going over to the darkside

[jobby]

been brewing kits for a while now and enjoyed almost all that ive made but to be honest i dont get any real satisfaction from doing it, made an extract the other week and enjoyed that so ive decided its time to tale the plunge and go a/g. i have a boiler,mash tun and all the other little things required except a wort chiller but wondered if they are a must have or will it be fine to cool the wort down in the bath etc. :

 

[Dunfie]

Good move jobby - you won't regret it. :

I brewed for a few years before I finally bought a chiller. If I brewed in the morning then I would use the bath to cool the wort down. If I brewed in the evening I would let it cool down overnight.

 

[pittsy]

good 1 , if you really enjoy kit beers wait till you try your ag results :thumb:

 

[dennisking]

Like Calum [Dunfie] I brewed for years without a chiller. I found the quickest way to cool the wort was to split the wort into 2 fermenting bins, remember to sterilize both, and put into a bath of cold water. If you change the water 3 or 4 times you can cool 23 lts in around 2 hours.

 

[Andyhull]

My next brew will be AG and i don't have a chiller either!
The chiller will be the most expensive part of my self build as all together (so far) i've only spent £19.12p
I will be experimenting in the beginning with 2lt fizzy drinks bottles full of frozen water, 2 at a time into the hot wort and hopefully 4 will fully cool it, the hot wort should sterilise the outsides of the bottles but i will be using VWP on them just in case.
Just a cheap idea

Andy

 

[Hawks]

My next brew will be AG and i don't have a chiller either!
The chiller will be the most expensive part of my self build as all together (so far) i've only spent £19.12p
I will be experimenting in the beginning with 2lt fizzy drinks bottles full of frozen water, 2 at a time into the hot wort and hopefully 4 will fully cool it, the hot wort should sterilise the outsides of the bottles but i will be using VWP on them just in case.
Just a cheap idea

Andy

I seem to remember trying this and it hardly put a dent in the temps :wha:

I would put the FV in the bath, and put your frozen PET bottles in the bath water. Probably in one of the later ones if you end up doing 3 or 4 water changes.

I brewed AG without a chiller for at least a year as I was acquiring other bits. You can still make good beer :thumb:

 

[Andyhull]

I brewed AG without a chiller for at least a year as I was acquiring other bits. You can still make good beer :thumb:

Did you notice a diference in the brew wen you started using a chiller?

 

[graysalchemy]

The main reason for using a chiller is to get the beer down to a pitchable temp so that the yeast can go in and get to work before the wort is infected with airborne nasties. The longer it takes to pitch then the more risk of infection.

I understand with the price of copper why people aren't making a cooler but you really will benefit from making one. :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Andyhull]

I understand with the price of copper why people aren't making a cooler but you really will benefit from making one. :thumb: :thumb:

I will eventually but at the moment SWMBO is pregnant and every penny counts.
I know £30 to £40 isn't alot of money but i have to play ball at the moment as SWMBO can go one of two ways, it'll either be crying like you've never seen before or "ANGRY" and you don't want to anger a pregnant woman :pray:

Andy

 

[Baz Chaz]

If you were going to put one (or two) FV's in the bath to chill down, I would make sure they're well covered, clingfilm & lid to make sure nothing untoward gets in.

Also I'd cool from the outside ie FV immersed in cold water bath rather than put anything in the brew like ice filled pop bottles.

It's OK putting a cooling coil into a boiling brew for last 15 mins, that kills any nasties that may be on it.

 

[graysalchemy]

Very good point Baz wort is very vulnerable at this stage and putting in foreign objects to chill it I would have thought was a good idea, put the ice in the bath and not in the wort.

 

[Andyhull]

It's OK putting a cooling coil into a boiling brew for last 15 mins, that kills any nasties that may be on it.

I'd be sterilising the outside of the pop bottles with VWP and they would be going straight in imediately after the boil!

I understand where your comming from but SWMBO would have none of that putting things other than kids in the bath. :lol:

 

[Baz Chaz]

I understand where your comming from but SWMBO would have none of that putting things other than kids in the bath. :lol:

...... and I'm equally careful with my wort :thumb: :lol:

 

[jobby]

thanks for all the replies, the boss has said to go buy a chiller as she enjoys the beer as much as me and the money we save by homebrewing its well worth the extra £35 :thumb:

 

[Baz Chaz]

Result :thumb:

 

[dennisking]

thanks for all the replies, the boss has said to go buy a chiller as she enjoys the beer as much as me and the money we save by homebrewing its well worth the extra £35 :thumb:

Sounds a lovely lady. :thumb:

 

[jobby]

thanks for all the replies, the boss has said to go buy a chiller as she enjoys the beer as much as me and the money we save by homebrewing its well worth the extra £35 :thumb:

Sounds a lovely lady. :thumb:

yes im very lucky to have a beer drinking mrs :party:

 

[BIGJIM72]

Make the leap-you won't look back