Karl F. Lutzen - Building Homebrew Equipment

2 (identical) milk crates

4 bolts, washers, and nuts (size will depend on the size and design of your milk crates)

1. Saw a hole in the bottom of one of the milk crates (the top crate) large enough that the neck of the inverted carboy extends through the hole.

2. Set the second crate (the bottom crate) on its side and face the open side toward you; cut a large square hole in the top of the crate to accommodate the neck of the carboy and the hoses.

3. Fasten the two crates together using bolts, washers, and nuts.

Milk crates provide an easy way to build an inverted carboy stand for the BrewCap system.

One of the longest steps of the extract brewers brewing process (other than the wort boil) can be the cooling of the wort. Especially if you still are using the ice bath and diffusion method of cooling your wort, you know how long it takes to get the 200 wort down to a temperature appropriate for pitching the yeast. The immersion chiller can reduce your cooling time to 15 minutes.

Immersion chillers are usually built from a coil of copper tubing with connectors on each end to which hoses are attached (garden hoses are often used). One connector is run to a source of cold water; the other is run to a drain for expelling the hot water. The immersion chiller offers a simple, effective way to quickly cool hot wort. Cooling wort quickly is important for two reasons. One: You can achieve a more effective cold break, which is the point when suspended proteins drop out of suspension as the wort is cooled. And two: You reduce the amount of time the wort is exposed to possible airborne pathogens.

Chillers are readily available from many homebrewing supply stores for $30 to $35; however, they can also be built at home for a bit less than that. One advantage to building the chiller yourself is that you can adapt the plans to suit your own needs. Well describe a few ways that chillers can be adapted to work more effectively.

When you build a wort chiller, the most critical aspect is the tubing you choose. Copper works well because it efficiently transmits heat energy and is readily available at fairly low cost. Stainless-steel tubing would work, but it costs more. Aluminum also works fine, but some brewers feel that it tends to give the beer a metallic taste. There is, however, no real evidence of such flavor problems. Your tubing should be in diameter. If you use a thinner tube, you will achieve potentially greater efficiency because the thinner tube will give you more surface area per volume. However, chillers made from -diameter tubing tend to take much longer to cool wort and are prone to clogging. Using a -diameter tubing gives you good efficiency and acceptable cooling times, and it avoids clogging.

You can buy an immersion chiller like this one for about $30, or you can make one yourself.