Chilling Tip

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

For those of you already aware of this tip I apologise in advance and for everyone else
The Romans invented icecream by discovering that when salt is added to water and ice it drops the temperature of the solution to approx -6 C, thus allowing them to freeze milk by whipping the cream/milk in a metal bowl immersed in the solution. The ice from your domestic freezer is at about -18 but when added to water the minimum temperature you can get to is 0, by adding salt you create a brine which has a freezing temperature of ~-6. So if you are having a party on a beach add sea water to a bucket of ice to chill your drinks, alternatively at Christmas or BBQ days when fridge space is critical and best used for food. Create another fridge by adding table salt to ice and water in a large cooler box/ baby's bath and voila just like the Heineken ad you wont keep your arm in there for long .
Could also assist in chilling a boil kettle for smaller batches. I add a whole packet of salt to a sink full of ice, if it's not cold enough add more salt.

[LordEoin]

Or use a sink full of frozen vodka! 
But i suppose salt is a little cheaper...

[Dr Jacoby]

I've used this technique to chill lager wort to roughly 8C before (I couldn't manage to get it to drop any further). You need to keep agitating the salt/ice/water mixture for it to work effectively.

I was able to source a cheap pub chiller which cools water to about 4C so I use that now instead. God bless technology!

[LordEoin]

That's a good idea. Does it recirculate the same water?

[Dr Jacoby]

At the moment I hook it up to the tap and just let the tap push the water through. But I'm planning on getting a pump and using it to recirculate water once the temp in the boiler drops below 50C or so (I'd be a bit worried about recirculating hot water through the chiller - but then again maybe they can take it?)   

[DEMPSEY]

Don't put hot through it first because it has a small tank and you will put too much pressure on it to perform. Your right to take the initial heat out of the wort then use it to bring down the temp to Lager.

[Dr Jacoby]

Any idea what temp to bring the wort down to before recirculating?

[DEMPSEY]

I have an old pub chiller and use counterflow to chill with. First I push tap water directly through thr counterflow until I have dropped the temp of the recirculating wort to approx 25 30 C. Then I push the tap water through the pub chiller and push the wort to 8 C to brew a GOLD MEDAL lager fermented at 12 C using safale 34/70

[Ciderhead]

Oh this is getting boring now, waiting for BM to get his lager knob out next 

Why would you want to get your wort below normal lager yeast temps of say 9-12?

[Dr Jacoby]

a GOLD MEDAL lager fermented at 12 C using safale 34/70

I was standing beside you when you won that medal!

[DEMPSEY]

Read before that it is preferred to have the temp rise to target after pitching for a lager.

[Dr Jacoby]

Yep, it's the best way to keep diacetyl at bay and produce a clean beer

[Ciderhead]

what have you fellas been reading 
If you drop a 10 Degree liquid yeast into a 4 Degree wort yeast no likey. ideally +/- 2/3 degrees and far better off coming from high side to get lager yeast going, and come down, if you are worried about diacetyl they do a rest and "cook it off" for 2 days at 15-16 before lagering, I would be more concerned about diacetyl from low pitch rates and you can get into all sorts of fun with stalled or slow lager ferments tbh.
I wouldn't be advising cook fermenting it either btw!


http://www.whitelabs.com/content/white-labs-lager-yeast-tips
http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_lagerbrewing.cfm

[Dr Jacoby]

If you drop a 10 Degree liquid yeast into a 4 Degree wort yeast no likey.

True, but irrelevant, since nobody said you should do this 

There are various ways you can brew lagers, with pros and cons for each method. The procedure I'm looking to use (and I believe Dempsey is probably doing something similar) is to follow what most industrial lager breweries do, which is to pitch a yeast starter at, say, 5 - 8C into wort that has been cooled to the same temp. You then slowly raise this to your target fermentation temperature. This is the technique used, for example, by Pilsner Urquell; it's a staple of the German brewing tradition; and carries several important benefits.   

As I said, it's not the only way to brew lagers and is certainly not the only way to brew good lagers. But if done correctly, it's a very good way to avoid the most common problems that afflict lagers.

[DEMPSEY]

Ah CH have you forgotten your own recommendation site for Lager info http://www.braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fermenting_Lagers and I quote
"Among home brewers there is is often debate regarding the proper pitching temperature for lagers. Some say that you need to pitch warm to allow for better initial growth of the yeast and others say that you need to pitch below the primary fermentation temperature.
To understand that both sides have valid arguments one has to understand where they are coming from. Warm pitching has been introduced by home brewers and yeast manufacturers because it allows for pitching a lager with a smaller pitching rate and leads to a shorter lag time which is less concerning for the first time lager brewer. That's why warm pitching was suggested in the "Your first lager fermentation" section above. To pitch warm, chill your wort until it has a temperature of 65 - 68 °F (15 - 18 °C) aerate it well and pitch the yeast. Now wait until you see signs of fermentation (low kraeusen or bubbles in the airlock) and move it to an area where you maintain about 50 °F so that the wort can cool down while the yeast starts to take off.
Industrial lager brewing only does cold pitching because the proper pitching rates and yeast health can be ensured. Because of the initially higher fermentation temperatures, warm pitching is associated with an increased level of ester, diacetyl and fusel alcohol production which are components that, at higher levels, are not desired in a lager. Diacetyl will be reduced by the yeast during the maturation of the beer but most of the esters and higher alcohols can carry over into the finished product.
That's why cold pitching is also recommended for the home brewing of lager beer as long as a proper pitch of healthy yeast is available. If this is not the case, cold pitching can lead to a very long lag time and sluggish fermentation. In order to pitch cold, chill the wort to 43 - 48 °F (6 - 9 °C) and resuspend the yeast with some wort. Make sure to break up all clumps. If you have a stir plate, stirring the wort and yeast for a few minutes will take care of that very nicely. Now pitch it into the wort and place the fermenter in a space with a constant temperature of 46 - 50 *F (8 - 10 *C). Most brewers use a fridge or freezer chest with an external temperature control for this. Expect the fermentation to start within 16 - 36 hrs. For lager fermentation the lag time should not be too short. Because of the low beer (it is actually beer since yeast has already been pitched) temperature there is less risk of contamination since the metabolism of the bacteria and wild yeast is also reduced. The lag time also appears longer for lagers because the colder beer can absorb more CO2 before it is forced out of solution and forms the Kraeusen. If you are concerned that your yeast isn't active after pitching, measure the pH of the beer. If it dropped from the lower to mid 5's at pitching time into the upper 4's 12 hrs after pitching, the yeast is doing alright. The lowered pH already provides additional insurance against infections. Oftentimes you can also see a stratification of yeast. In this case the very top layer of the beer seems darker and less cloudy. The yeast is in suspension in the cloudy beer just below that layer. I have had low Kraeusen formation as late as 48 hrs after pitching. Though I don't like it to take that long, the beer turned out just fine."