Chillin' With Homebrewing
For many years, I made my own beer without using any chiller. For extract brewing, chilling consisted of adding cold water to the recently boiled wort and then waiting until the temperature dropped down below 75 degrees. It was usually the next morning before I ever added the yeast. Setting the issue of hot side aeration aside, I wasn't doing my beer any favors.
Now I know better. While good beer can often still be made after a slow start to fermentation, homebrewers can greatly enhance the odds of making good beer by speeding up the process.
The best way to build up healthy yeast populations is to use good sanitation practices and pitch a large yeast starter. Some experienced homebrewers maintain that wort chillers should be an afterthought and might be detrimental. The more the wort is handled after boiling, the greater the chances of infection. One accomplished homebrewer goes so far as to place a lid on the boiled wort until morning and then pitch a huge healthy starter of yeast directly into the kettle where primary fermentation takes place. After the fermentation head begins to fall, he racks into a secondary with an airlock for conditioning and settling. He hasn't had trouble with infections, and his beer tastes excellent.
Then why bother make a wort chiller?
First, if you can pitch your yeast at proper fermentation temperatures in less than an hour after the boil, the yeast is that much closer to getting a healthy head start. Most homebrewers underpitch the yeast. People will debate how much yeast should be pitched until the cows come home, but few homebrewers will ever overpitch. If you used less than a quart starter for an ale and less than a half-gallon starter for a lager, you are underpitching the yeast. Many homebrewers advocate pitching bigger starters! If you are a chronic underpitcher, you might want to consider using dry yeasts, which are markedly improved from a few years ago and have large, healthy yeast populations when properly rehydrated.
Second, wort chillers are pretty cool! Sometimes, you have to make things more complicated to make them easier.
There are two types of chillers: an immersion chiller and a counterflow chiller. Both types can be purchased at good homebrew stores or made with inexpensive supplies and a few simple tools. Many homebrewers are good at making things themselves. Frankly, I'm the type of person who has trouble connecting the screw with the screwdriver. However, even I was capable of making an ugly but serviceable immersion chiller for less than twenty bucks.
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