First fast chill

[Aussiekraut]

So, I fast chilled for the first time and things seemed to go quite well. The water goes straight into the pool, so it isn't wasted. 30 minutes from boil to 23C isn't bad I guess.  Winter is good in terms of cold water I guess. Pitched at 22C and the wort is at 18C atm. I should see signs of fermentation by tomorrow. Unusual to finish a brew day at 2pm and the FV is in the fridge  

[Marty_G]

10 hours ago, Aussiekraut said:

Unusual to finish a brew day at 2pm and the FV is in the fridge  

great stuff,. Once you get use to the timing you can start on the clean up.  I rarely chill to that sort of temp now. One of the advantages of Kveik is the higher pitch temp. It takes about 15 minutes to go from boil/hopstand temps to mid 30's.  For me the mash and pitch same day is the way to go. 

[MitchBastard]

Feels like a proper brew day when you do it all in one day. I’m a recent convert of chilling and have chilled the last 6 or 7 batches. I don’t even notice the extra bit of effort to be honest. I’m only using the coil chiller that came with my guten. Takes about 50mins from 95 to 18ish. I re circ through the chiller in iced water so also chill down to 10 if doing a lager. 

[Aussiekraut]

2 hours ago, MitchBastard said:

Feels like a proper brew day when you do it all in one day. I’m a recent convert of chilling and have chilled the last 6 or 7 batches. I don’t even notice the extra bit of effort to be honest. I’m only using the coil chiller that came with my guten. Takes about 50mins from 95 to 18ish. I re circ through the chiller in iced water so also chill down to 10 if doing a lager. 

Yeah, I use the one that came with the Guten as well. Seems to be doing a good job. I take it you run the wort through the chiller, which sits in ice water? How much ice do you need for that? A lot I suppose?

[MitchBastard]

@Aussiekraut usually about 3 bags. I probably could get away with 2 but it’s 3 for $12 at the servo and I just chuck the last one in towards the end. 
 

I’ll use tap water in a bucket to get it down to about 55ish which takes no time at all then swap to another pre iced bucket of water to get it to where I need it.  

[Beerlust]

On 7/6/2020 at 11:54 AM, MitchBastard said:

...I’ll use tap water in a bucket to get it down to about 55ish which takes no time at all then swap to another pre iced bucket of water to get it to where I need it.  

If my Guten ever arrives this will be my plan to begin with using the Therminator. One batch of pre-chilled 30L water run through first, then a re-circulated batch of icy water until pitching temp is achieved (if required). A will do a trial run with the system using only water first to see what marks it is hitting & make any adjustments necessary from there.

Thermodynamics is an interesting field.

Cheers & good brewing,

Lusty.

[The Captain!!]

7 minutes ago, Beerlust said:

If my Guten ever arrives this will be my plan to begin with using the Therminator. One batch of pre-chilled 30L water run through first, then a re-circulated batch of icy water until pitching temp is achieved (if required). A will do a trial run with the system using only water first to see what marks it is hitting & make any adjustments necessary from there.

Thermodynamics is an interesting field.

Cheers & good brewing,

Lusty.

When is this thing ever going to arrive? Ordered local too hey?

I suppose the Terminator has arrived at yours already from interstate.

[MitchellScott]

I'm still cubing, main reason being because when I am mashing, my FV is usually still full so it allows me to brew when I get time and then just pour it in once my FV is free.

Also, when comparing costs, a standard brew probably costs $30 odd to make up depending on hop usage, adding $12 of ice increases costs by 34% and needing to go to the servo every time I wanna brew seems like a pain.

If I was to chill I would probably get myself a counter flow chiller. Seems like the most efficient way to do it.

Mitch.

[iBooz2]

@MitchellScott Do not buy ice, make it.

I do not have a chiller coil or the like as yet but what I use in order to quickly cool my hop boils down etc is a half dozen used 2 L cordial bottles and also several 1 L milk bottles that have been washed out and 3/4 filled with fresh water then frozen.  The collection of these ice bottles stays in the freezer until needed.  Simply drop as many as required into a large plastic tub or suitable esky and surround with cold water to chill the pot or coils.  Once their job is done remove from the water tub, wipe them down to dry and pop them back into the freezer until required for next batch.  They do not melt all that much so very little electricity is required to refreeze them.  You could also use those blue freezer blocks but cordial and milk bottles are cheaper.  If you want crushed ice to a give better cold conductivity to your coil give a couple of them a good belt with the hammer and cut open with a Stanley knife.

