Home Brewing

As you are researching how to make beer online, you will find a debate amongst home brewers as to whether or not secondary fermentation os necessary. When brewing beer, after it has fermented in the primary fermenter for awhile, some brewers choose to complete the fermentation in a secondary fermeneter. Other brewers simply leave the beer in the primary fermenter a little longer and avoid the secondary fermenter altogether. In some cases, secondary fermentation can make a difference, and may also be necessary in some situations. This is a quick overview of the pros and cons of secondary fermentation for those that are just getting started learning how to make beer.

As opposed to secondary fermenting your beer, you simply leave the beer in the primary fermenter longer. In other words, you still ferment your beer for the same length of time, but you just ferment it in one vessel as opposed to breaking up the fermentation period into two separate vessels.

The two main reasons home brewers rack to a second fermenter is to help the clarity of the beer, and autolysis. However, not all beers need to be clear, especially darker beers. Autolysis is the contamination of the beer from being left on the trub too long. It is basically when the yeast cells die.  However, autolysis is very unlikely to happen when home brewing, and many home brewers have left their beers on the trub in the primary fermenter for months and not seen any ill effects.

So then, why would someone want to secondary ferment? If you were making a batch of beer that called for the addition of fruit, you will want to add the fruit in the secondary fermenter, not the primary. Also, if you are brewing a lighter beer, you may want to secondary ferment in order to allow the yeast a chance to clarify the beer. (Alternatively, you can also add fining agents in secondary fermentation to aid in clarifying your beer).

Otherwise, leaving your beer in the primary longer is perhaps the better option to racking it to a secondary fermenter. If you have a secondary fermenter (and most beer starter kits come with two buckets) and do not secondary ferment your beer, then you now have an extra fermenter that will allow you to brew another batch of brew. You then would have two batches of beer fermenting at the same time.

If you decide to secondary ferment with that extra bucket, you can always purchase and additional fermenter so that you have a constant pipeline of home brew fermenting. Another drawback to secondary fermentation is the possibility of exposing your beer to the air and microorganisms that can potentially contaminate it. When racking to the secondary fermenter, you have to be careful not to splash the beer as it pours into the secondary fermenter and aerate it. This can lead to spoiling your beer and having to dump it.

No matter how careful you are, there is always the possibility that bacteria and germs can get into your beer. If your beer is left in the primary, then this potential risk and exposure is not an issue. If you research how to make beer online, you can find many home brewing forums. This topic has been debated continuously over time, so you can find more information and more in depth conversation about this issue if you wish to learn more.

However, the main point of this article is to show those new to learning how to make beer that secondary fermentation isn't always necessary, and a step that many home brewers skip.

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An important lesson to learn in beer brewing is that there is more than one way to produce beer. Sometimes, it just takes a little creativity to overcome any limitations your particular situation may pose. There are always alternatives, and many different ways to produce beer. This is part of the fun of beer brewing--you can try new, different ways to make your beer. You will learn new methods and tricks in the effort to make better beer.

Due to limitation in space and budget, many brewers may not be able to brew using full boils. Your only option may be to brew using partial boils. While some may initially be discouraged by this, there is no need to get frustrated or give up. True, full boils do produce more flavorful and better beers, but  partial boils still produce quality beers. Plus, there is a way around this limitation so you can improve your beer brewing experience.

Here is where you can discover that there are many opportunities in the beer brewing process to find a solution to any supposed barriers keeping you from making better beer. For many home brewers, they too have been in your situation and found a way to get around to supposedly not being able to produce full boils.

 Even if you are brewing on a stove top and do not have the power to make a full 5 gallon of liquid come to a boil (at least in any reasonable amount of time), and even if you do not have a brew pot large enough to do a full boil, you can still make a full 5 gallon batch of wort without having to top off with water. Just like so many other things about the beer brewing process, it simply requires a little bit of creativity on the part of the home brewer.

For instance, just split the full boil into two partial boil batches. Brew two 2.5 batches of wort, then combine them both in the fermenter to make up the full 5 gallon volume as opposed to topping off. Essentially, you are topping off with more wort as opposed to water.

