Modify 5 gallon recipes so they work like the Coopers DIY recipes

[RichT]

One of the things I love about the Coopers recipes is that you don't have to chill the wort.  you just pour it into the fermentor and add water.  Is there a way to modify a regular recipe that requires chilling to work the same way?  Is it as simple as just using 2 gallons instead of 5 in the wort?  I hate chilling the wort and would love to be able to just pour and go.

[Aussiekraut]

2 hours ago, RichT said:

One of the things I love about the Coopers recipes is that you don't have to chill the wort.  you just pour it into the fermentor and add water.  Is there a way to modify a regular recipe that requires chilling to work the same way?  Is it as simple as just using 2 gallons instead of 5 in the wort?  I hate chilling the wort and would love to be able to just pour and go.

As soon as you are working with grains, you will inevitably have to chill or let cool. The liquor from the steep/mash must be boiled, mainly to sanitise it and after the boil, it needs to chill as you don't want to cook your yeast. But chilling 2l of hot liquor isn't a big deal. Get a few 1l plastic containers, sanitise them and fill them with water. Put them in the freezer and when you need to chill 2l of hot liquid, simply dump one of those ice blocks in. Once that is melted, your temperature will have dropped a fair bit. If needed, use another one. It's the fastest way I can think of.

I don't chill my AG batches, I just let them cool off. The wort goes into a sanitised 20l plastic cube and sits on the side until the next day when I pour it into an FV and pitch the yeast. Yeah, you lose a day but what is that in the greater scheme of things  

What you want is an FWK. A Fresh Wort Kit. You can buy them in your LHBS. They're basically what I have when I keep my wort in a cube. Somebody has done all the hard yards and brewed beer and all you have to do is pour it into an FV and pitch yeast. No steeping, no boiling no chilling. But also no fun. 

[RichT]

I appreciate the reply.  Funny, but I just saw an ad for a version of an FWK.  I might try it.  I also read about the overnight cooling method which intrigues me as well.

[ChairmanDrew]

If you get into the more "advanced" Coopers recipes that use speciality grains, they almost always involve a chilling process. It's usually just something like cooling the liquid in a bath of cold water for 15mins. It's a small extra time investment for slightly more involved brewing process.