Question about wort chilling

[rcbridge]

I've tried the ice bath method a couple of times but it ends up taking a really long time to get the wort down to pitching temperature.

I've considered just adding ice straight to the wort to cool it down... Are there any reasons why I wouldn't do this? I'm doing extract recipes which commonly add water to the wort, so I figured ice would be even better?

Thanks for reading, any wort chilling techniques/advice is welcome


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[Puddlethumper]

I've considered just adding ice straight to the wort to cool it down... Are there any reasons why I wouldn't do this? I'm doing extract recipes which commonly add water to the wort, so I figured ice would be even better?

Ice bath is slow for sure. The main drawback to adding ice directly to the wort is the risk of adding a contaminant of some sort. In a perfect world you could add ice made either from distilled water or water you had previously boiled. That about eliminates the concern with introducing an infection of some kind.

From a practical standpoint you probably could buy ice from the supermarket and add it without getting anything bad in your beer. That's because of all the filtering processes the water has to go through in order to make it come out nice and clear and clean (and to keep the lawyers from suing the socks off the ice company). But I would feel like I was playing Russian Roulette every time I did it so wouldn't be all that comfortable.

You might try boiling a gallon or two ahead of time and putting it in the fridge to cool down to say 40F +/-. Keep it cold and covered and it will be ready to add to the wort. That should get you pretty close.

 

[emontag]

I am a rank beginner having only started my 2nd batch last Sunday but check out coppertubingsales.com. They have wort chiller kits. No instructions and the shipping is a bit pricy. But if you check out YouTube, you can figure it out. I put together a kit the day before brew day and it worked great.( I would recommend a tubing bending coil or tool.)

For my first batch I put the wort in the bucket outside in the Rochester cold winter air but it still took forever to cool and I probably pitched the yeast when it was a little too warm.

With the wort chiller for this current batch, the wort in the kettle cooled very quickly.


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[Puddlethumper]

I am a rank beginner having only started my 2nd batch last Sunday but check out coppertubingsales.com. They have wort chiller kits. No instructions and the shipping is a bit pricy. But if you check out YouTube, you can figure it out. I put together a kit the day before brew day and it worked great.( I would recommend a tubing bending coil or tool.)

For my first batch I put the wort in the bucket outside in the Rochester cold winter air but it still took forever to cool and I probably pitched the yeast when it was a little too warm.

With the wort chiller for this current batch, the wort in the kettle cooled very quickly.

Excellent advice! A tubing bending kit can be had from Harbor Freight or OSH for less than $15 and then the cost of the tubing and fittings and you have a wort chiller. That's exactly what I did and, for the difference in price and quality of build, wish I had ordered one from MoreBeer. But even though mine is ugly as home-made sin, it still cools the wort pretty fast.

The issue with immersion chillers is water temperature and water consumption. Both of these are big issues in our part of the world these days. Perhaps not so much in all of yours. If water availability is not a problem and it is cold from the tap, an IC can be a great next addition to your kit.

 

[mikeprooo]

Excellent advice! A tubing bending kit can be had from Harbor Freight or OSH for less than $15 and then the cost of the tubing and fittings and you have a wort chiller. That's exactly what I did and, for the difference in price and quality of build, wish I had ordered one from MoreBeer. But even though mine is ugly as home-made sin, it still cools the wort pretty fast.

The issue with immersion chillers is water temperature and water consumption. Both of these are big issues in our part of the world these days. Perhaps not so much in all of yours. If water availability is not a problem and it is cold from the tap, an IC can be a great next addition to your kit.

I use a SS immersion chiller, and then I bought a submersible fountain pump from home depot. It came with multiple tube adapters, and I hooked it up to the non-hose end of the chiller (the other end has the spigot adapter.) I put my hot kettle in one side of my double sink, and fill the other side with cold water and immerse the pump in it. plug it in and the pump moves plenty of water. You can add more ice to the water as necessary, or even plug the sink the kettle is in and fill it with water to cool from the outside as well.

mike

 

[boydster]

I've tried the ice bath method a couple of times but it ends up taking a really long time to get the wort down to pitching temperature.

I've considered just adding ice straight to the wort to cool it down... Are there any reasons why I wouldn't do this? I'm doing extract recipes which commonly add water to the wort, so I figured ice would be even better?

Thanks for reading, any wort chilling techniques/advice is welcome


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You're in drought country, right? I know you are asking about ice and wort chillers, so feel free to completely ignore my post because it isn't about those things.

Have you tried just letting the wort cool naturally? It's called no-chill, and it's not that uncommon, especially in places where ground water might be warm to begin with and/or water is scarce. I've made my last 45 gallons or so that way. I brew in the evening usually. When I finish the boil, I cover my kettle and wrap it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and leave it until the next morning. If I brew during the day, I can bring the kettle in to transfer to a bucket or carboy that evening. No water wasted, no rushing at the end of the boil, and no sacrifice on the quality of the end product either.

Just a thought.

 

[Puddlethumper]

You're in drought country, right? I know you are asking about ice and wort chillers, so feel free to completely ignore my post because it isn't about those things.

Have you tried just letting the wort cool naturally? It's called no-chill, and it's not that uncommon, especially in places where ground water might be warm to begin with and/or water is scarce.
Just a thought.

Great suggestion sir. Should have made that one myself since I've been doing something close to that for the last few batches. And yes, we are definitely in drought country right now. Will probably go to a complete no-chill process with all future batches.

 

[rcbridge]

Thanks for all of the tips. I think I'm going to give the no-chill method a try on my next batch since I'm a little concerned with the quality of the ice I'd use.

I'm definitely leaning towards building my own wort chiller in the next couple of weeks -- I just bought the equipment to convert a 10 gallon rubbermaid cooler to a mash tun, and I'm enjoying these little projects.

I appreciate all the help!