You can also brew a larger partial boil. Instead of boiling a 2.5 gallon batch of wort, increase the size of your boil to 3 or 4 gallons. You are still doing a partial batch, but you are decreasing the amount of top off water and replacing it with wort. You are substituting with something that has more flavor--and this will produce a better beer.

These are just two simple adjustments that by making, you improve the quality and flavor of your beer. You also increase the quality of your beer brewing experience. This is also another example of how you can make some simple changes to the beer brewing process, and make a noticeable improvement to your finished beer.

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In the world of beer brewing, you have seen the terms partial boil and full boil. You may be wondering just what do they mean? The boil is what starts the beer making process. You are making the wort, which will eventually become your beer. All ingredients for beer brewing are combined in the boil.

Partial and full boil refers to the amount of wort you are boiling. Therefore, a partial boil is only boiling a portion of the wort, while a full boil is just that--a full amount of wort. Most beer brewing recipes call for brewing 5 gallons of wort. However, there are a couple different ways to produce a full 5 gallons of wort.

If you are doing a full boil, then you are boiling a full 5 gallons of liquid at the same time in your brew pot. This requires you to have a large enough pot to boil 5 gallons of liquid in, which means your pot must be at least 6.5 gallons in size. You must also have a heat source that is capable of bringing 5 gallons of liquid to a boil.

                                                                                                                          

An important thing to keep in mind is that if you are boiling 5 gallons of wort, a full boil, you want to end up with 5 gallons of wort, which means you will need to start with over 5 gallons of liquid. This requires a large enough pot. The additional water added in the beginning is to allow for the inevitable evaporation created by the boiling. You may need to start with up to an additional gallon to compensate for this.

For most new to beer brewing, you will likely start with a partial boil. It is common in extract brewing to do partial boils. You boil 2..5 to 3 gallons of wort in the brewpot, then you add the wort to the fermenter. You then add enough water to the wort to make a full 5 gallons. This is known as topping off.

To make it simple, a full boil means that all 5 gallons of the wort are boiled in the brew pot together. In a partial boil you boil a portion of the wort in the brew pot, and then additional water is added after the boil (in the fermenter) to complete the 5 gallon volume.

 Partial boils are necessary for those that live in apartments and do not have access to larger pots and propane burners. Even if you have access to these, you may still choose to boil using only partial boils. It keeps the beer brewing process simpler, and allows you to do it inside. You will see partial boils used as a part of extract and partial mash brewing. All grain brewing uses full boils.

 If you are just getting started beer brewing, you will likely begin with extract brewing, which means you will probably doing partial boils at first, and topping off your wort. Full boils are preferred by many home brewers because they produce more flavorful beer. However, you can still make quality, delicious home brew by using a partial boil.

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One step in the process of how to make beer is bottling the beer after it completes fermentation.  One piece of equipment that can make this task easier is a bottling wand. You do not absolutely need a bottling wand, but you may find that it is a worthwhile purchase to simplify the how to make beer process.

A bottling wand offers many advantages. If you bottle without a wand, then you will need to do so using a siphon. This can be a little tricky, especially the first few times you do this. It can also prove to be a bit of a hassle even after you have it down. As an alternative, you could pour the beer into a funnel into the bottles. But this can be really troublesome trying to lift 5 gallons of beer to pour into a funnel. Not to mention, it is a good way to aerate the beer, which is something you want to avoid doing.

To make this task easier and more efficient, it is a good idea to have a bottling bucket with a spigot. If you do not have a spigot on your bottling bucket, you can always add one to it. This is just another possible DIY project that exists when learning how to make beer. It isn't too difficult a project either.

Once you have a spigot, you can connect your bottling wand to some vinyl tubing to connect to the spigot directly. You only need a few inches of tubing. Then, you can place the bucket at the edge of a counter or table with the wand pointing down. Simply place your bottles up into the bottling wand. Pushing the bottom of the bottle into the wand will release a flow of beer. When you have filled your bottle, release the bottle from the wand, and the flow of beer will stop. This makes pouring much easier, because you can control the flow of the pour (as opposed to having to pinch the siphon to stop the flow).

