↠ Brewing with yeast (how to get a rise out of your beer)

The year was 1836 when Baron Charles Cagniard de la Tour, a French engineer and physicist proved that yeast were living organisms, totally changing the paradigm that yeast were not chemical substances.

De La Tour was the first person to postulate that yeast was the cause of alcohol and CO2 production.

And ever since then, yeast has been king when it comes to beer.

In this post, we cover a range of brewing matters that involve yeast. First up is the basic question of:

What is yeast?

Yeast is a single cell microorganism and it's actually technically a fungi.

While there are many varieties of yeast, the one's brewers typically use, ale and lager yeasts are members of the family Saccharymyces Cerevisiae.

If you don't use yeast when making beer, you do not get fermentation occurring.

No yeast, no booze.

That said, you don't just 'add yeast' to your beer like you would adding flour to a cake batter. Like most elements of making a good beer, there are all kinds of things that need to go right with the yeast for a beer to be a good drop. 

What is the difference between an ale and lager yeast?

Ales are known as “top fermenting” due to the yeast layer that forms at the top of the fermenter. Lager yeasts are called “bottom fermenting” as, you guessed it, they ferment at the bottom. 

Ale yeasts will best ferment in the range of 10-25 centigrade and produce beers high in esters and often lower in attenuation. These are both distinctive and desired characteristic of ales.  

Lagers ferment in the colder range of range from 7-15C and produce a cleaner beer with lower esters.

Woah Nelly, it's getting hot in here!

Yeast is, as De La Tour proved, a living thing so it needs to be treated right. And the first thing we should talk about is correct brewing temperature.

That’s why pitching your yeast is more than simply adding it to your beer – it needs to be done at the correct time in the brew so that it can activate properly.

The short version is if you pitch your yeast when your brew is too hot (say you’ve just boiled it), you will kill the yeast with the heat and fermentation will not occur.

For this reason, only add the yeast to the fermenter when you have filled it to the 23 litre mark with a lot of cold water. If you are aiming to get the yeast going at the suggested range, let it warm in the sun a bit. 

You can take its temperature using a thermometer and you are good to do.

How to re-hydrate your yeast before you pitch it

A handy method that many earnest brewers follow is to hydrate the dry yeast in water before pitching. The reasoning behind this is that it gives the yeast a good chance to get started properly before it comes into contact with the sugars.

Rehydrating yeast in a glass

The theory at play is that the concentration of sugars in the wort can mean it is difficult for the yeast to absorb water into its membranes so that they can begin to activate/metabolize and thus commence the fermentation process.

Based on that, I imagine that if you have made a high gravity wort that's full of sugar and other fermentables like DME for the yeast to eat, hydration is a good step to take.

In my experience I’ve never had the yeast fail with a simple beer kit but if you are keen to cut the potential problem out, feel free to re-hydrate your yeast.

The professional way to this is by boiling some water and letting it cool. You can then add your yeast packet (or two!) to the water and let it begin to absorb – you shouldn’t do this too far apart from when it is time to pitch the yeast. You can even add some sugar if you are super keen.

Cover and leave for about 15 minutes and then inspect. It should have begun to smell like you are making bread and 'bubbled' a bit (see the above picture). If so, it’s ready to be pitched.

Once you've added the yeast to the wort, there will likely be some left in the glass - I have a 'waste not want not' kind of view so I add some water to the glass, give it a swirl and add it to the yeast as well.

What is attenuation?

In the context of beer brewing, attenuation is the percentage that measures the conversion of sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide by the fermentation process.

Well-attenuated beer will have a drier characteristic and have a greater competent of alcohol than a less attenuated beer.

Brewers measure attenuation because it is an indicator of yeast health and because specific attenuation levels are important for certain styles of beer. For example, if a beer does not attenuate to the expected level in fermentation will have more residual sugar and will thus be sweeter and heavier-bodied than planned.

The brewer would then investigate that the yeast was up to the performance level required or that it was used under correct brewing practices (such as appropriate temperature).

The typical values for attenuation percentages are:

• Low: 72 per cent and lower 
• Medium: 73 to 77 per cent 
• High: 78 per cent and upwards

How do I work out my attenuation rate?

You'll need to take readings with your hydrometer to determine your rate of attenuation. You then use this formula:

(original gravity - current gravity) / (original gravity - 1)

This will work out the 'apparent attenuation'. Remember to use your BEDMAS.

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So the selection considerations of your yeast should reflect on what kind of beer you wish to brew. If you are making an ale, you'll want to choose a yeast that produces a lower rate of attenuation.

