Why do they say to add the wort chiller so late?

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QuadConPana

QuadConPana

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One thing that my minor OCD finds annoying is the temperature drop that occurs when inserting the wort chiller near the end of the boil. Even though I know it isn't a big deal, it just bothers me when the wort stops boiling for awhile, especially when there are hop additions around the same time.

So, is there a reason we can't insert the wort chiller at the beginning. (Since I just did this, I guess I'll know soon if it ruins my beer.)
 
I guess I'd think it'd be fine.


Though I think the consensus is that adding at flameout will pasteurize quickly enough anyways.
 
i always put mine in before starting the boil. Mainly because i dont want to remove my hop spider when inserting the chiller. I have had no ill effects.
Also you can crank the heat up full blast, and SLOWLY put the chiller into the wort. Doing this, it never stops the boil
 
There is no reason you can't add it earlier. I think it is more of an at least 5 minutes before the end of the boil since it would take that long to effectively sanitize it.
 
I've never had an issue with adding the wort chiller affecting the the temperature/intensity of the boil... are you boiling on an electric stovetop or something along those lines?
 
UncleRusty said:
I've never had an issue with adding the wort chiller affecting the the temperature/intensity of the boil... are you boiling on an electric stovetop or something along those lines?
Click to expand...


Turkey fryer. A nicer burner is on my wish list. (Along with enough other stuff to eat a serious percentage of a winning Powerball ticket) I got a good deal, though on copper tubing that was incorrectly priced @ lowes.com. So it's a lot of metal going in there.
 
mongoose33 said:
If it's full of water it will lower the temp.
Click to expand...

The first time I used it, I tried to get as much water out as possible, but that turned out to be a real PIA and not particularly effective. Then, when I remembered that the copper pipes in my home are always full of water, I stopped stressing about it.
 
QuadConPana said:
Turkey fryer. A nicer burner is on my wish list. (Along with enough other stuff to eat a serious percentage of a winning Powerball ticket) I got a good deal, though on copper tubing that was incorrectly priced @ lowes.com. So it's a lot of metal going in there.
Click to expand...

Ahh, that makes sense then. I'm using a Darkstar which isn't the most efficient burner but it does put out a decent amount of BTUs... but my wort chiller is on the smaller side...getting a big one like the Hyrda is on my wish list.

But I can't see any harm with throwing your chiller in earlier. Or hell, you'd probably even be just fine spraying down the chiller with sanitizer and throwing it in at flameout.
 
I usually put the chiller in with 5min to go, I get scared every time because my tubing goes crazy!
 
I always got a bucket of star san around during the brew day, so I just give it a dip and toss it in at FO --- probably overkill, but I may as well...
I used to toss it in at mid-boil, as it seems highly recommended to do so, but it was always a pain in the ass to deal with like that.
 
I like to put it in 5-10 minutes before flameout just to be sure. It only kills the boil for about a minute. I try to remove as much of the water from the chiller as possible beforehand.
 
I have always added mine at the 15 min mark. Same time I ad my re-hydrated Irish Moss. I have customers that like to add it at the beginning. I have customers that add it a the end. I really don't think it is going to make a difference in the outcome of the beer 1 way or another. If it did I really don't think you or I would be able to taste it. Do whatever make you feel good about the process. Besides, its your process. Build it around you.

Cheers
Jay
 
I've been doing Hop stands, so i don't add the chiller to the boil because I cover the pot during the hop stand period

After the hop stand period, I just spray the chiller down with Starsan and then drop it into the wort and chill away.

Anybody see adverse issues with this process?
 
I put mine in after I turn the flame off. 5+ gallons of boiling water easily sanitizes the chiller.
 
I think one caveat here would be for folks (like me) who have a whirlpool arm built into your chiller. In that case, in addition to sanitizing your chiller, you want to make sure your hoses and pump are also sanitized. For that I like to put my chiller in at about the 15 minutes left mark with the flame turned up so it comes back to a boil quickly. Then I get all my hoses hooked up, and at the 10 minute mark I turn on the pump and start the whirlpool. That's also when I add my whirlfloc tab.

