Partial boil question

[yesjenks]

Hello,

Just finished a brew. Last one was my first full boil and it took forever to cool, so I did a partial this time.

Would it be bad to pour 2 gallons of cold water into my brew pot right after taking of the stove? This would help cool it quicker and get me closer to the 5 gallon amount. In the past, I've topped off my fermentor with cold water after adding the wort.

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

 

[shortyz]

totally fine.

 

[tomsan]

I do this (with less water) and not had a problem

 

[scientifics]

That's what I do, however, I treat everything with Campden to ret rid of chlorine and chloramines (1 tablet/10 gal water).

 

[EcuPirate07]

I usually freeze 2 gallons and boil with 3 gallons it's amazing how fast you can get your temp down with this method by just poring the 3 gallons over the 2 frozen gallons in the ferment bucket.

 

[unionrdr]

If I'm short on ice for the wort chill, I'll sometimes chill an extra couple gallons of the spring water I brew with to add some to the kettle during chilling. After a 3 1/2 gallon boil, I'll have about 3 gallons left. With not enough ice, adding a cold gallon of the spring water can help a lot. Chill down to 75F or so. Then strain into primary & top off with remaining spring water to recipe volume.

 

[Yooper]

One thing to keep in mind. If you have, say, 2.5 gallons of boiling wort and add 2.5 gallons of very cold water, you still won't be at a cool enough temperature to pitch the yeast. You'll just have 5 gallons of 100 degree wort, which will take even longer to cool. It's best to cool the 2.5 gallons in an ice bath to under 130 degrees (it only takes a few minutes), and then add the cold water and you'll be right at 62-66 degrees and then the wort will be ready for stirring well to aerate and for the yeast.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, the temp still has to be brought down to at least ten degrees above that which you want to ferment at if topping off. That's why I, for one, chill some water a day or two before brew day. It gets the temp down to 65F or lower quite quickly in the fermenter, also producing a decent cold break. So I basically agree.

 

[yesjenks]

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm going to ice-bath, then add cold water.