I’ve been doing extract since January, probably 15 batches under my belt. I have two questions, so I’ll split them up to be appropriate.
Question for this thread: I want to go to all-grain, 10-gallon batches. That will involve a 15-gallon kettle, I think I understand that. But in the next 4-6 months the most important thing I want to add to my brewing arsenal is a wort chiller. I would like to buy the big one, but I’m afraid that it would be too large for a 5-gallon batch and maybe not properly sanitize? I could sanitize it in advance, though, too.
I would appreciate any advice from people who have already made this upgrade and used varying products. Thanks!
If you drop it into the kettle ~15 minutes from the end of the boil,
It will sanitize just fine. Steam will get the coils that aren’t submerged.
And copper conducts the heat around pretty quickly any ways.
Sounds like you are thinking this through well and that will serve you well on all fronts. Don’t sweat the chiller issue - the boil will sanitize anything put in it and as said, the copper will be hot enough to kill off any bugs. But, nothing says you can’t sanitize it separately, if it is a concern…most importantly, welcome to the Forum. Great insight is available for the asking from these folks.