Thinking about it now though, I suppose you could just hook your hoses to the pump and put the other ends in a bucket of star san and recirculate that for a bit and have a sanitized pump and hoses ready to connect if you drop your chiller in at flame out.
 
I pour the hot wort into my fermenting bucket which contains my chiller coil which was sanitized at the same time as my bucket. I let them sit for a few minutes before starting the cooling process. The heat from the hot wort further sanitizes both coil and fermenter. I figure transferring cool wort into the bucket gives you a greater chance of picking up some nasties.
 
idiotsinc said:
I pour the hot wort into my fermenting bucket which contains my chiller coil which was sanitized at the same time as my bucket. I let them sit for a few minutes before starting the cooling process. The heat from the hot wort further sanitizes both coil and fermenter. I figure transferring cool wort into the bucket gives you a greater chance of picking up some nasties.
Click to expand...

I believe that's a bit too hot if you're using plastic a fermenter.
 
drgonzo2k2 said:
I think one caveat here would be for folks (like me) who have a whirlpool arm built into your chiller. In that case, in addition to sanitizing your chiller, you want to make sure your hoses and pump are also sanitized. For that I like to put my chiller in at about the 15 minutes left mark with the flame turned up so it comes back to a boil quickly. Then I get all my hoses hooked up, and at the 10 minute mark I turn on the pump and start the whirlpool. That's also when I add my whirlfloc tab.

Thinking about it now though, I suppose you could just hook your hoses to the pump and put the other ends in a bucket of star san and recirculate that for a bit and have a sanitized pump and hoses ready to connect if you drop your chiller in at flame out.
Click to expand...

Do you think the acid in the Star San might be harmful to the pump? Perhaps not if you have a really nice SS Chugger or somesuch, but a lot of people tend to use cheaper, non-food-safe fountain pumps for simple stuff like circulating chiller water.
 
KPBrews said:
Do you think the acid in the Star San might be harmful to the pump? Perhaps not if you have a really nice SS Chugger or somesuch, but a lot of people tend to use cheaper, non-food-safe fountain pumps for simple stuff like circulating chiller water.
Click to expand...

Oh, I'm talking about using a pump with a whirlpool arm on your chiller, not an immersion pump to circulate your chiller water.

For the chiller water, it doesn't need to be sanitized as it never contacts your wort.
 
obie said:
I usually put the chiller in with 5min to go, I get scared every time because my tubing goes crazy!
Click to expand...

had the same concern, trying to manage the silicon tubing hanging off the copper chiller each time, so I carefully... repurposed my immersion copper to a CFC. No more worries and one less thing to be fret over on brew day!!
 
IMO, the less time spent in the active boil, the better. If you put in in for the entire boil, itll get buildup on it at a much faster rate
 
idiotsinc said:
Not with the white buckets, at least the ones that I use. Now pouring hot wort into a PET plastic carboy will result in ruined carboy (don't ask how I know).
Click to expand...

Right on. Actually tons of homebrewers in Europe use plastic buckets as kettles, they boil in them and everything. I've no chilled in them before too.

One thing to consider when adding your wort chiller at the start of the boil rather than closer to the end, is that your hoses may MELT. I have stainless braids on mine that later terminate to garden hose which eliminated the problem.
 
estricklin said:
Right on. Actually tons of homebrewers in Europe use plastic buckets as kettles, they boil in them and everything. I've no chilled in them before too.

One thing to consider when adding your wort chiller at the start of the boil rather than closer to the end, is that your hoses may MELT. I have stainless braids on mine that later terminate to garden hose which eliminated the problem.
Click to expand...


Uhhh, what?!? and how?!
 
I put my IC in at flameout. Never had a problem. If the wort goes from 212F to 200F or something like that I've got to believe all the bugs will still be killed.
 
I'll just point out the 2 vessel HERMS guys have their chiller in the boil pot for the entire brew day. If you sanatize outside of your brew pot you won't need it in there until you want to chill.
 

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