brew703
Well-Known Member
I started brewing 2.5-3.5 gallon batches using a 10 gal kettle. Eventually will move to 5 gallon batches which is why I bought a 10 gallon kettle.
Problem I am encountering is cooling the wort down in a reasonable amount of time. I have a 25' IC but it's useless for batches under 3 gallons. For a 3+ gallon batch I have to tilt my kettle in order for the IC to sit low enough to cool the wort.
For batches between 1.75-2.95 or so I have to transfer the wort to my 3 gallon kettle or split between my 2 and 3 gallon kettle.
It normally takes about an hour to get the temps down to 70 degrees using an ice bath. If I transfer to the smaller kettles, I boil water for 20 min or so in the two smaller kettles, then turn off the heat and cover. When it's time to transfer, I dump the water and hit the pot with starsan then transfer using a sanitized tube. Once that is done the pot goes into an ice batch until it reaches 70 degrees. Frozen water bottles are changed as needed.
Is there any harm in doing it this way? I would like to be able to get the temps down within 30 min but it just hasn't happened. I also tried placing the 3 gallon kettle into the freezer to chill rapidly. That has helped somewhat but still takes over 30 minutes to chill down to 70 degrees.
Thanks.
Problem I am encountering is cooling the wort down in a reasonable amount of time. I have a 25' IC but it's useless for batches under 3 gallons. For a 3+ gallon batch I have to tilt my kettle in order for the IC to sit low enough to cool the wort.
For batches between 1.75-2.95 or so I have to transfer the wort to my 3 gallon kettle or split between my 2 and 3 gallon kettle.
It normally takes about an hour to get the temps down to 70 degrees using an ice bath. If I transfer to the smaller kettles, I boil water for 20 min or so in the two smaller kettles, then turn off the heat and cover. When it's time to transfer, I dump the water and hit the pot with starsan then transfer using a sanitized tube. Once that is done the pot goes into an ice batch until it reaches 70 degrees. Frozen water bottles are changed as needed.
Is there any harm in doing it this way? I would like to be able to get the temps down within 30 min but it just hasn't happened. I also tried placing the 3 gallon kettle into the freezer to chill rapidly. That has helped somewhat but still takes over 30 minutes to chill down to 70 degrees.
Thanks.