But the big advantage bottling wands offer is that they fill your beer bottle from the bottom up. For one, this eliminates the guesswork as to the amount of headspace you need to leave for carbonation. The wand itself will displace space in the bottle. Once the bottle is full of beer, stop the flow. Once you remove the wand, the perfect amount of headspace will be left.

Also, this method keeps you from splashing the beer into the bottles, which agitates the beer and allows oxygen to get into it. You want to avoid this at all costs. Remember, the air has germs, bacteria and other microorganisms that want to get into your beer and contaminate it. So you want to avoid splashing the beer and aerating it.

Here is a bottling tip that will simplify the process, and keep things clean as well. If you have limited space, this is perfect. For bottling beer, you need to have the bottles sanitized prior to using. Simply place the bottles top down in your dishwasher a couple hours before you bottle. Run them through a wash cycle, but do not use any soap or drying agents, just hot water. This will actually sterilize the bottles, even better than sanitizing them!

Then, after they have dried, place your bottling bucket on the counter just above the dishwasher. Connect your vinyl tubing to the spigot, and also connect your bottling wand. Then, open the dishwasher door all the way and bottle on the door (or above it). This way, if you have any spills, they wind up on the dishwasher door and not all over your floor. Plus, your bottles are close by and ready to go.

A bottling wand is not essential in the process of how to make beer. However, it is an upgrade to seriously consider adding to your first equipment kit, or purchasing early into learning how to make beer. It makes the process of bottling much easier.

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Often, when first learning how to make beer, new brewers will be in too much of a rush to get to taste their first batch of brew. The fermentation process should not and cannot be rushed. It is possible that in the rush, beer can be bottled too early--before fermentation is complete. This can lead to bottle bombs, literally exploding bottles of beer.

When it comes time to bottle your beer, you must be absolutely sure that fermentation has completed. You do not want to bottle before this happens, ever. This is one of those lessons that if it happens to you once, you will likely never make the same mistake again. Bottle bombs can still happen even if your beer has finished fermentation. So, here are some tips to help you avoid this big mess.

 First, the most important lesson for those learning how to make beer: Patience is a must. You can't rush the process, you must allow it to happen at its own pace. Waiting is hard, especially for your first batch of beer, but patience is rewarded with great tasting brew. A common rookie mistake is to rely on visual cues to tell when fermentation is complete. Looking for the krausen to fall or lack of activity in the airlock could be indicators that fermentation is complete, but these are not 100% guarantees!

 The only certain way is to check with a hydrometer. Sometimes, stuck fermentation occurs. This is a fermentation that dies off before completing, and must be restarted in order to finish properly. Bottle a beer that has stuck fermentation, and you could wind up with bottle bombs.

 Another cause of bottle bombs is overpriming the bottles--too much sugar added. If you use sugar tablets, you could put too many in a bottle. If adding sugar to the bottling bucket, overpriming can occur by adding too much sugar. It can also happen because you don't stir the sugar well enough to completely dissolve it. As a result, the sugar settles to the bottom of the bucket, and does not get evenly distributed.

Some bottles will not receive enough sugar, others will get too much and produce bottle bombs. Keep in mind that the yeast feeds of sugar. The yeast also gives off CO2. Excessive sugar leads to excessive CO2, and as you guessed, bottle bombs. Even in the case of stuck fermentation, the sugar may reawaken the yeast enough to create a bottle bomb.

Finally, it is possible that the beer may become infected. Some bacteria produce sugars that yeast can't ferment. If these bacteria find their way into your beer, your beer can become contaminated no matter how hard the yeast works. This is why thorough cleaning and sanitation are so important in learning how to make beer.

 It is also important to keep in mind the things that can lead to overcarbonation and bottle bombs. You want to make sure you take the necessary precautions so you will be able to enjoy the delicious beer you worked hard for, as opposed to learning a hard lesson and having to clean up a big mess.  This is one lesson you don't want to have to learn the hard way when you are learning how to make beer.

