Chilling the wort.

[Bribie G]

I'll bite:
Cold break has no adverse effects in the fermenter.

The reason that commercial breweries dislike it is that it takes up $$$$ space in the fermenter when it sinks to the bottom.
If anything cold break can contribute towards yeast nutrient. At a blind test at my old home brew club, the punters actually preferred the cold break beer as opposed to the one from which the cold break had been removed (from the same batch).

 

[Matplat]

Another way to improve cooling performance is with your pre-chiller.

Instead of running your water through a coil in an ice bath, just use the actual water in the ice bath. It removes a boundary that the cooling energy has to cross (the surface of your pre-chiller coil).

I haven't done it yet, (as I've only just got an extra freezer to generate ice) but next brew, I will make an ice bath in a spare FV, connect the outlet to the immersion coil in the kettle, gravity fed, and run water in the top to maintain the level and keep the ice covered. Hoping to significantly reduce chilling time.... with current tap water temps it takes a good 30-40 mins to get to 30deg.

 

[huez]

I use a plate chiller and a pond pump in an old fermenter to pump ice water through it. I just buy a couple of bags of ice and dump it in the water as it melts, use the left over water to do a load of washing. Kettle to fermenter at pitching temp in under 10mins. I'd imagine the one you posted would just be less efficient if using the same technique, you wouldn't have to worry about clogging it though.

 

[Mics100]

I've been using the no chill method for a long time and wondering whether an immersion chiller might help to improve IBU accuracy. Does the no chill mean that there is greater contact time with hops, therefore my flameout hops become 20 min hops due to time wasted with whirlpool and no chill?

 

[Lionman]

I have recently started all grain brewing and am fast becoming a huge fan of no-chill.

First two batches were delicious. Just polished off a 20l keg of IPA while camping and it was really nice. Bursting with hop flavour and aroma.

Brew day is long enough without another step that takes ages and creates more cleaning.

 

[Paddy Melon]

I was checking this post because I too wanted to get my wort temp down quickly. My question is can you simply put purified ice into the wort itself?

 

[dkril]

I was checking this post because I too wanted to get my wort temp down quickly. My question is can you simply put purified ice into the wort itself?

Yes, but you have to work out the dilution rate and boil the wort down to a much lower volume.

I've only ever known one person who brewed that way. 8-10 litres of wort at the end of the boil, then add ice to hit pitching temperature.

 

[Neil Jansen]

The last entry in this linked thread shows how you can get quite a bit of cooling using a two-stage system. An item that I left out of the photo was a small fish tank pump that circulates the ice-water around the coils in the HLT. It makes a big difference. See it here https://aussiehomebrewer.com/thread...immersion-chiller-coil-from-5-16-inch.100141/

 

[Daveykyevad]

I've had good success combining an immersion chiller and a paint stirrer attached to battery powered drill. There's lot of foam, but I'm not too concerned about hot side aeration.

Using water straight from the tap I think I've been able to get from 90 down to about 25 degrees in less than 10 mins. Might use about 50 litres of water which can then be used in clean up.

 

[Paddy Melon]

Yes, but you have to work out the dilution rate and boil the wort down to a much lower volume.

I've only ever known one person who brewed that way. 8-10 litres of wort at the end of the boil, then add ice to hit pitching temperature.

Thanks dkril, I actually used the ice in my latest batch before posting the question. Then I thought about it, thus the post. Hopefully everything else I did was right. I certainly calculated the ice into the water volume so fingers crossed. I'll know in about a month.

 

[Paddy Melon]

While I'm on a roll, with this last batch I had my yeast starter going but the temperature sat at about 26 degrees, this was the ambient temperature because of the high hot spell we'd been having. I was using a lager yeast and pitched it at between 26 and 27 degrees then placed it in the ferment fridge dropping it to 11.5 degrees. would the higher temps in growing the yeast have affected the yeast? After two days there seems to be activity, albeit very slow, and there is a krausen ring around the fermenter. I know lager yeast is slow but just wondering if the initial temperatures would have affected it.