Brewers regularly use the following yeasts with ales

Safale 04, WLP002 English, Danstar Windsor, Wyeast 1099.

For a lager yeast which will cause a higher rate of attenuation, you could try:

Saflager W34, White Lab's WLP925, Bock Lager

Using old yeast can affect the performance of the yeast

Facts are facts, you need enough yeast to get all the sugars and other fermentables in the wort. 

If the yeast in your packet or vial is only half healthy, then you'll need to find that extra 50 percent from somewhere as the amount of yeast in the packet is measured out so the standard 23 liter brew can be properly fermented.

So basically, if you're using old, tired yeast, you might need to compensate for that by using two packets. Which is in effect adding an extra cost to your brew.

Many modern’s brewing recipes take the view that you are pitching fresh yeast and even further, that the yeast has been prepared in nutrient-rich yeast starter.

If you 'under pitch' your viable yeast then it's quite likely your yeast will be under pressure to perform and you will get a low rate of attenuation - which this will alter the intended characteristics of the beer you are trying to make.

So, the lesson here, as for most things in life (like hops), fresh is best!

Can I use baking yeast to ferment beer?

Many craft brewers would probably shudder violently at the suggestion of using a yeast that's normally used to make bread.

The truth is, you can baking yeast for brewing, as both yeasts (beer and baking) are different strains of the same species, saccharomyces cerevisiae.

You'd being doing yourself a service to ask 'what is the difference between baker's yeast and brewer's yeast?'

The difference between the two kinds of yeasts lies in the history of their cultivation.

Each has been grown for the attributes they bring to the final product. In the case of beer yeast, the popular strains have been cultivated for hundreds of years to hone their specific attributes being the beer flavor produced, attenuation, and consistency.

Beer yeast will flocculate better than baker's yeast. When brewers yeast nears the end of fermentation, single cells aggregate into clumps of thousands of cells (flocculation), and drop to the bottom of the fermentor, leaving clear beer behind. Baker's yeast is not as flocculant.

Beer yeast that floccuates well will contribute to having a clear beer.

A good way to look at the difference is that brewer's yeast was bred to produce more alcohol and less carbon dioxide while baker's yeast was bred to make more CO2 and less alcohol.

So be warned - using a baking yeast in place of brewing yeast is like driving a Ford and expecting to drive like a Ferrari!

Using a yeast starter to increase the viability of the yeast

For complete fermentation to occur, the yeast cells need to begin to reproduce at an optimum rate. Temperature plays a vital role in the rate at which this can occur. The choice of beer style can run counter to allowing this. We're basically taking lagers here.

If you are brewing a lager, you'll know from above that it best ferments at a temperature range lower than an ale at 7 - 15 centigrade. That cooler temperature can impede the performance of the yeast.

While you could simply add even more yeast, that again costs money, so enter the use of a yeast starter. The idea is to develop a ready culture of yeast that can be used to carry out the fermentation of wort into clean beer.

A properly prepared yeast starter will have enough cells in it to do the required job, meaning the cold temperature should not impede the yeast.

So how do you make a yeast starter?

You follow the sage advice of John Palmer. 

At the very least, if you are using dry yeast, you should add it to a glass of warm water and a little bit of sugar about an hour before you are ready to pitch it into your yeast.

When yeast might need a helping hand at the end of fermentation

As a round of a difficult fermentation draws to an end (temperature variance, over-saturated wort), you may need to rouse the yeast convince it to finish the fermentation. If your fermentation is not quite at the desired final gravity and it seems to have stalled then there's a simple trick to do.

Stir the beer few times gently. This will cause the yeast that may the fallen to the bottom, to re-integrate with the wort again and find some new sugars to eat.

This trick works best when fermentation is occurring at the higher end of the yeast's operating tolerance.

If you're brewing environment is too cold, you may need to warm the wort and then stir.

Be careful not to aerate your beer or add nutrients if your fermentation is nearly done.

What is the shelf life of yeast?

Dry packet yeast, if stored properly, have a fairly long shelf life. I've seen punter say it will last upwards of a year or even two when stored in the fridge.

Dry yeast certainly loses viability over time so if you are using an older yeast, beer in mind that you might need to account for that by pitching an extra amount.

This is why many brewers would recommend that you do not use the yeast packet that comes with a beer kit as you don't know how long it has been sitting around. That said, I've been using kit yeasts for years and never had a problem. That said (II), when I have used Safale 05 it felt like the batch started fermenting furiously fast from the get go.

