Wed Nov 21, 2012 9:13 pm
So, its been a month since I brewed with this setup. I had a few extra variables to deal with since it was the first time I brewed this recipe that I created in an attempt to create a beer close to Corona. Laugh if you want, but I wanted to run my new system through all the paces and check the quality of my process. Knowing you can't hide off flavors in a beer like that, I was off and running.
Anyway, I just did a gravity check and got my first taste of the beer (which I began lagering two weeks ago) and I have to say, "oh hell yeah". I could keg and carb this thing right now and I believe it would be balls on (otherwise known as "cloned").
Using the Hop Rocket with about 4 oz. of rice hulls in a hops bag through a Therminator in the recirculation line of a JZ whirlpool chiller, I had my wort chilled to groundwater temps in about 20 minutes. I then used a submersible pump to recirc ice water through the Therminator as I pumped into the fermentors. Arrived in the fermentor at 59 degrees (was shooting for 54). Realized that I should have throttled the flow back on the wort through the Therminator and I would most liekly have hit my temp. Was able to leave an assload of trub in the brew kettle thanks to the whirlpool action and caught what was left thanks to the filtering action that I got in the Hop Rocket.
The beer is freaking amazing and I'm certainly going to make this my chill setup from now on. No negative effect from the rice hulls at all, although I think that had I not pre-pastuerized them that I might have had a problem as that water turned quite brown.
Anyway, I had great success and am really happy with how quickly I got my beer down to groundwater temps. I cut at least 30 minutes (maybe as much as an hour) off my brew day. I'll do a better job of measuring the time savings next time.
Highly recommend.
~widget
