A new wort chiller design was built and had it’s first test during the brewing of yet another new batch of Yuba Gold (#3). It is essentially a cooling tower constructed with a 10-foot garden hose, swimming flotation device (“noodle”), nylon ties and some fittings to attach to the kitchen sink faucet. A drill is used to make small holes every 2 inches or so and aimed at the inside of the device. The water should shoot almost directly at the pot when in use.
The club brewing process time has been greatly improved in the last few weeks with the addition of the propane burner unit and this new chiller. With manual stirring to generate a little whirlpool action every few minutes or so, we were able to chill down to 75°F in about 25-30 minutes. An automated stirring device would greatly improve the chill time as would better positioning and direction of the drilled holes. For this first testing, the holes were pointed more downward than inward, and some of the water coming out of the holes didn’t even hit the hot kettle, thus no cooling in that sector.
Wort Chiller In Action
We’ll make adjustments to the chiller for future brews and hopefully this chiller will be a better and less expensive choice for wort chilling than copper immersion type chillers which can be pricey. The money saved will allow the club to make more beer – an that’s a good thing!
Really cool!