Liquid yeast is another story. Results may vary - many liquid yeasts come with the recommendation that they be used within three months date of their first shipping from the manufacturer but they can keep pretty well for 6 months in the fridge.

The better stored the yeast is, the longer it will remain viable

It is very common to prepare a liquid yeast by way of a yeast starter. Even packets and vials where there are very few viable cells can be revived and multiplied with a well-made yeast starter.

The loose rule of thumb then is that dry yeast has a shelf life of 2 years and liquid yeast 6 but you need to try and factor in the decay rate of the yeast.

If in doubt, make test the yeast with some water and sugar or make a starter.

Can I pitch multiple yeast strains?

Yes, you can mix the strains of yeast. You will get a mix of the properties of each yeast which will have an impact on the flavour of the beer. Where large commercial brewers are basically making lagers like Heineken, they are not focused on getting flavor combinations from yeast.

 Craft brewers, who by nature are 'taste explorers', readily seek out new flavors by mixing up their yeast or combinations.

Their quest for flavorful ales, wheat beers, Belgian beers, and strong beers has led them to mix things up.

The mixed yeasts do not compete over each other, they each simply go about fermenting. Given yeast imparts flavour into the beer in the first 36 hours, each yeast should be added at the same time.

If you are trying to fix an issue of low attenuation by adding more yeast, then by all means you can add more yeast as little flavour will be added to the brew at that late stage.

Yeast tolerance to alcohol

You might think it odd given yeast makes alcohol that you have to account for the alcohol produced.
A yeast strain can tolerate only so much of it before it stops working. Over the centuries yeasts have been studied and cultivated and beaten into submission so much so that there a plenty of strains that can handle high solutions of alcohol.

Such yeasts are desired to that they are able to fully ferment what's offered in the wort. There's simply no reason to let a beer be half fermented is there?

So choosing a yeast that can handle the ABV of the beer you intend to brew is a no brainer.

Many yeasts do fine in the 3 - 5 per cent range, many Belgian yeasts get found out at 8 per cent. A few hardy nuggets can go beyond 10.

 When going beyond 8 per cent, beers need a bit of extra love. Extra nutrients may be required, a high concentration of pitching yeast than normal should be used, the yeast should rouse, and warmer temperatures will help get the yeast ticking over.

If you are keen on brewing very high ABV beer, you'll need to appreciate that such beers may taste quite sweet or they can even become unpalatable.

Once you've made a good beer, sit back with a cold one and watch the Star Wars crawl.

The Art and Science of Multi-Yeast Pitching in Craft Brewing

Before we delve into the intriguing realm of mixing yeast strains, it's important to note that craft brewing has always been an experimental space, the "laboratory" where flavors are tinkered with, much like a mad scientist meddling with vials in a secluded lab. Here, yeast becomes not just an agent of fermentation, but a character-building element in the narrative of the brew.

Why Consider Mixing Yeast Strains?

Craft brewers have been increasingly looking at yeast as more than just a functional component. They see it as a tool for artistic expression, akin to a painter's palette. Mixing yeast strains allows brewers to create new and unexpected flavor profiles, contributing complexity and nuance that wouldn't be attainable with a single yeast strain. For instance, combining a Belgian yeast strain, known for its fruity esters, with a more neutral American ale yeast can result in a beer that captures the best of both worlds.

Compatibility and Competitiveness: The Social Dynamics of Yeast

Yeast, like any other living organism, competes for resources—in this case, the sugars in the wort. Different strains have different rates of metabolism, flocculation characteristics, and temperature optima. It's critical to understand these aspects when attempting to mix strains. For example, a highly flocculant strain might drop out of the fermentation early, leaving a less flocculant, slower-acting strain to finish the job. This could create a unique sequential development of flavors. However, such yeast dynamics are not always predictable and might require several iterations to master.

Timing Matters: Staggered Pitching

A less traditional but intriguing approach is staggered pitching, where different yeast strains are added at different stages of the fermentation process. For instance, a strain known for quick and vigorous fermentation might be pitched first, followed by a slower, more flavor-focused strain. This ensures that the first strain doesn't dominate the fermentation, leaving room for the second strain to contribute its unique characteristics.

Risks and Rewards

Craft brewing is often about pushing boundaries, but it's essential to remember that not all boundaries yield to be pushed. Mixing yeast strains without a well-thought-out plan can result in unpredictable flavors, stuck fermentations, or other unwanted outcomes. Hence, meticulous documentation and small-scale testing are advised before scaling up your yeast mixing ambitions.