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By now, you have probably learned that sanitation is extremely important in home brewing. And you should also know that cleaning and sanitation are not the same thing. Proper cleaning is just as important as good sanitization.

 If you do not clean thoroughly first, then you will leave behind dirt and residue that bacteria and germs can attach to, which will keep your home brewing equipment from being properly sanitized. Proper cleaning sets up good sanitation, which makes for clean equipment. And clean, sanitized equipment is necessary for good beer.

If you are still confused as to the difference between the two, then let me clarify for you. These are two different steps, but go hand in hand. Cleaning removes residue and dirt from the surface of your home brewing equipment--what you can see. Sanitation removes most of the microorganisms on the equipment--what you can't see.

So here is a quick look at some of the options you have to choose from for cleaners to use in your home brewing, and some things to avoid.

OxyClean is a very effective cleaner, and a popular choice in home brewing. It is easy to find in grocery stores or Wal Mart, K Mart, Target, etc. You do not have to get OxyClean, you can purchase any discount brand oxygen based cleaner. They are all just as effective.

OxyClean is especially effective at cleaning glass carboys. It is also great for Better Bottles. You simply rinse with warm water after using, and then use the OxyClean. OxyClean is also effective at removing labels and glue from beer bottles--simply let the bottles soak in some OxyClean and water overnight, and all the labels and glue come right off. Just set it and forget it, no scrubbing necessary! There is also OxyClean Free, which is an unscented version that contains no chlorines in it. You can purchase OxyClean in big tubs, and it is pretty cheap.

Powdered Brewery Wash (PBW) is another alternative. It is similar to OxyClean, but PBW rinses quicker and more easily than OxyClean. However, PBW costs more than OxyClean. It is also not as easy to purchase. You can find it online and at the LHBS, so it is not impossible to get. You just won't find it at the corner store. PBW is less abrasive on stainless steel and copper. OxyClean is superior on some home brewing equipment, and PBW works better on others, so it is entirely possible that you may find yourself using both products.

Another cheap alternative that works well is dishwasher detergent (calgonite). However, it is important to note that not all dishwasher detergents are created equal. You want to be sure that the detergent you choose is a brand that has no fragrance, no colors or dyes. And most importantly, use a dishwashing detergent that does not have a rinse aid. This method works really well, is easy to find, and cheap! Keep in mind that you do not want to use dish soap for cleaning your home brewing equipment.

There are many options to choose from when looking for a cleaner, but fortunately they are easy to find--either online, at the LHBS or at the grocery store. No matter what cleaning agent you choose, just be certain to use one and clean thoroughly, so you can properly sanitize. Clean equipment makes clean beer, and clean beer is great tasting beer.

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When beer brewing, sanitation is of the upmost importance. You have several options of what to use to sanitize, but the important thing is that you use something and take sanitation seriously.

The two cheapest and most accessible options are not the best options, but they do work. You can use bleach or vinegar. Within the beer brewing community, there are better, more popular choices: Star San, One Step and Iodorphor. Here is a look at the pros and cons of these sanitizing agents.

 Most beer brewing kits will provide you with some sort of sanitizer to get you started, bit after that you will need to figure out which way you want to go for future beer brewing. Bleach is the most readily available product, and cheap, but it has its drawbacks. There are many no rinse sanitizers available, but bleach is certainly not one of them.

 If you use bleach to sanitize, you must be sure that you thoroughly rinse bleach from your beer brewing equipment. This may require multiple rinses. In order to rinse, you will likely use tap water, which poses dangers as well. There is no telling what types of bacteria and other microorganisms are in the tap water that can be left behind on your beer making equipment after multiple rinses.

Bleach also is not fun to smell, while using it, and when left behind on your equipment after rinsing. You absolutely do not want to leave behind any traces of bleach, as this could get into your beer and ruin it. And there is always the concern of getting bleach on your clothes, your skin, or the floor and counter tops.

