Wort circulation while chilling?

[BrionLax]

Hello all,

After being out of the hobby for 20 years I have made the leap back in and boy have things changed over that time. The options/ideas available today are almost overwhelming.

With having made the leap back in with a couple of extract brews that are getting close to kegging time I am looking to move up to a BIAB for my next batch.

Here is where I am looking for some advice. I have searched around and have seen different opinions on what I am thinking about doing. I am going to build a brew stand that will house my turkey fryer kettle setup with locations for a pump and counterflow chiller and storage etc.

Here is my plan and what I am looking for advice on. I am looking for my setup / process to include a circulation of the wort through a counterflow chillier and back into the kettle. My objective is two fold. First, where I live the tap water comes out at about 50F and I was thinkng that with this setup, I will have better control of the cooling to get to the proper pitching temperature. The second thought is that this could help with oxygenation of the wort and sanitation of the chiller.

Are there any significant issues that I may come across with this kind of process?

Any suggestions will be much appreciated.

Cheers

 

[johnwpowell]

I circulate through my plate chiller during the whirlpool to sanitize it then straight into the fermentor in a single pass. No need to go back into the kettle.

 

[jrodmfish]

I pretty much do exactly what you're thinking. I start recirculating through the counterflow with 5min left in the boil to sanitize the loop. At the end of the boil, I turn on the cooling water. I recirculate back into the kettle until the entire batch is down to pitching temp, then close the whirlpool valve and run into the fermenter. Oxygenate and pitch.

 

[jschein]

Welcome back!
Yes, things have changed. Pumps are way cheaper now, use them they are our friends.

 

[bajaedition]

I use an immersion chiller and do not circulate. Oncew wort hits 100 degrees I filter into the fermenter and transfer it to the fermentation chamber. It takes about 2 hours to hit 60 degrees and I pitch yeast

but no, I do not recirculate. it only takes 15 minutes to drop to 100.

 

[BrionLax]

Thanks for the replies. Now on to putting the finishing touches on my recipe and process and put it into action.

Cheers