Why is a wort cooler so important in brewing beer?
The wort cooler is used to cool down the young beer quickly and efficiently. This is because wort cooling takes place directly after the malt, water and hops have been boiled. But the most important ingredient is still missing, of course: the yeast. The wort can only properly become beer when the yeast bacteria initiate the fermentation process, which is responsible for the alcohol, aroma and carbon dioxide. Immediately after boiling, however, the wort is much too hot for the yeast at around 100°C, as the yeast cultures would die immediately. For this reason, it is essential to bring the wort to a lower pitching temperature before the fermentation process. However, if you rely on the wort cooling down all by itself, you need to bring plenty of time. Depending on the brewing volume, it can take several hours to a day to reach the desired temperature. In addition, slow cooling can lead to contamination. Bacteria have much more time to multiply, so there is an increased risk of infection. Therefore, to speed up the cooling process, brewmasters use a wort chiller, which allows for rapid cooling.
How does the wort cooler work?
There are different types of wort coolers. Probably the most popular, however, is the counterflow cooler, in which the medium to be cooled flows against the cooling liquid. As they flow past each other, the cooling liquid absorbs the heat of the young beer, so that it cools in return. The cooling liquid is usually ordinary water from a garden hose or a well. A simpler version of the countercurrent cooler is the immersion cooler. It consists of bent copper pipes, in which the cooling liquid runs through. Due to the constant cooling of the tube, the environment, i.e. the wort, cools down rapidly. Another form of wort cooler is the plate wort cooler. This is available from us in various sizes. In principle, it is a kind of counterflow cooler, because in it the medium to be cooled and the coolant flow past each other between several plates.
Do you want to build your own wort cooler or buy one?
There are numerous instructions on the Internet on how to build these practical coolers yourself. If you have a wire for DIY and fiddling around, you can definitely try them out. For everyone else, we recommend buying a wort cooler yourself. These are also available for small money and in a variety of sizes. No expert knowledge necessary! At Gastro-Brennecke.de you have a wide choice between counterflow coolers, immersion coolers and plate coolers. These are aimed at the standard quantities in beer brewing, so 20 liters and 50 liters.
Stainless steel wort coolers
If you want to get a wort cooler, you should also pay attention to the material of the equipment. Ideally, it should be stainless steel, because it offers the following advantages:
- Conductivity: the metal has good temperature conductivity and is therefore very suitable for the rapid cooling of beer. It stores temperatures poorly and passes them on to the coolant as quickly as possible.
- Anti-rust properties: Stainless steel corrodes only under very extreme circumstances, and even then it takes forever for rust to form. The circumstances present in brewing beer are not nearly enough to cause stainless steel to sweat.
- High quality and hard: One of the most common reasons stainless steel wears out is cavitation and nicks. That's why stainless steel wort coolers not only withstand a lot, but also live a very long time.
Just browse our store to find the right wort cooler for your needs. Do you have any questions about wort coolers? Then please feel free to contact us!