How do you figure? It sounds like what he’s talking about (pouring near-boiling wort into a sealed container) is pasteurization. That’s not only good practice, it’s the standard for the entire food and beverage industry.[/quote]
Pasteurization also involves cooling quickly to limit bacteria growth. Just because something is pasteurized doesn’t mean bacteria can’t grow again at the right temperatures (60F-140F I believe is the real danger area).
Putting a lid on something and letting it cool naturally is not pasteurizing.
Very true. But in a covered container that’s been pasteurized and is going to be boiled within a few days, I really doubt that the remaining 0.0001% of bacteria are going to cause problems.
Heck, I’ve plated wort samples straight off the mash and it takes days before there’s growth.
My point still stands. When you boil something, you still want to cool it quickly to prevent bacteria growth. Letting it cool naturally isn’t good practice. You’re asking for bacteria growth. Take from that what you want.
And back to the OP’s question again, why go all the way through with mashing, boiling (for only a few minutes) then cooling and storing in a sanitized container just get that wort up to a boil again the next day? Makes no sense to me. I do now people that will leave their mash in over night and then sparge and boil. I think that gets us back to the original topic.
I don’t disagree. I’m simply saying that in this particular context, there’s no risk associated with slow chilling. Even if something were to grow to problematic levels overnight (which, just to be clear, I think is vanishingly unlikely), it will be boiled.
It isn’t my preferred process, but obviously there are brewers who can’t or don’t want to commit 5+ hours in a single day.
[quote=“dobe12”]My point still stands. When you boil something, you still want to cool it quickly to prevent bacteria growth.[/quote]In this case, it’s much easier to just insulate the kettle and keep the wort above 160F until the next morning, then bring it back to a boil. I tried it a couple of times with good results (didn’t drop below 185F sitting seven hours).
[quote=“Shadetree”]I tried it a couple of times with good results (didn’t drop below 185F sitting seven hours).
Location: South Austin, Texas[/quote]
Enough said. 
[quote=“a10t2”][quote=“Shadetree”]I tried it a couple of times with good results (didn’t drop below 185F sitting seven hours).
Location: South Austin, Texas[/quote]Enough said.
I want to point out, with regard to effects of boiling on wild yeasts that have been working overnight, that the one time I had a problem with this practice, whatever got in there went apeshit overnight. Not only was there bacteria, but that bacteria had imparted a sourness to the wort already that I couldn’t boil away. Aside from this one time, it worked fine for me.
Enough said
Why take the risk?
+1! This is what I’ve been getting at.
Didn’t know this would become such a discussion/debate. But what do I know? So I would like to clarify a little, I live at 8700 ft. My garage gets down to about 30 degrees right now. Trying to keep the wort at 160° or 185° isn’t likely. (Pause to pour another beer). Also, the only “sealed container” was wrapping the top half of the kettle in plastic wrap, thinking that would be a good thing as it was only
going to sit overnite. As for getting an AG kit done in 5½ hours is a pipe dream to me. I can only hope to get it done that quick so I don’t have go do something like this. I have 2 big beers to do and want to
put them away for awhile so I’m not going to risk it. What I’ve seen so far has been great and have given me plenty to think about. I’m hoping this has been a friendly discussion/debate. Guess I’ll buy two of the same kits and brew one the same day and mash/sparge that nite and finish in the morning and see what happens. Any more thoughts would be great. Thanks a bunch!!!
Happy brewing
Big AL
I’ve done this several times when life gets in the way of an uninterrupted brew day. Never had a problem. I’ve done it different ways. I have mashed overnight. I’ve also collected a a full kettle of wort before going to bed and started the boil the next AM. When it comes time to tap and drink the keg, I cannot tell or remember which way I made it…
I make beer at my (and more importantly my family’s) convenience. Whereas I would prefer to start and finish on one session, sometimes I simply cannot do that.
