Using Ice INSIDE your fermenting bucket.

[dfc]

A buddy of mine told me he uses 10 lbs of ice inside his fermenting bucket to cool the wort down in 15 minutes. Has anyone ever heard of this?

Wouldn't this run an increased risk of introducing bacteria into your batch?
Is this advisable to do in any instance if at all?

 

[Walker]

When I did partial boils and extract I would always freeze clean water in large plastic ziplocks. I would put the hot wort into my bottling bucket, tear the plastic off the big blocks of ice, and drop them in. A little stirring to get it melted and the wort cooled, then a run through the bucket's spigot freefalling into the carboy (great aeration), and pitch.

Worked great for me. Never had an infection or any other issues.

 

[dfc]

Damn. I wish I had heard of this before I tried cooling my wort down from the outside. 1 1/2 hours and 40 lbs of ice later and I'm only at 79 degrees.

That's why I'm a noob.

 

[lumpher]

same for me when i did partials. boil 3, add ice and water, and cool in 15

 

[dfc]

Well, I'm brewing again on Tuesday so I'll have to try it.

 

[oceanselv]

The key is to use clean water and make the ice yourself. The bags of ice you buy from a store is typically not made from sterile water. Also as Walker mentioned he put the water in a sealed ziplock. Don't freeze the water in an open container. The air in your freezer can infect the water as it turns to ice.

If you are careful you should not have a problem.

 

[dfc]

I just put 2 gallons of filtered water in 4 different tupperware type of containers. This will be used on Tuesday.

I greatly appreciate the input of everyone.

 

[a10t2]

When chilling in the sink, use tap water 2-3 times, stirring it until it starts to get warm. Then replace it and stir some more. Once the wort gets down to >90°F start adding ice.

If you want to add (clean) ice to the fermenter, it's pretty easy to figure out how much you need:

V(water->ice)*(333 + 4.18T) = SG*V(wort)*4.18*(100-T)

So if, for example, you have 3 gallons of 1.100 wort and add ice made from 2 gal of water, you'll end up with 5 gallons of 1.060 wort at ~32°C/90°F. Chill the wort to 165°F first and it'll drop it to 61°F - perfect pitching temperature.

 

[ToddO]

I usually top up with distilled and usually around 1-1/2 gallons worth. I put bottle of water in the freezer a couple hours before brewing. It's ice cold when its time cool the wort - I only need to get my wort down around 100 or so and then top off with the near frozen top off bringing the temp down perfectly..

+1 to using tap water baths a couple times before using your ice.

 

[a10t2]

I'm sure cold water works fine, but ice will absorb ~5 times as much heat.