Immersion chillers work by
circulating a
cooling fluid (usually tap water from a garden hose or faucet) through a copper/stainless steel
coil that is placed directly in the hot
wort
Wort () is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer or whisky. Wort contains the sugars, the most important being maltose and maltotriose, that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol. Wort als ...
. As the cooling fluid runs through the coil it absorbs and carries away heat until the wort has cooled to the desired temperature.
Th
advantage of using a copper or stainless steel immersion chilleris the lower risk of contamination versus other methods when used in an amateur/homebrewing environment. The clean chiller is placed directly in the still boiling wort and thus sanitized before the cooling process begins.
See also
*
Brewing#Wort cooling
*
coolship
A coolship (Anglicized version of the Dutch/Flemish koelschip) is a type of brewing vessel traditionally used in the production of beer. It is a broad, open-top, flat vessel in which wort cools. The high surface-to-mass ratio allows for more effici ...
, alternate equipment for cooling
References
Thermodynamic systems
Fluid dynamics
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