Mixing bleach and vinegar makes an effective sanitizer, and it can actually be a no rinse sanitizer. However, using this method requires extreme caution. Never, never, never, never mix bleach and vinegar directly together. This creates a toxic gas that can be fatal! You should research this very carefully and before attempting to very thoroughly to ensure that you do this properly. You want to avoid mixing the two directly, and you also want to be sure to use it properly as a no rinse sanitizer.

Needless to say, this option isn't recommended for beginners. It really shouldn't be an option for anyone beer brewing, since better alternatives exist, and aren't that much more expensive. Bleach is cheaper, however, you will likely need to use more of it as opposed to commercially available sanitizers designed specifically for beer brewing. Bleach really only offers one advantage--it is readily available.

Some commercial beer brewing sanitizers include Star San, One Step and Iodorphor. These are all equally effective and do not require rinsing, so your choice will probably come down to a simple matter of personal preference. One Step recently lost its Sanitizer classification by the FDA, although there remain some faithful users. Nevertheless, it is still great for cleaning, but probably not the best choice for sanitizing. It is often included in beer brewing kits, it doesn't have an odor, and is a no rinse product.

Iodorphor is a sanitizer made with iodone, something that has long been used for sanitization--common table salt has iodine in it. You can purchase Iodorphpr online, at your LHBS, or even at livestock related stores.

There are a few drawbacks to Iodorphor. It can stain your beer making equipment if not diluted properly, and over time it will stain your equipment, especially plastic items and vinyl tubing. It can also stain your skin.

Star San is probably just about the most popular sanitizer, and for good reason. It is a no rinse sanitizer as well. (No rinse simply means that you do not rinse away the sanitizer--you leave it on the equipment and it will not harm your beer) Star San is concentrated, so a little goes a long way. One tip to stretch it out is to mix Star San with distilled water in a spray bottle.

It is safe to use, and comes in a convenient, easy measure bottle. It creates a nice foam that penetrates all the hidden spots and tight spots on and in your beer brewing equipment. The foam breaks up in the wort and, and also provides some additional nutrient for your yeast.

Star San also continues to sanitize in the presence of sugar, which makes it invaluable in sanitizing plate chillers and other beer making equipment that you cannot see inside of.

It sticks to whatever you use it on, and continues to sanitize. Star San ia also great at removing painted on beer labels, like those on Corona bottles. There are a few drawbacks, however. In its concentrated form, it can etch glass. You want to be extra cautious using this on glass equipment such as carboys.

Star San might be a little more difficult to find, but you should be able to get it at your LHBS or online. But you won't find it at the grocery store or Wal Mart. Star San can also dry out your skin. One issue with Star San, especially with those new to the beer brewing world, is the foam that it creates.

Apparently, some think this foam is harmful, so they wind up rinsing their equipment and remove the foam, thus removing the sanitizer. The manufacturer's instructions clearly state that it is a NO RINSE sanitizer and to not rinse it. If you go with Star San for your beer making equipment sanitization, just remember, the foam is your friend!

Airlocks perform a vital role in the beer brewing process. They usually come with your beer brewing starter kit. All fermenters have places on top of them to fit an airlock, and there are a couple different styles of fermenters. But they all serve the same function: keep air out of your beer, while allowing built up CO2 out.

Conversely, you can use a blow off tube, which is nothing more than rubber or vinyl tubing that fits in place of the airlock and serves the same function as an airlock. The other end of the blow off tube is placed into a bucket of sanitized water. Airlocks allow CO2 to escape, as well as any excess krausen, without spewing out onto your walls, ceiling, floor and anywhere else.

Airlocks come in different shapes and sizes, but have the same basic design: one or more chambers that holds liquid and forms a barrier between your beer and the surrounding air that contains microorganisms you do not want in your beer. Airlocks can have one liquid chamber, or multiple liquid chambers.

When CO2 needs to be released, it travels through the liquid as gas bubbles and is released into the air. The liquid also acts as a barrier to the surrounding air, keeping germs and bacteria (as well as other nasties) out of your beer. A lot of home brewers use water in the airlock, which works perfectly fine for beer brewing. Some use sanitizer in the liquid chamber, but this doesn't really add any additional protection.