Yeast Blends: The Pre-Mixed Solutions

There are commercial yeast blends available that are designed to provide balanced characteristics of multiple strains. These are excellent for brewers who are just starting to dabble in the complexities of yeast interaction but don't want to leap into the deep end just yet.

From Flask to Fermentor: Practical Steps

Preparing Individual Starters

To ensure the yeast strains are at their peak vitality, each should ideally be propagated in individual yeast starters. These should then be combined at the time of pitching into the main fermentor.

Mixing Ratios

When combining strains, consider the ratio in which you mix them. A 50:50 ratio might seem like an equitable distribution, but the faster-acting yeast could still outcompete the slower one. It's often advised to experiment with varying ratios to find the balance that produces the flavor profile you are aiming for.

Monitoring and Quality Control

Fermentation should be carefully monitored. Take regular gravity readings to assess how the fermentation is progressing and whether one yeast is outcompeting the other. Tasting at different stages is also key, as the flavor profile can give you valuable insights into the ongoing yeast "dialogue."

Leave a Comment attenuation, carbon dioxide, fermentis, final gravity, floccing, hydrometer, original gravity, saccharomyces cerevisiae, yeast

How Cryo hops & 'lupulin powder' can replace the need for traditional hop pellets

How lupulin 'Cryo Hops' are changing the beer brewing industry 

The concept of making beer hasn't changed much in several hundred years but the methods recently have. While hops have been used for many a year, one company in America might have found a way for a genuine step change in hop use with their innovation of collecting lupulin powder.

You might already know that lupulin is the part of the hops that brewers utilised to make beers hoppy as that's where the good alpha acids for brewing come from.

In case you didn't know, the alpha acids are converted into bitter iso-alpha acids during the brewing process, and essential oils and are what give beers their varying hoppy qualities.

YCH Hops, a grower-owned hop supplier based in Washington, America has created a new process where the lupulin is extracted from the hops and is collected in powder form and marketed as Cryo Hops.

You might well ask, what's the point of this?

Efficiency gains in making beer are the short answer.

Beer hops are often made into pellets form for distribution and preservation. The process of making the pellets actually breaks down the acids and oils meaning the effect on the beer requires more hops than one perhaps needs. Enter lupulin powder which has a superior percentage of 'herbs and spices' over hop pellets meaning that less quantity is required.

Ekuanot hops are quite popular

YCH boasts that their product "offers twice the resin content of traditional whole-leaf and hop pellet products" which basically means you only need to use half as much.

YCH Hops initially started to market their powdered 'Cryo Hops' with the brand name "LupuLN2" to commercial brewers in America.  The reviews are in and breweries switching as result.

How is lupulin powder made into cryo hops?

The powder extraction process is simple in concept. The collected hops are subjected to cold temperatures inside a nitrogen atmosphere. This limits any oxidation of the sensitive resins and oils in the hop. The hops are 'chilled and milled' and the lupulin is forced from the lupulin gland.

The little guy has not been forgotten though - a small home brewer, you can buy the powder from Amazon!

How to use Cryo Hops

It's dead simple - you can simply dry hop the Cryo hops as you would with your ordinary pellet hops. You don't even need to make a hop tea!

What variety of cryo hops are there?

YCH Hops have produced Mosaic, Ekuanot, Citra, Simcoe and Cascade versions of LupuLN2. 

The benefits of using Cryo Hops

You can see the appeal for commercial brewers - less volume means better storage and transportation costs.

The other benefit of the powder is that their use in place of traditional hops means less 'green material' is left in the beer, improving clarity by reducing sedimentation and better beer brightness.

You can see why home brewers who don't have commercial means of clearing beer will love using the powder!

I haven't found any information how long the powder can be used before it loses its potency.
Given the apparent early success of lupulin powder with the American brewers that have used it, we expect that its popularity will slowly begin to spread across the Continent and then the rest of brewing communities the world over - provided it's sold at a cost-effective price relative to the economics of using traditional hop pellets it should do well - indeed the prices on Amazon seem pretty fair.

Leave a Comment cryo hops, ekuanot, hops, lupulin, lupulin powder, lupuLN2

The 3 best ways to add hops to your beer

When do I add hops to my beer wort?

This hops guide is focused on making beer using a kit rather than by doing a boil (when hops are usually added during the boil).

It is dead easy to add hops to your wort.

All you have to do is throw those precious green bullets of bliss into your drum once you have mixed all your ingredients together.

This is called dry hopping and it is easy as pitching yeast.

Many brewers add the hops a few days before bottling, once fermentation is complete.

Boom, you have done your beer a wonderful service by adding a magical green plant that will help give your beer a more discerning and bitter beer taste.

