Question about cooling and pitching yeast.

I am not like most homebrewers. I'll give you my method below. But for completeness:

Most homebrewers chill with an immersion copper coil while the wort is still in the kettle. The copper coil goes in during the last few minutes of the boil which sanitizes it. Then when the boil is done, they run cold water through the coil, which chills the wort down to pitching temperature within about 30 minutes for most areas -- if the cooling water is very cold, it can go faster, and in warmer climates, it can take longer, but generally less than an hour.

Personally, I do similar to what you do. I chill in my kettle in my laundry sink which is tall and narrow, better than a bathtub. I fill the sink with cold water with the kettle in there, then let that sit for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, then when the cool water gets warm, I drain it and fill with more cold water again. It accomplishes about the same effect as the copper coil -- I can get my wort cold in about an hour.

Hope this helps. Cheers.

 

I use an immersion chiller like mentioned above. I'm guess that is the most popular way, but it can work better for some than others. I'm fortunate because I am on a well for my water and it comes into the house at around 60 degrees (I'm guessing) which does an excellent job cooling 5 gallons in roughly 30 minutes to 65-70 degrees. If your water isn't already 'cool-ish' the efficiency will decline.

 

I don't understand directions like that. Yes, just cool it down to 65 with your chiller if you can.

 

Invest in an immersion chiller.

 

How big a batch are we talking about....5 gallons?
Are you doing a full-volume boil, or just a 3 or 4 gallon boil and topping off with water (and mixing well) to reach your batch size?

I do the same as @Mothergoose03 and am also blessed with well water that's usually around 55° in winter and around 60° in summer.
Doing 5-gallon extract batches I usually end up with about 3.5 - 4 gallons after the boil. Cooling that volume down first is quicker than cooling 5 gallons. I then add chilled top-off water to reach 5 gallons for the fermentor.

I't's not clear on what kind of "chiller" you use, but If you use an immersion chiller that's similar in design to this one and your tap water temp is above than 65°, I'd suggest using that chiller to get your wort to about 85° and then go the tub/ice route.
The final 10° - 15° to get to pitch temp can take a long time with tap water temp ^65°.

 

Sounds funny. But, if it works for you. Keep at it.
I don't move anything into fermentation until I'm ready to pitch and close up. So, I get to temperature BEFORE I transfer to cold side.

 

What kinda immersion chiller did you buy? If you can chill to pitching temps with that don’t even bother with the headache of an ice bath. I get my wort down around 75-80 with my immersion chiller. Then I’ll throw it in my keezer (another good investment) to help drop it down another 10-15 degrees, but mostly just in the summer heat. In the winter I can get in the mid-60s no problem just by its self. Don’t mean to rant but that’s my process.

 

If you can't get your wort to <70*F in 1/2 hour, you need an upgrade

 

I guess it depends on the temp of the water going into your chiller, but immersion chillers are typically more effective than sink or bath-tub water baths.

 

Stopping at 100 F is strange. Keep going down to the 60s if you can.

 

All chillers, no matter the design, are more efficient at higher wort temps than they are at pitching temps.

In other words you'll drop the first 25 degrees a hell of a lot quicker then the next 25. And so on. The last 10 degrees will probably take as long as the first 100 if not longer. Of course the temp of the cooling water matters quite a bit.

For immersion chillers, it helps to plunge the coil up and down. You want to be sure all the hot wort is constantly in contact with the hot wort. It's a chore but it makes a big difference. 5 or 10 minutes is all that is needed, so pull up a bucket. I let the discharge water fill my washing machine, and when it is full we are ready for laundry and usually down to nearly an acceptable temp.

Don't get too hung up on cooling the wort quickly. You'll see many texts telling you to chill as rapidly as possible. That's is not a bad idea but also not crucial. It is important to avoid the contaminant danger zone, where microbes can establish a footing. But if you are otherwise sanitary it is not mandatory. Instead try to get to the best pitching temp, and make a plan to hold it at temp after pitching if you can. Fermentation temperature control will have a huge impact on the finished beer.

Cheers.

 

FTFY

 

Nice. That’s a good investment.

 

I use a copper immersion chiller, a fountain pump, and ice water to get my beers to pitching temps quickly, and I don't waste 500000000 gallons of water in the process.

 

Roughly how much ice water do you need? 2 buckets?

For those of us on well water we need to be mindful of drawing too much water for too long. I have an endless supply of water here in Upstate (gravel and mud too), just not all at once.
Cheers.