trippr]

[...]I didn't realize hot side aeration was a problem [...]

A topic of extensive debate wrt homebrewing (read "huge can of worms" )

Cheers!

 

[Brewmegoodbeer]

Look at brulosophy.com. They have an exbeerment that proves that hot side aeration is a myth.

 

[DurtyChemist]

I have gone from aggitating my chiller to stirring the wort to operate like a CFC to using a pump to recirculate the wort. Getting the wort to move will prevent creating a "cold spot" right around the chiller. When you're moving the wort it will homogenize the entire contents and should help you speed up your chilling. As long as you have cold water it shouldn't be very difficult. I'm using a 50' 1/2" chiller and while the entire contents don't fit I probably use 20-30 gallons of water to chill to 72F at this time of year.

I fill my mash tun cooler and hlt cooler with water along with another 5 gallon bucket in the process of chilling. It's free water for cleaning and rinsing and it prevents the driveway from icing up.

 

[schematix]

Look at brulosophy.com. They have an exbeerment that proves that hot side aeration is a myth.

HSA is real. They HSA'd both batches.

Quite a bit of discussion in this thread about the topic for home brewers: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=580532

 

[jleiii]

I did a double brew on Monday, batch 1 was only 5.25 gal (@1.105), and had it to about 80 in under 10 minutes using about 12gal of tap water (55ish). Batch 2, 6 gal, took way longer and used a lot more water. Seems I forgot to turn off my boil element, doah!
My IC is a double coil 1/2" x 50' copper with a stainless paint stirrer on a box fan motor in the center.

 

[TexasWine]

Look at brulosophy.com. They have an exbeerment that proves that hot side aeration is a myth.

@schematix beat me to it. If you read with a discerning eye the experiments completed to date, you'll see that Brulosophy has only fashioned experiments that compare one oxidized beer to another. I also used to think HSA was a myth, based on Brulosophy experiments and my own experience. But after brewing some non oxidized beer of my own and becoming familiar with the processes required to produce said beer, I realize they have not proven HSA is a myth.

 

[Morrey]

I use a Jaded Hydra and gently raise and lower it in the wort. Cools the wort very quickly.

JaDed Hydra. Spendy compared to el cheepo IC's, but worth every dime.

 

[brewprint]

@schematix beat me to it. If you read with a discerning eye the experiments completed to date, you'll see that Brulosophy has only fashioned experiments that compare one oxidized beer to another. I also used to think HSA was a myth, based on Brulosophy experiments and my own experience. But after brewing some non oxidized beer of my own and becoming familiar with the processes required to produce said beer, I realize they have not proven HSA is a myth.

Really?

What has happened your your beer that was supposedly HSA? I'd be interested to hear what you found when comparing apples to apples.

How has Brulosopher fashioned comparing one oxidized beer to another? The experiment that I read, over a year ago so it's been a while, there was nothing he did that way. Unless you're saying that using an immersion chiller with a whirlpool will cause HSA.

 

[schematix]

Really?

What has happened your your beer that was supposedly HSA? I'd be interested to hear what you found when comparing apples to apples.

How has Brulosopher fashioned comparing one oxidized beer to another? The experiment that I read, over a year ago so it's been a while, there was nothing he did that way. Unless you're saying that using an immersion chiller with a whirlpool will cause HSA.

This topic always opens a can of worms. Best i can say is read the thread i linked to a few posts ago. It's long but eye opening.

In a nutshell, oxidation occurs extremely rapidly in the mash. Untreated mash water has more than enough dissolved O2 to oxidize a mash within a matter of minutes. This results in permanent loss of certain flavors. The resulting beer isn't bad, but it is missing something it could have had. If you preserve the flavors in the mash, you can still lose them later on if your process doesn't exclude O2. However, if you oxidized your mash, like Brulosopher did, then you didn't have anything to preserve, thus all of his splashing after the fact was for naught.

I've used the LoDO process on my last 6 batches and i can confirm when executed correctly there is an extremely noticeable difference in the mash - it's odorless (meaning compounds haven't been volatilized and driven off) and the resulting flavor of the wort is very different in a good way.