In this context, you are using hops for flavor and not so much for bittering purposes which happens during the boil.

But that's the easy way out to adding hops to your beer kit brew.

There are some other methods that you might wish to try which will add character and flavor to your beer.

The 'wait 5 days after fermentation method' 

Some beer brewers insist that you will get a better bang for your buck if you add the hops in 5 or so days after your beer has begun fermenting.

From what I can figure out, the rationale is that the 'aromatic oils' that can be lost in the popular boiling process of beer are retained in the beer.

The dry hopping method does not add any bitterness to the beer itself. So if you're after a really bitter beer, you'll need a kit that has been designed with that in mind or you could try making a hops tea that removes the bitterness from the hops and then add the tea to your wort.

This method of adding hops to your beer will give your beer a nice hoppy aroma which will surely add to your drinking experience.

Dry hopping works fairly well with IPA style beers.

The negative of simply adding dry hops into your wort is that it does increase the likelihood of there being sediment in your beer but with a good pouring technique and refrigeration before said poor, you'll be OK.

To try and counter that from occurring, you may wish to consider:

Placing hops in muslin bags to reduce sediment

The other method of adding hops to your fermenter is adding the hops secured inside in a muslin cloth bag.

We are not kidding.

If you wrap your hops up into a muslin cloth, the idea is that the sediment stays in the bag, but all the flavors get out and into your beer, meaning that you will have a clearer beer.

There are some arguments that this technique will actually hamper the effect of the hops as they kind of need 'room to breathe' and infuse the beer with their magical bitterness and IBU.

If you feel this is a fair point then I suggest you consider the:

The 'Hop Tea' technique to add bitterness to beer

That's right, before you make beer, you are going to make a cup of hop tea.

Put the hops in the muslin bag (or tie up a square of it) and then boil it for several minutes. The hop pellets will quickly disintegrate.

This is normal.

During the boil, have a good smell and enjoy the aromas. That's the deliciousness you want to impart into your beer.

When you've boiled the hops for long enough, turn the pan off but leave everything right where it is.

At this time, you'll also have prepared you wort, so now put everything you've boiled - the whole muslin bag and the bittered tea that you've made. It will be a green mess, like the Hulk puked up or something.

The idea here is that the great hops aromas and oils have been removed from bullets and will mix easily with your brew. You're throwing in the muslin bag for good measure.

The bag itself will not have any effect on the beer or fermentation process, it can be disposed of on beer bottling day.

The key thing is to not overthink things. Sure you could use a hop chart and worry about boiling times but really, if you a starting out, just relax.

If you are using a starter kit, or have done a few brews, what you are wanting to do is make a good, first up time beer and not worry too much.

Using extra hops already shows you are ahead of the curve, just get them into the fermenter and sit back and wait for the hops magic to happen until you are ready to bottle your beer.

Now you've got a nice brew ready, sit back, grab a glass of healthy Kombucha and watch some Star Wars!

Leave a Comment beer brewing, bittering, hops

Best yeasts to use when brewing lager beers

The production of lager beer requires the use of specific yeast strains that can tolerate low temperatures and produce a clean, crisp fermentation profile. 

The most commonly used lager yeast strains are Saccharomyces pastorianus and Saccharomyces carlsbergensis, which are often used interchangeably in brewing.

What are the recommended yeasts to use for brewing lager beers?

• W-34/70: This is a popular lager yeast strain known for its clean and crisp fermentation profile and its ability to ferment at low temperatures. It is often used in commercial brewing and is available from several yeast manufacturers.
• S-23: This is another popular lager yeast strain that is known for its ability to ferment at low temperatures and produce a clean and crisp beer. It is available from several yeast manufacturers.
• S-189: This lager yeast strain is known for its ability to produce a malty and clean beer with a balanced bitterness. It is a popular choice for brewing traditional European lagers and is available from several yeast manufacturers.
• WLP830: This lager yeast strain is a popular choice for brewing German-style lagers, such as Oktoberfest or Maibock. It is known for producing a clean and malty beer with a balanced bitterness and is available from several yeast manufacturers.
• Saflager W-34/70: This is a popular lager yeast strain from Fermentis that is known for its ability to produce a clean and crisp beer with a neutral flavor profile. It is a popular choice for brewing a wide range of lagers and is available in both dry and liquid forms.

Compared to ale yeasts, lager yeasts tend to produce fewer fruity esters and more sulfur compounds. 

This can result in a cleaner and more crisp beer, but also requires a more careful fermentation process (and is why we recommend newcomers to brewing start brewing with ales and stouts as it's easier to mask sub-optimal outcomes). 

