Chilling exposed

For 5g it takes me about 30min to reach pitching temps with an IC, or maybe 45 if I'm not babysitting it (whirlpooling), and it's uncovered the whole time. I've always been told "even if some stray contaminants or wild bugs enter the cooled wort, as long as you pitch the right volume of healthy yeast the beer yeast should win out every time.". No problems for me yet.

On an unrelated note, your title made me think I was about to read some king of chilling exposé on home brewing practices--"Inside Edition: When Chilling Goes Wrong"

 

I use a plate chiller. Recirculate back into the kettle for some whirlpool action. If I am trying to cool it down quicker by spraying the kettle with a hose, I'll cover it. Otherwise I don't bother. The amount of yeast you're pitching should have no problem taking control of fermentation before any wild bugs have a chance to get started.

 

Well we whirlpool with a pump for every beer while we chill. It helps chill that much faster and now that we have a kettle with a valve for it, trub gathers in the center even better.

As for what you mentioned about the hops - see here. I suppose if we wanted to try that we could turn the pump on to get the whirlpool started and once the temp drops to around 200, shut it off? Steep for a period of time, then turn everything on - pump + immersion chiller. I seen a post* about this very thing just this week and I believe their is actually a few different temps that brewers like to rest at.

Also, we never cover.

*EDIT - This one. aka "hop stand"

 

I seem to recall that Rock Bottom's hop experiment a few years ago concluded that whirlpooling at 180F for some time period (20 mins? 90 mins?) was a sweet spot for maximizing hop flavor and aroma (my memory is fuzzy on the specifics. 20 mins seems to work well). To that end, I chill to 180, then shut off the chiller, keeping the whirlpool going for another 20 minutes. I also tweak the burner to maintain 180F. I then chill (10-15 more mins for ten gallons) and pitch, as normal. Keep the pump running during this time to keep the hops moving.

 

My kettle has a lid, but it doesn't sit flat fit when my immersion chiller is in position. I use aluminum foil to cover up the open space and call it good. My whirl pools tend to be 15-30 min followed by about the same time of chilling. No infections.

 

I use a keggle, and don't even own a lid.

 

I use a keggle. The lid on the 5 gallon kettle I used for my early extract brews fits perfectly.

 

Not the way I cut mine. I cut the whole top off, except the handles. I didn't put a valve on it. I pick it up and pour out of it. So, I didn't want that lip around the top.

 

Most restaurant supply stores stock lids that would fit your keggle, assuming you're inclined to use one. I'm not going for a tight fitting lid - I'm only interested in keeping bugs and other airborne stuff from falling out of the sky into my beer. Indeed, a low canopy would probably serve that purpose. Indoors, I likely wouldn't bother.

BTW, I would strongly recommend adding a valve. As you age, the weight of the keg plus 80+ lbs of wort will begin take its toll.

 

With my new pre-chiller to the chiller, I get to pitching temps in under 20 minutes. I always left the lid on, as it has a cut-out in it for the wort chiller, and thus doesn't build up much condensation (it's not a real tight fit). Haven't had any issues doing it this way so didn't intend to change it. When my new system is up I will make sure the lid doesn't fit real tightly, also to avoid condensation. A lid is sort of a necessity where I brew, as there are lots of bugs (esp bees) that love wort. Also falling leaves can get in there if the wind is blowing in just the right direction, and they fall just right.

 

Once the wort goes to boil, it is never covered until I put the air lock on. I am too worried about DMS.

 

I just had a birthday last week, so thanks for that.

 

I fill a large Igloo cooler with ice and water then elevate it as high as possible(6 ft) to gravity feed it into my Immersion Chiller. Then I collect the water and reuse it in the garden if hot or feed it back into the cooler/container if it isn't too hot.

I leave it uncovered and have never had an infection, usually takes around 30-45 mins depending on the weather. I haven't been whirlpooling or even stirring much during this process. Will this improve hop utilization? I can see where it would help on temp.

I have been waiting to remove the IC before attempting to whirlpool. Mostly it hasn't been very successful so I just picked up a Blichmann Hop Blocker, hopefully that does the trick.

 

Today as I was turning on my immersion chiller. I had my lid in hand and thought back to this thread. "Maybe I will try to chill with the lid off this time" No joke 30 seconds later a winged insect dive bombs into the wort. The no lid experiment did not last long.