Cheers - AL

[Beerlust]

9 hours ago, The Captain!! said:

When is this thing ever going to arrive? Ordered local too hey?

Yep I did order local for the Guten & external pump etc. Given everything going on I feel it's important to support local business where you can. I admit it's even starting to test my patience a little, but only a little. The guys over at Beerbelly have had their issues with suppliers like many others & especially when bringing things in from overseas right now. They've always given me terrific service & if that means I wait a little longer,... then I wait a little longer. I might have to put an extract batch down this weekend if a shipment hasn't arrived by then as although I'm saving money by not brewing right now, I'm spending too much on commercial beer atm for my liking.

I have a week off work in couple of weeks time, so as long as all the gear is here by then so I can have a play with it, I'll be happy.  That was always the plan.

9 hours ago, The Captain!! said:

...I suppose the Terminator has arrived at yours already from interstate.

Yep, had that weeks ago from Cheeky Peak, & probably could have the whole setup by now if I chose to go through alternate suppliers. I'm loyal though.

Ohh....& btw, it is Therminator you Larger drinker! 

Cheers & good brewing,

Lusty.

[The Captain!!]

18 minutes ago, Beerlust said:

I have a week off work in couple of weeks time, so as long as all the gear is here by then so I can have a play with it, I'll be happy.  That was always the plan.

Yep, had that weeks ago from Cheeky Peak, & probably could have the whole setup by now if I chose to go through alternate suppliers. I'm loyal though.

Ohh....& btw, it is Therminator you Larger drinker! 

Hopefully she turns up by then mate. 
love a good spot if annual leave just to bang in with some brewing. 
 

im trying to find the “flip you the bird emoji” ha ha ha 

@MUZZY is gonna loose his sh!t at that post!

[Malter White]

4 minutes ago, The Captain!! said:

@MUZZY is gonna loose his sh!t at that post!

I'm in therapy as we speak.

[Beerlust]

10 hours ago, iBooz2 said:

@MitchellScott Do not buy ice, make it.

+1

Good call iBooz2.

With my counterflow plate chiller rapid cooling method I'll be hurling a few of THESE into my refrigerated water containers that will be recirculated through the chiller. I've used them extensively early on with ambient fermenting & in my eskies, & they work terrifically well (IMHO).

They hold out much longer than pure water, & are easier to fit in your freezer due to their flexibility. 

Cheers,

Lusty.

[iBooz2]

1 hour ago, The Captain!! said:

 

@MUZZY is gonna loose his sh!t at that post!

Lose or loose? either way it's not going to be cool for Muzz, I can see him squirming now. 

Cheers - AL

[Beerlust]

2 hours ago, The Captain!! said:

...im trying to find the “flip you the bird emoji” ha ha ha 

@MUZZY is gonna loose his sh!t at that post!

I must of missed a conversation somewhere on the forum about this, but anyways...

Lusty.

[Lettucegrove]

20 hours ago, iBooz2 said:

@MitchellScott Do not buy ice, make it.

I do not have a chiller coil or the like as yet but what I use in order to quickly cool my hop boils down etc is a half dozen used 2 L cordial bottles and also several 1 L milk bottles that have been washed out and 3/4 filled with fresh water then frozen.  The collection of these ice bottles stays in the freezer until needed.  Simply drop as many as required into a large plastic tub or suitable esky and surround with cold water to chill the pot or coils.  Once their job is done remove from the water tub, wipe them down to dry and pop them back into the freezer until required for next batch.  They do not melt all that much so very little electricity is required to refreeze them.  You could also use those blue freezer blocks but cordial and milk bottles are cheaper.  If you want crushed ice to a give better cold conductivity to your coil give a couple of them a good belt with the hammer and cut open with a Stanley knife.

Cheers - AL

I no chill but i had a thought for all you chillers. When chilling your wort would an option be to pump your hot wort through a coil that had previously been frozen in a 20/30 litre bucket full of water. You would need an empty chest freezer to accommodate the size of this set up but other than that I can't see why this wouldn't be a winner. Would it be too cold, would the inside of the coil be sterilised? Thoughts?

