Diffrent way to use a Wort Chiller ???

[jstrausss]

Has anyone tried the opposite of chilling . Sending the Wort through the Copper Pipe after putting the Copper Piping in another pail filled with Water and Ice ????? Is this a risky move , can it work ?? is it better ?? Will the beer Coming in Contact with the Copper cause any Problems ??

Thanks
John

[CaptHook]

What you propose will work to cool or heat. HOWEVER

1.Hot wort loves O2. Moving it(pumping) not a good idea.
2. Clean copper will not hurt the beer. I don't trust the
inside of a tube coil to be clean. The same for counter flow.
3. It will be slower than a coil in the beer with running cold
water.
4. The outside of the coil is easy to clean, the inside only has tap water.

I said, copper is safe IF IT IS CLEAN. Green copper is toxic.

[Beer Nazi]

You have a great idea, but I agree with the Captain.

Your wort would cool faster if you ran the wort through a chiller in a tub of ice water as opposed to tap water through a chiller in your wort, but cleaning the inside of the coil would be very hard.

You can alter your idea a little; Build a pre-chiller for your immersion wort chiller. Simply sink the pre-chiller in the ice bath and send the water though it first, then on to your immersion chiller. This should work almost as good as your original idea.

The ice bath will remove some heat from the tap water, making the now cooler tap water able to remove more heat from your wort.

A little factoid...... copper has some properies that actually help with fermentation If copper hurt the beer there wouldn't be any copper kettles or copper immersion chillers.

[jstrausss]

Thanks guys for your input . you both make some good points.
Thanks

[paul84043]

I would just stick with the good old immersion wort chiller, it's the easiest, simplest, cleanest way to chill the wort. My last 3 gallon batch cooled from boiling to 80 degrees in about 8 minutes. It helps to gently stir the wort with the chiller, taking care not to splash or create air bubbles, just circulate the wort.

[jstrausss]

I thought that airation at this Point is good for the Wort . It helps with the fermintation process ?

[paul84043]

You don't want to splash it around while its still above say 100 degrees. Below that is aeration, above that is oxidation.

I am going to try an oxygenator system, I'll have it on Friday for my next batch. It ought to be real interesting to see if there is a big difference. They say that you get as much oxygen into the wort in 30 to 60 seconds with pure oxygen and a good diffusion stone, as you would by pumpung regular filtered air through the wort for nearly an hour.

[danno]

Paul, I too just picked up an oxygenator system, and plan on using it this weekend. I have read, however, that using pure oxygen doesn't neccesarily mean that you will get a faster or bigger ferment, the oxygen is for the overall health of the yeast, less mutation, less stress, etc... It may in fact slow down your ferment initially...

[paul84043]

Really, I hadn't heard that...all the hype says that the oxygen gives the yeast what it needs to grow and multiply to a very large colony as fast as possible....I think it should be very interesting to see the difference!

My last batch of beer I took extra measures to aerate very well and the yeast vial nearly exploded when I opened it, I guess meaning that it was extremely viable and healthy...
It's been fermenting for just over two days and is basically done, this morning it was burping at just over 30 to 40 seconds, as opposed to 3 to 4 times a second for the past 2 days. I suspect that by tomorrow morning, it will hardly be burping at all. I like to think that it's a result of something I did!! Probably not.

When I drained off the trub last night, I did get to smell the beer, and I have to admit, this batch smells VERY good, It's going to kill me waiting for it to condition!!

[jstrausss]

Thats a great tip Paul , about Oxidation , and airation
Thanks

[jstrausss]

Hey Can Oxidation Cause Chill Haze in beer ? This is my biggest problem right now . Other then not being able to wait for the beer to age properly :)

[paul84043]

From what I have heard, oxidation causes "Cardboard Flavors".

Chill haze is a very common problem typically caused by certain protiens that precipitate out into solids when they get down to the proper temperature, there are several additives you can add to more completely break down the sugars and protiens in the wort so the yeast can do it's job better.
Irish moss is an addative that you put in at the end of your boil that acts as a clarifier, there are many others that simply attract the nuisance protiens and make them heavier so they fall to the bottom, and so on... most brewing sites have a list of them and what they do.
I personally don't care if my beer is cloudy, in fact, I think I like the opaque look better....it doesn't effect the beer at all.

Then again....
I could be completely full of crap, it wouldn't be the first time...

:D

[CaptHook]

Right on Paul, it is all visual! And think about it, we pay good money for steak(protien) and then we want to take it out of our beer?
Beer is the second oldest liquid food. Mothers milk being first!

[paul84043]

mmmmmmmmmmmm.......steak and beer.....the food of the gods!!

[danno]

Here's a link to a good description of Chill Haze...

John Palmer's How To Brew (http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter7-4.html)

Also another link talking about Aeration vs. Oxidation...

More Palmer... (http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter6-9-3.html)

[jstrausss]

Man - thats great - thanks the link