 

[dkril]

Thanks dkril, I actually used the ice in my latest batch before posting the question. Then I thought about it, thus the post. Hopefully everything else I did was right. I certainly calculated the ice into the water volume so fingers crossed. I'll know in about a month.

That's a good start. Hopefully you got your hopping times and rates correct too. I don't know what (if any) effect the increased gravity of the concentrated wort would have on hop utilisation.

 

[Coalminer]

While I'm on a roll, with this last batch I had my yeast starter going but the temperature sat at about 26 degrees, this was the ambient temperature because of the high hot spell we'd been having. I was using a lager yeast and pitched it at between 26 and 27 degrees then placed it in the ferment fridge dropping it to 11.5 degrees. would the higher temps in growing the yeast have affected the yeast? After two days there seems to be activity, albeit very slow, and there is a krausen ring around the fermenter. I know lager yeast is slow but just wondering if the initial temperatures would have affected it.

I do all my ale starters at 26C.
Does not have any adverse effects as you are making yeast not beer.
You should decant the the crap off the starter and only pitch the yeast

 

[thehomebrewchef]

I can get my 40lt batches down to pitching temps within ten minutes. I have a cooper immersion chiller and use a cordless power drill with a paddle attached to whirlpool the wort.
I start slowly (the jury is still out on hot side aeration ‍) once it’s below 50c (about 5 mins) I’ll speed it up to aerate the wort. Once at pitching temp, I’ll remove the chiller, and slow the paddle down to whirlpool again. By the time I’ve cleaned the chiller and paddle, all the crud is gathered in the centre and the wort is ready to transfer.
Chilling water is diverted to soaker hoses in the garden.

 

[Paddy Melon]

thanks for the replies guys, my anxiety has now been abated.

 

[Engibeer]

The last entry in this linked thread shows how you can get quite a bit of cooling using a two-stage system. An item that I left out of the photo was a small fish tank pump that circulates the ice-water around the coils in the HLT. It makes a big difference. See it here https://aussiehomebrewer.com/thread...immersion-chiller-coil-from-5-16-inch.100141/

I'm planning to set up something similar but use a submersible pump to circulate ice water through the CFC, after the tap water has gotten it down as far as possible.

I recirculate back into the kettle using a pump though.

It's less cleaning/removes the second coil. And I always recirculate back into the kettle prior to turning the chilling water on to ensure the CFC is sterilised by boiling wort.

 

[Trippinonprozac]

I’m concerned with the amount of water require to chill down to near pitching temperatures 25c. Is there any adverse effect to chilling into a no chill cube, simply to speed up the no chill process and keep IBU accuracy?

 

[MHB]

Yes - you lose the sterilisation that you get by cubing hot. Bit of a clue in the name "no-chill".
I suspect the IBU accuracy is most illusory, it probably has more to do with hop taste than bitterness.
Mark

 

[OATY1KENOBE]

I've been using the no chill method for a long time and wondering whether an immersion chiller might help to improve IBU accuracy. Does the no chill mean that there is greater contact time with hops, therefore my flameout hops become 20 min hops due to time wasted with whirlpool and no chill?

60 becomes 40, 30 becomes 10 etc etc...
I use Bittering at 40, sometimes a bit at flameout, the rest into the cube. Add wort at 85C. Always good, never a problem I don't bother with a whirlpool as the false bottom takes care of most of the gunk. Also I pressure ferment with a silicon dip tube, so I'm only ever picking up clean fluid when doing a closed transfer to my kegs..... Highly recommend this process

 

[OATY1KENOBE]

I’m concerned with the amount of water require to chill down to near pitching temperatures 25c. Is there any adverse effect to chilling into a no chill cube, simply to speed up the no chill process and keep IBU accuracy?

Tramsfer your Wort at 85C. Below that isomerisation stops, i.e- no more bitterness.