another wort-cooling cheat?

[BrewMonkey]

Ok here`s another question from a true heathen... this may be sacrilege to all the purists out there though... I understand the cold break process, but is it a process which occurs over time, or is virtually instant cooling acceptable?

I have no boiler. Is there any good reason why I can`t cool the wort by boiling all the ingredients in a one-gallon pot on the stove, and chuck that into the reserved 4 gallons of room-temperature water in the fermenter? I`ve heard of boiling up in half the water content, but this is more like one fifth..

And is there any significant disadvantage to boiling the ingredients for 5 gallons, in one gallon of water? It will be pretty concentrated..

OR, could one split the ingredients into two one-gallon pots on the stove and chuck that into the remaining 3 gallons of water which has been left in the freezer until it`s just about starting to form ice on the inside of the bottles?

Am I being too clever or too thick here :S

[mattmacleod]

What you've suggested is a pretty common extract brewing procedure ie: boiling the ingredients in 1 gallon of water and adding to 4 gallons of cold water in the fermenter.

I'd make two comments though:

1 - Boil and then cool the four gallons that are going into your fermenter. This will get rid of chlorine, sanitise etc

2 - Although this method works, your method will improve if you are able to boil all 5 gallons of wort together. I forget the chemistry behind this - I could try to dig it out if you wish - but full boil vs partial boil represents a marked improvement in the finished beer.

So although your suggested method will work nicely, I'd get a boiler and a chiller as soon as possible.

[anomalous_result]

Hop utilisation is lower. I seem to recall (from somewhere in Wheeler's Home Brewing) that if you cool this way you won't get a cold break either. Don't know the full mechanics of it though.

[BrewMonkey]

Excellent. So I`m not too far off the mark. You see, most of my techniques are sort-of self-taught. Not having a boiler or a cooler and all. You want beer, you make a plan! I`ll get a boiler at some point but they`re a bit pricey. Bills take priority, of course – even over beer.. How sad this situation is!

I saw on the how-to section of this forum that adding half a crushed campden tab to 5 gallons of tap water will remove chlorine and chloramines instantly. I plan to sanitise the fermenter, add water and campden tab, and take it from there. Will this do?

What ARE campden tabs anyway? Won`t they impart flavour of any description to the water? A lot of wine making recipes say to use them in the must, but of all the countless gallons of various wine I`ve made, I`ve managed to avoid it for fear that this may happen. Afterall, the turnaround in wine making is 6 months plus, so a mistake is much harder felt!

Oh, and don`t worry about the chemistry behind the cooling process, I don`t need to know that just yet!

And who is it that made that handy counter flow chiller http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/cooling.htm ? I`d quite like to know how it`s all connected together.. It`s not only beer and wine that I enjoy making

[anomalous_result]

I plan to sanitise the fermenter, add water and campden tab, and take it from there. Will this do?

Yes

What ARE campden tabs anyway? Won`t they impart flavour of any description to the water?

Sodium Metabisulphate. It won't impart a (noticeable) flavour into the beer unless you use it in ridiculously large quantities.

[BrewMonkey]

great, thanx guys!! happy brewing, and even happier tasting