In fact, it can actually work against you. It is possible that the liquid in the airlock can get sucked back into the fermenter, and you do not want to get sanitizer in your beer. As a compromise, some brewers fill the airlock with vodka. Vodka is sanitary, and if by chance, it gets sucked back into the fermenter, it has a neutral flavor that will not affect the final flavor of your beer, nor cause any negative ill effects otherwise. You would simply just get a little extra alcohol added to your brew.

Liquid getting sucked back into the fermenter is primarily caused by the moving or lifting of flexible plastic such as the plastic used to make fermenting buckets or better bottles. If you are using either one for beer brewing, then you might be better served going with a blow off tube, which can prevent this from happening. Blowoff tubes are also better options if you have a vigorous fermentation--sometimes pressure can be built up so much that it can blow off an airlock!


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If you have purchased your first home brewing kit, then you likely will have a couple 6.5 gallon food grade plastic buckets that came with it to use for fermentation. You can use these buckets for primary and secondary fermentation, and as bottling buckets. These are perfectly fine for fermentation, but you may decide that one of the first upgrades you make is purchasing a glass carboy.

The buckets come with plastic lids that have holes drilled into the top to allow for an airlock or blow off tube--these kits usually come with tubing and airlocks. The airlock and blow off tube both serve the same function--they allow for CO2 produced during fermentation to escape. This is good, because otherwise, the pressure would build up and the bucket will literally explode, covering your walls (and everything else) in beer.

Some brewers are perfectly happy to use plastic buckets. If you decide to upgrade at some point, keep the buckets around. They can be used for sanitizing buckets (simply fill with water and sanitizer and drop equipment and utensils in), or as additional fermenters to have on hand so you can brew multiple batches at the same time. They also can still be used for bottling buckets.

Carboys look like large glass jugs with a small opening at the top. A rubber bung, or stopper, is placed into the opening to create a seal, and the bung has a hole in it to place an airlock or blow off tube. Glass carboys are excellent fermenting vessels for home brewing. If you are using a carboy as your primary fermenter, a blow off tune is your best option. One reason brewers like carboys is the fact that they are made of glass and are see through. You can keep an eye on your fermentation wit out having to open the fermenter, which risks exposing your beer to oxygen and possible contaminants. It can be easier to determine when fermentation is complete by being able to see the visual cues. (Keep in mind that when determining when fermentation is complete should not rely soley on visual cues).

The negatives of carboys are that they can be difficult to clean. They do not scratch easily however, which makes them more sanitary. And while the glass allows you to keep an eye on your brew, it also allows in light, which can skunk your beer. Therefore, it is important to store your carboy away from light, either wrapped up in a blanket or stored somewhere away from light (like a closet or basement).

Glass carboys can also be heavy once filled with beer, so moving them can be difficult. Of course, this makes for a good workout, so home brewing can actually be very good for you! You can, however, purchase carrying straps to make the moving process easier.

 Better Bottles are similar to carboys, they are basically plastic carboys. They are made of PET (polyethylene) plastic, which is important to home brewing because this type of plastic has very low oxygen permeability.  Better Bottles are lighter than carboys, and are unbreakable. You can also install a spigot on a better bottle, which you can't do to a glass carboy. A spigot isn't necessary, but can make transferring beer easier.

Better Bottles are also transparent, so proper care must be exercised in keeping your beer from light exposure. Better Bottles also can be a little more difficult to fit with a blow off tube. Extra care is necessary for the cleaning of a better bottle. Because they are plastic, you should avoid scrubbing the inside, as this could lead to scratches. Scratches make great hiding places for bacteria and germs that could infect your beer.

Plastic Water Carboys are inexpensive options--these are most commonly used as office water coolers. If choosing one of these, you must make sure that it meets the requirements for home brewing. First, you need to make sure it is the right size--many of these coolers are only 5 gallons, and not large enough for home brewing purposes. Fermenters need to be at least 6 gallons in size, and bigger is better. You must leave enough space for 5 gallons of wort, as well as additional space for the krausen to form and the CO2 that will be produced.