It is important to use a sufficient amount of yeast when brewing a lager, as the lower fermentation temperature can result in a slower and less vigorous fermentation than with ale yeasts. A healthy and active yeast culture is essential for a successful lager fermentation, so it is important to use fresh and properly stored yeast.

The fermentation process for lagers is typically longer than for ales, with most lagers requiring several weeks or even months of cold conditioning after primary fermentation is complete. Proper pitching of the yeast at the correct temperature, appropriate oxygenation and nutrient levels, and careful temperature control throughout the fermentation process are all crucial factors for producing a high-quality lager.

Check out our more brewing tips to make better brews.

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Best Wort Chiller - How to Choose for Brewing

What are the best wort chillers to buy?

If you've done your all-grain brewing session, you've boiled your work well using a burner with high BTU, your hops timings were just perfect and it's all smelling incredible, it's time to quickly cool your wort so that your beer will taste the best it can be.

This is because the key part of the whole exercise is getting fermentation occurring as quickly as possible once the wort has been prepared.

The trouble is, the wort is usually bloody hot and if you add yeast to the wort straight away, it will die a miserable death.

Like the T-1000 in Terminator 2 when it falls into the molten steel.

So what can you do?

It’s simple.

You may wish to consider investing in a wort chiller.

Here's some selections to think about and compare:

• The Copperhead 
• The Silver Serpent
• The Therminator
• The NY Brew Supply Deluxe Chiller

Why do I need to use a wort chiller to cool beer?

The use of one can improve the quality of your beer in several ways.

The first is to protect the beer against infections.

While the wort it is still hot bacteria and wild yeasts are inhibited from toying with your beer which is a good thing but it is very susceptible to oxidation damage as it slowly cools.

An efficient cool down can prevent this damage from occurring.

It also prevents the production of dimethyl sulphide. This compound can produce off flavourings in the beer so obviously, you’d want to remove the risk of this being produced as much as you can.

Ideally, the conscientious brewer should aim to get the wort to below 80°F (27°C) before oxidation or contamination has a chance to occur. The use of a wort chiller will get you there in no time.

You may have heard of ‘chill haze’. This is a really common cause of beer cloudiness where the wort has been boiled and the cooling process has not generated enough ‘cold break’.

The cold break is the proteins from the beer that are precipitated to the bottom of the beer by the cold temperature.

Using a copper wort chiller allows for an effective way to get more cold break forming and thus reduces the chance of chill haze in your finished beer.

The less crap in your beer, the better it will taste.

A tale of three kinds chillers

There are actually three types of wort chillers: immersion and counter-flow and plate.

• Immersion chillers are the simplest and work by running cold water through the copper coil (or stainless steel) which is immersed directly in the wort. The heat of the wort is transferred via the copper into the water which is quickly is carried away by the flowing water in the pipe.  If you are doing a 5 gallon brew, the length of the tube is usually from 20 to 40 feet, although theу can be even longer.
• Counterflow chillers work in an opposite manner. The hot wort is drained from the cooking pot via copper tubing while cold water flows around the outside of the chiller. Counterflow chillers thus get their name because the two sets of tubing are set up so that the wort goes in one direction, and the cooling water the other.
• Plate chillers work by cold water is run through the unit's 'plates' in one direction and the hot brew is cooled very quickly with the cold water that is running through the other side in the opposite direction. Such a chiller will have hundreds of plates to offer a good surface area to allow for the heat exchange (so it's efficient).

Each kind of chiller has pros and cons. Given immersion chillers are usually the cheapest and easiest to keep clean and maintain and given that do not need a pump to push the water through, they are the most popular units used.

If you're thinking that surface area is the key to quick cooling you'd be right - but just remember that even though a plate chiller has a lot of surface area in the plates, a right sized immersion chiller will likely have a comparable surface area.

No one kind of chiller will reduce the water or wort temperature more than the other, they will only cool as cool as the temperature of the coolant used.

Our featured wort chiller - Copperhead Immersion Wort Chiller

The two stand out features of Northern Brewer's  popular chiller are that it comes with 25 foot copper coil for efficient cooling and its vinyl tubing comes with the standard garden hose connection.

