How to Clean Wort Chillers

Wort chillers are one of the primary functions in brewing the hops into a finely brewed beer. You need to make sure you are keeping this chamber and coils clean so it can keep the wort cool just before the fermentation process and capture the hop aroma that naturally pushes away. Allow the cleaning process to work every time you brew, to avoid build-up and brew function issues.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Soft cloth White vinegar Aluminum foil Oven mitts/gloves Potholder

1. Rinse your chiller with hot water just before you start the brewing process. Brush away any loose dirt or soil using a soft cloth.

2. Mix 1/2 cup white vinegar with 5 gallons of cold water and place the chiller in the solution. Let this soak until it's time for the brew pot.

3. Rinse the wort chiller with hot water two or three times when there are 30 minutes left for a brew time.

4. Boil the chiller for at least 25 minutes and this will sterilize the coil and release a trace of copper into the wort. Copper is a part of yeast nutrition.

5. Remove the wort chiller from the boiling water using oven mitts and cover with aluminum foil.

6. Wait five minutes and move the chiller inside the brew pot to change the position of the coils. Use potholders to protect your hands from the hot metal.

7. Transfer what is chilled in the wort (you will have proteins, hops, and other solids) to the fermenter. There will be trub as well, but this can be easily averted by using a siphon to transfer from the wort chiller to the fermenter.

8. Repeat Step 1 before storing your wort chiller after every brew.

Tips & Warnings

• This cleaning process is easier if you follow this process every time you run your brew process. Making sure the wort is clean will only give it more capacity to chill the coils.

References

• How to Brew

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