 It is also important that the carboy is made of the right type of plastic. Often, these water coolers are made of the wrong kind of plastic, a type that is too porous and permeable to oxygen to be used for home brewing purposes. You want PET plastic, and you can tell simply by looking at the recycling code on the bottom**. #1 plastic is PET plastic, any others should not be used for home brewing.

 A conical fermenter is the preferred method of professsional brewers, and many home brewers eventually wind up purchasing them as well. They are stainless steel, so they are durable and rust proof. The bottoms are sloped, like a cone, and this allows for sediment and the trub to settle on the bottom.

Conicals have racking ports built in, which ,makes the transfer of beer very easy, without much of the trub being picked up. There are also fermentation cabinets, and walk in coolers, but these options are pretty advanced and not something that someone new to home brewing will consider.

 **Just what exactly is PET plastic, and why does it matter? PET plastic is the least permeable plastic and that is why it is ideal for home brewing purposes. Other plastics are too porous, which can lead to stains and harboring of odors, as well as infections. All of which are bad for beer.

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In home brewing, after you have completed boiling the wort, it is important that you quickly cool it. This can be accomplished by different means. If you are new to home brewing, you will see that the most common way is probably the way most new brewers will choose. It is easy, and won't cost anything or require any special equipment.

There are ways to upgrade to simplify the process and speed things up. An upgrade is not necessary, but like many possible upgrades in the home brewing process, it is a matter of budget and personal preference. The easiest and most common method is a simple ice bath. Your kitchen sink works perfect for this, or any large sink you have. You can even use a bathtub.

 One alternative to this method is replacing your top off water with ice.  Place two 2 liter plastic soda bottles filled with water in your freezer a day or two before starting the home brewing process. You can also use plastic food container in place of the soda bottles. Do not use store bought ice because of possible contaminants that could produce off flavors, or infect your beer.

 If you choose to try this method, it is critically important that the water you use for the ice is boiled for sanitation and put into a sanitized container. (You could use bottled water, just be sure to use spring water and not distilled water). Yes, sanitation in home brewing is that important, so do not skip this step!

You may decide after the first few batches to purchase some sort of wort chiller. There are a couple different options, and fortunately they aren't that expensive. If you are handy, you can even build your own--simply look through home brewing forums online and you can find people that share their expamles of homemade equipment and how they made them.

Immersion chillers are probably the most popular choice, and the simplest ones. They usually are a coil of copper tubing that is placed directly into the pot of wort. The coil is attached to a faucet, and cold water flows through the coil, which helps the wort cool faster.

It is important that the chiller is sanitized prior to being placed into the wort, but this is easy to do. Simply immerse the chiller into the wort a few minutes before completing the boil--the boiling wort will sanitize the chiller. You could also immerse the chiller into some water with sanitizer if you like to accomplish the same thing.

There are also copper plate chillers that are smaller than the coils, but you do not actually place these into the pot. It is important if you use a plate chiller to make sure all hops have been strained out prior to running the wort through the chiller.

Finally, there are counterflow chillers. These are standalone heat exchangers that built as a coil within a coil. Hot wort flows through the inner coil, made of copper, and cold water flows through the outer coil, made of either copper or rubber/vinyl hose. The liquids flow in opposite directions, hence the name counterflow. The water comes from a faucet/tap, and the wort is forced through the coil either via gravity or a pump.

There are drawbacks to counter chillers. Cleaning and sanitizing takes a little more time and effort, since the cleaner and sanitizer have to penetrate the interior of the coils. Getting the wort into the coil also takes additional effort, and requires a bulkhead or racking cane.

 If you are just getting started home brewing, you are fine to use the ice bath method. It works perfectly fine, and many experienced brewers continue to chill their wort this way. Chillers offer an upgrade and can speed up the process of cooling the wort, but they are more of a luxury as opposed to being a necessity in the home brewing process.


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