The Copperhead features:

• All copper coil construction is easy to clean and will conduct heat better than other metals.
• Ensure secure tubing with proprietary barbed fittings. Eradicate shooting streams of water that make a mess in your brew cave.
• Drop-angle connections provide insurance against contamination.
• Dimensions: 9 inches wide, 16 inches tall to the bend, 3/8 ID tubing.
• No need to sanitize. Simply drop your clean chiller into the kettle a few minutes before the end of the boil and it will be ready to go. 
• Cleaning is a breeze
• Standard garden hose connection allows for brewing outside or connects to a laundry sink faucet as your chilling water source

Here are some real reviews from real users who bought on Amazon

"Don't cheap out on the ones with simply raw copper ends and hose clamps. The ends connectors on this IC are top notch. Brew on!"

"Worked perfectly and as expected. No leaks and cooled my wort very quickly."

"This is the best on Amazon. I thought about making my own, but considering my time and effort involved, made sense to pay a bit more for one already set up"

Check out the pricing on Amazon.

The Copperhead also has a cousin from Northern Brewer, the 'Silver Serpent'

Called the Silver Serpent for hopefully obvious reasons, Northern Brewer claims this is the most sanitary immersion chiller on the market and it features:

• Drop-angle connections and secure tubing with proprietary barbed fittings. 
• Do away with ill-fitting hose clamps on misshapen chiller connections.
• The Silver Serpent drop-angle eliminates kinked tubing. 
• No more hassles with propping up the water hose. Tubing can now hang tension-free, kink-free and problem-free. 
• Surprise leaks stay outside your kettle and away from cooling wort.

Believe it or not! Remember if you have Amazon Prime you can probably get free shipping!

Check out the pricing on Amazon.

I see people raving about the Blichmann Therminator, is it any good?

As far as we can tell, the Blichmann Terminator is probably the most popular plate chiller in the brewing community. 

Brewers often name drop it in brewing forums everytime someone asks 'what is the best wort chiller?"

Just google it and see! Actually, don't google it, keep reading!

Blichmann is a tried and true brand and boasts a strong inventory of brewing equipment.

Their gas burner is a well-respected piece of brewing day equipment (good for frying turkey too, apparently!) so you wouldn't go wrong to consider using their chiller.

The Therminator is a stainless steel plate-type wort chiller, a miniature version of the plate chillers that the pros use. It is the fastest and most efficient way to chill your wort to yeast pitching temperature.

The Therminator can chill 10 gallons of boiling wort to pitching temperature within 5 minutes when using 58°F cooling water at 5 gpm. This super-efficient chiller uses less water than most other chillers on the market, and is especially great for brewers in southern American climates!

Blichmann boast of their 20 years of experience designing cooling systems and coupled with 17 years of homebrewing experience, they stand by their product claim that it's the 'king of coolers':

• Broad operating range at fast cooling rates.
• Low water usage for high efficiency.
• Low restriction for gravity feed at high flow rates.
• Compact size for easy use and sanitation.
• Heavy-duty mounting brackets for simple installation.
• Convenient straight-through water connections to prevent kinked hoses.
• Resistance to plugging.
• Substantial reduction in ice usage for chilling below cooling water temps.

Reviews of real users of the Therminator:

"This chiller is incredible. I had been using an immersion copper wort chiller for a few years, so moving to this plate chiller was a big step up. It instantly cooled down my wort as I pumped it through. You do have to make sure you clean it well afterwards, but I think this product is well worth the money."

"Works phenomenally well. Took wort from boiling to 54 degrees in about 6 minutes. I used a gravity setup with my boil kettle valve wide open."

If brewers have one complaint about this product it's that cleaning the plate unit is a real process - as is with all plate chillers. I guess you have to factor in the time savings if using a plate chiller is an effective tool for you. 

Check out the price on Amazon.

If there's a counterflow chiller you like, make it the NY Brew Supply Deluxe 

Don't let its look put you off because remember, counterflow chillers are not placed inside the hot wort so the black piping serves a purpose:

NY Brew Supply state the following about their chiller:

"The outer coil of our deluxe counter flow wort chiller is a super durable, high temperature 3/4" hose that will not get brittle over time and is more durable than standard garden hose designs. 25 feet of 1/2 inch copper tubing provides an extremely efficient transfer of heat.

Heavy duty brass fittings allow for easy connection to your cold water source (via garden hose connection). Unlike some "soldered copper" designs, our heavy duty brass fittings allow you the option to adjust the angle and position of the input and output hoses."

But don't let them do all the talking, try the opinions of these actual users on for size:

"I've used this twice in the last month. This is one of those purchases I wish I would have made years ago. Initially, I was considering upgrading my copper/immersion wort chiller to something larger. This is really not that much more expensive and MAN does it perform."

"This product works great, is well priced, and I would recommend it. If you buy it, keep the end caps as you can pour star san water into the copper inner coil and keep it sanitized while not in use. Also, I would recommend using proper silicone tubing and tube clamps."

