Wort Chillers

[zeg]

Rouge and wild yeasts/bacterias LOVE 100-130 degree sugary wort/environment. Im no expert but from what i heard general drop with an ice batch will get u down to 150 but that "range" for harmful bacterias just last to long on an ice chill. also you want to experience whats called "cold break" chilling the wort fast enough will yield you with a clearer and tasty brew.

My ice baths weren't much slower than ICs, just more of a PITA. If your sanitation is good, I don't believe the risk of infection is much higher. People successfully chill without either an IC or a bath. Post-boil, the wort is as close to sterile as you can get without an autoclave... It's going to take some time (and something getting in) before it can even start growing bacteria.

As for the cold break, I've not had any trouble getting extremely clear beers even with rather slow cooling. I think you can pretty well make up for this with patience later in the process.