Copper Cooler Cleaning Routine

[big d]

guys
for those of you who ag and use an immersion copper cooling coil do you clean it after so many brews?
i cleaned mine the other day as i wasnt happy with the colour of it (getting rather dark) and have a sneeking feeling it may be contributing to a bitterness that i cant quite put my finger on.
dunno on this one as ive brewed a few cracker ag brews and some very average ones.ive gone off liquid yeasts at the moment as they are getting on in age so am trialling different dried yeasts but am still having this unusual bitterness problem.thought originally it may be a yeast problem.
my technique is sound so i believe but wish to sit in on someones ag brew in adelaide/perth in june/july to check that im doing everything right.

any thoughts guys much appreciated.

 

[JasonY]

Well in my tightly controlled brewing environment big d, it gets a quick squirt with the hose and then into the boil for 10mins. Once its cooled and removed from the wort it gets rewarded with another squirt ...

Seems to be ok, copper will always darken if left about anyway ... I just make sure the chunky bits are gone

 

[JasonY]

Oh and on the subject of dried yeasts, I got a sample of 1056 in a dry form from Roy at TWOC the other day. Will give this a bash in my next APA to see how it flies. Anyone else tried this one out?

 

[sosman]

Big D,

To get that bright shiny look I just use dilute phosphoric acid - spray on, rinse off.

Vinegar would probably work too.

 

[jayse]

hmm interesting bigd.
iam not much help here.
Iam thinking it may not be the copper though.
the best bet would be send one to dave.
My favourite beer taster is B.B AKA brewer brad. iam sure these guys should beable to pick what the prob is.

cheers(no help) jayse

 

[big d]

thanx for the tips guys
will wait till next brew time with the newly cleaned chiller to see if the results change.hope so.thats the prob though its a long wait between drinks of new brews. <_<

sosman how often do you clean your chiller with the phos?

 

[devilsaltarboy]

sosman how often do you clean your chiller with the phos?

I thought id throw a comment in, yes phosphoric acid and vinegar is good for every 10 brews to clean that copper bright. However napisan also cleans copper quite well in my opinion, I clean my stainless boiler and coil by filling up with water and a dash of napisan, barely need to use a cloth

 

[dicko]

Big D,
You are more than welcome to sit in on a AG brew wth me on the Eastern Eyre Peninsula at any time you wish.
You might not learn much more than JACK SH$T but i'll bet we'll have a good time!!!.

Cheers

 

[THE DRUNK ARAB]

I use a solution of diluted vinegar to clean mine. Pull it out on brew day and chuck it in first thing then when time comes for chilling rinse off with water and chuck it in the boiling wort to sterilize.

C&B
TDA

 

[Gough]

JasonY,

Just brewed (Good Friday) a porter to one of Palmer's recipes and used a sample of the dried 1056 American Ale yeast. The recipe calls for the liquid version so thought I'd give the dried a go as the brew shop had run out... Certainly ferments strongly. Got the brew in my fridge at 20 degrees and the Krausen almost completely fillied the 'dead space' in my fermenter - almost blew out the airlock... Will let you know how it turns out once I taste a sample... How has yours gone?

Shawn.