Chilling with freezer blocks.

[Banjoblue]

Has anybody tried chilling the wort by putting freezer blocks into it? I was thinking that you could sterilise some of those big freezer blocks, put them in a strerilzed plastic bag then freeze them up. You could then put them directly into the hot wort.

 

[rank_frank]

I think you'd need quite a few of them to take wort from 100C to 18C. Something else I'd worry about is the plastic they're made of. It's not meant to be heated to 100C as it would be when you first drop the block in. Whilst it would probably not melt it might distort and might give off chemicals that you'd rather not have in your beer.

 

[MyQul]

I've done this (used ice to get to pitching temp). Frank is right you'd need quite a few to get it down from 100C to 18C. What I used to do is freeze about 5L of water then chuck it into the wort (I was doing Maxi-BIAB so needed to liquor back as well).This would get the wort down quite a way. But to finish off to pitching temp, I would freeze 500ml water bottles, dunk em in star san then chuck them in the wort. Fish them out when melted and throw some more in.
I now no-chill and havent done this whole process for years but during the summer I sometimes just do the bottles if I'm not going to use a temp tolerant yeast (which I prefer to do)

 

[-Bezza-]

I've chilled using frozen PET bottles of water, sprayed with Starsan before lobbing into the kettle (as MyQul has mentioned). A couple of 2l bottles gets you down quick enough, then replace with a fresh couple of 2l bottles and just let "no chill" do the rest until you're at pitching temperature.

 

[Stephenj]

I tend to use more grain for higher OG and top up with water to get more beer (cheap git) and have started to freeze blocks of boiled water in sanitised Tupperware boxes. 2 birds and all that.

 

[MyQul]

Oh and remember to stir when you put the new ice blocks/bottles in as this makes it all work faster

 

[connor7932]

if the cheap blue one,s.they blow the bung out when heated.you know what anti-freeze does to cats.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

if the cheap blue one,s.they blow the bung out when heated.you know what anti-freeze does to cats.

I might be way off here but why would they use antifreeze in something designed to be frozen?

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[robbym123]

I use ice blocks to liquor back as well, it is very effective. I use my immersion chiller to get down to about 35-40c, then when cooling gets painfully slow chuck a load of ice in. I then finish off by adding chilled water to my fermenters ( 10l in each 60l fermenter) before pouring the wort in.

Using this method I can get 100l of wort at pitching temperature in about 20 mins using only a copper coil chiller.

Regards to antifreeze, I guess this makes the blocks more effective due to their lower freezing temperature?.

 

[connor7932]

I might be way off here but why would they use antifreeze in something designed to be frozen?

.

did not say A/F was in it,just scaring him to look at what,s in them.they are not made to
freeze,then put in boiling wort.make your own with pure water,yes.but the o.p. put freezer blocks
Is the blue gel in ice packs toxic?
Propylene glycol in pure form is typically toxic, but according to the Blue Ice,
the level of glycol present in Blue Ice is not toxic.

 

[RichK]

My pot goes in the sink to cool. I've been known to throw any available freezer blocks into the sink with it but never directly into the wort.

 

[Dull Boy]

I might be way off here but why would they use antifreeze in something designed to be frozen?

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