"I went to the hardware store to gather the parts to make this. As I added up the cost in my cart, I realized I couldn't beat this deal! It costs as much to make on your own so, why bother! My time is worth the $100! And yours is too!"

If those testimonies sound right up your alley, have a gander at the price on Amazon.

How to use a wort chiller

The basic principle behind using an immersion wort chillers is fairly straight forward. The copper tubing, usually around 25-50 feet long, is formed into a large coil that can be submerged into the wort to cool it.

After the boil and, when you are ready, you connect your chiller to a piping system of some kind. Many brewers make their beer outside and so are quite happy to connect to the garden hose. If you are inside, your laundry taps might have the correct tap connectors.

NE ways, you run the water through the chiller until the wort is at the desired temperature. And gosh, if you need to ask how you know what the right temperature is, you take a thermometer reading!

But then you're going to ask but what is the best temperature to pitch your yeast? Look at the guidance on your yeast packet but note that different yeasts like different temperatures.

Just don't over cool your wort or it may take some time for fermentation to begin!

What does the garden hose have to do with chilling beer?

You may wish to consider buying a wort chiller that has a standard garden hose connection. 

This allows for brewing outside on a nice summer's day or connecting to a laundry sink faucet as your chilling water source. 

That can give you some room to breathe outside rather than managing all kinds of cooling shenanigans in the kitchen!

Go for quality

You get what you pay for so look for wort chillers that cool efficiently, don’t leak and will last many brews so don't cheap out.

Just as you should always get the bigger brewing kettle, go for the quality but affordable wort chiller. 

In the long run, it will be wort(h) it.

What are some good DIY options for cooling wort?

There are a few DIY options you can consider attempting.

If you're feeling like a bit of a mongrel you can always curl up your garden hose, tie it off and use it as you would an immersion cool but who are we kidding, the damn thing would probably melt if placed in a boiling wort!

Seriously though, you can buy your own tubing which will still allow for efficient cooling rates and be friendly on your wallet.

How to make your own wort chiller

This guy has some good ideas about making counter flow chillers. Here's a great video on how to make your own copper tubing chiller:

What if my groundwater is too warm to chill the wort?

If you have found yourself in a very warm climate area, your groundwater temperature may not be sufficient to cool the wort to the desired lower temperature.

If that's the case, you will need to use a cooling water pre-chiller set up. You can use a copper coil immersed in a pail of iced water. 

We recommend the coil is 25 to 50 feet in length. Use this to cool the groundwater before it enters the chiller i.e. it is placed between your chiller and the water source. 

It might look rough but here's a good set up:

In the blue box, you can see the water bottles. These have been frozen and added to the water. Saves you buying ice!

How to clean wort chillers

Cleaning an immersion cooler is the easiest of the three kinds because you only need to wash the exterior coils. A quick rinse with a hose should be sufficient. Make sure you get all the gunk off.

Plate chillers are tough to clean as the metal plates are placed very close to each other and if you don't separate out the hops before cooling, they can clog up the 'plate trenches' quite quickly. 

This reduces cooling performance and will make the unit just that bit more tricky to properly clean - and you need to clean them well so that no residue can pass on nasty bugs on the next use. 

It’s a smart move to sanitize your plate chiller right after the brew is done. So your instructions are to not leave it for a day or two (or even next weekend) or you will likely have problems with the wort and gunk inside the chiller that will be very difficult to get out. 

Do yourself a favour and back-flush your plate chiller with water from the faucet as soon as you finish your brew. By back-flushing, we meant that you rinse in the opposite direction of the wort flow to try and first expunge any hop or trub residue that may have entered collected inside the exchanger.

You can actually add PBW to your cleaning water to help with cleaning those pipes out...speaking of:

What chemicals and cleaners do I clean a wort chiller with?

All the usual good stuff, including vinegar! PBW is probably your best bet. Star San has been known by home brewers to work really well on copper so feel free to give that a try.

Blichmann actually recommends that you do not use any chlorine products containing chlorine such as a bleach as chlorine can pit and erode stainless steel. So stay away from anything caustic.

Using a pump with wort chiller

If your water pressure is low or you want to reticulate water you just want to get on with the job of cooling the water, you may want to use a pump to help move the water along.

There are many different kinds of pumps on the market but I've noticed many brewers simply use pumps intended for ponds or aquariums as they operate at the power levels needed for chilling wort!

The benefit of using a pump is that it can contribute to lowering your overall chilling time.

These aeration pumps are good for wort.

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