 

[pshankstar]

I had the fastest time earlier this week. I have a 50ft 1/2inch copper chiller from NorCal. From boiling to 56 degrees in 10 minutes. Well the ground water in Western NY is very cold this time of year. Luckily it was around 42 degrees outside so I could just hook it up to the outside faucet without any freezing.

This summer was very hot here and it took almost 20 minutes to get the wort below 80 degrees since we had such a hot summer with a drought. Then I would have to bust out the ice bath.

 

[TexasWine]

Really?

What has happened your your beer that was supposedly HSA? I'd be interested to hear what you found when comparing apples to apples.

How has Brulosopher fashioned comparing one oxidized beer to another? The experiment that I read, over a year ago so it's been a while, there was nothing he did that way. Unless you're saying that using an immersion chiller with a whirlpool will cause HSA.

Looks like @schematix is quick on the draw, beating me again! Also, I know this is off topic from the thread. My sincerest apologies, and this will be my last post on this topic in this thread.

I've never done a side-by-side comparison of two beers I made, one with no HSA/HSO and the other with. But I can tell you that the beers that I've made successfully with no HSO have been very good. But I also took great care not to expose these beers to any oxygen on the cold side as well.

The reason I say that the Brulosophy folks have yet to do a ZERO HSO to HSO comparison is exactly what Schematix mentioned. The amount of oxygen dissolved in the mash water was enough to cause HSO. Whipping the mash about, stirring with a paint stirrer, and generally abusing the wort undoubtedly increased the amount of dissolved oxygen in the wort, but it did not result in a distinguishable beer because they both have seen HSO.

 

[brewprint]

This topic always opens a can of worms. Best i can say is read the thread i linked to a few posts ago. It's long but eye opening.

In a nutshell, oxidation occurs extremely rapidly in the mash. Untreated mash water has more than enough dissolved O2 to oxidize a mash within a matter of minutes. This results in permanent loss of certain flavors. The resulting beer isn't bad, but it is missing something it could have had. If you preserve the flavors in the mash, you can still lose them later on if your process doesn't exclude O2. However, if you oxidized your mash, like Brulosopher did, then you didn't have anything to preserve, thus all of his splashing after the fact was for naught.

I've used the LoDO process on my last 6 batches and i can confirm when executed correctly there is an extremely noticeable difference in the mash - it's odorless (meaning compounds haven't been volatilized and driven off) and the resulting flavor of the wort is very different in a good way.

That thread is like a novel.

Can you easily describe to me the LoDO process? I find this utterly interesting that your mash had no odor. Like mind blowing.

 

[schematix]

That thread is like a novel.

Can you easily describe to me the LoDO process? I find this utterly interesting that your mash had no odor. Like mind blowing.

Read this: http://www.germanbrewing.net/docs/Brewing-Bavarian-Helles.pdf

It's can be as simple as pre-boiling your mash water and adding a calculated dose of sodium metabisulfate. Also ascorbic acid and brewtan B have been identified as being useful, but the PDF doesn't address those. There are some process steps you need to be mindful of too to reduce oxygen ingress. You may or may not have to make adjustments there. Boiled water + SMB is the crux of the process though.

Here's another useful link: http://www.********************/

Consider your mind blown.

 

[brewprint]

Read this: http://www.germanbrewing.net/docs/Brewing-Bavarian-Helles.pdf

It's can be as simple as pre-boiling your mash water and adding a calculated dose of sodium metabisulfate. Also ascorbic acid and brewtan B have been identified as being useful, but the PDF doesn't address those. There are some process steps you need to be mindful of too to reduce oxygen ingress. You may or may not have to make adjustments there. Boiled water + SMB is the crux of the process though.

Here's another useful link: http://www.********************/

Consider your mind blown.

This is insane to me.

 

[TexasWine]

This is insane to me.

Exactly. I didn't sleep well for two weeks because it turned everything I knew to be true upside down.

 

[brewprint]

Exactly. I didn't sleep well for two weeks because it turned everything I knew to be true upside down.

No doubt. Here I thought that I was ready to open a brewery. I need to get this stuff figured out.