[iBooz2]

5 hours ago, Lettucegrove said:

I no chill but i had a thought for all you chillers. When chilling your wort would an option be to pump your hot wort through a coil that had previously been frozen in a 20/30 litre bucket full of water. You would need an empty chest freezer to accommodate the size of this set up but other than that I can't see why this wouldn't be a winner. Would it be too cold, would the inside of the coil be sterilised? Thoughts?

Have been kicking around some design ideas for my brewery as I move forward to AG and looking a getting something plumbed up for a chill system using my rainwater tanks.  Also have just scored myself a big chest freezer (read - had to buy my wife a brand new 240 litre upright one to score it) but it will be used as a lagering chest for my lager bottles and also a conditioning chest for the kegs I cannot fit into the keg fridge.  Purchased a new temp controller for it so it can be set to about 2 C inside.

Your idea @Lettucegrove is a sound one but you would have to pre-pump some sanitiser through the coil, blow that out with CO2 so it did not freeze up and cause a blockage and then cap it off to seal from contamination.  Other problem would be having to lift the say 25 - 30 L ice block up and out of the freezer, plus putting it back in again when done.  Probably could rig up something so the ice block bucket sits just below the top of the freezer so it could stay in situ during the wort chill but that would depend on what else was in the freezer which would be at risk of partial thawing and it would have to be fairly close to the wort tun/boiler etc.  Plus the extra build up of frost from air coming into contact with the inside of freezer would mean a defrost more often and the energy running the freezer with lid partially/open and hot wort feeding through it.  Still reckon the frozen cordial/milk bottles are more versatile and can be quickly and cheaply added to as required.  Just my thoughts.

Cheers - AL

[Lettucegrove]

18 hours ago, iBooz2 said:

Have been kicking around some design ideas for my brewery as I move forward to AG and looking a getting something plumbed up for a chill system using my rainwater tanks.  Also have just scored myself a big chest freezer (read - had to buy my wife a brand new 240 litre upright one to score it) but it will be used as a lagering chest for my lager bottles and also a conditioning chest for the kegs I cannot fit into the keg fridge.  Purchased a new temp controller for it so it can be set to about 2 C inside.

Your idea @Lettucegrove is a sound one but you would have to pre-pump some sanitiser through the coil, blow that out with CO2 so it did not freeze up and cause a blockage and then cap it off to seal from contamination.  Other problem would be having to lift the say 25 - 30 L ice block up and out of the freezer, plus putting it back in again when done.  Probably could rig up something so the ice block bucket sits just below the top of the freezer so it could stay in situ during the wort chill but that would depend on what else was in the freezer which would be at risk of partial thawing and it would have to be fairly close to the wort tun/boiler etc.  Plus the extra build up of frost from air coming into contact with the inside of freezer would mean a defrost more often and the energy running the freezer with lid partially/open and hot wort feeding through it.  Still reckon the frozen cordial/milk bottles are more versatile and can be quickly and cheaply added to as required.  Just my thoughts.

Cheers - AL

If I ever get rain water tanks I will definitely make the jump to chilling. I feel recirculating the water in a big vessel like a rain water tank is the best way to approach chilling. It ticks the box environmentally and economically.

In regard to the frozen bucket idea, would the initial 99C wort be in contact with the inside of the coil at that sanitising temperature long enough to forgo the use of a no rinse solution? I was also thinking this bucket would be frozen initially and then used, no need to keep it inside a running freezer. I guess what I really need is some kind of calculator that can work out the thawing rate of ice and how much heat will be transferred/removed from the wort....or someone with a bucket, coil, freezer and some time on there hands 

[MitchBastard]

Let me know how the therminator goes @Beerlust I’m keen for a chiller up grade. Might also look into making some big ice cubes instead of forking out!

[Beerlust]

Hi Mitch.

19 minutes ago, MitchBastard said:

Let me know how the therminator goes @Beerlust I’m keen for a chiller up grade. Might also look into making some big ice cubes instead of forking out!

I'll definitely post something up. Probably still a week or two away though.

Cheers,

Lusty.