Properly cleaning your wort chiller is essential for maintaining the quality of your homebrew. Whether it's before brew day or after brewing, following these simple steps will ensure your wort chiller stays in top condition and ready for use.
Before Brew Day
Run 3 "wash cycles" through your chiller
- Pump a mixture of water and brewery wash (PBW) through your wort chiller.
- Rinse the chiller by pumping clean water through it.
- This step removes any residual brewery wash.
- Pump a mixture of water and a sanitizer (e.g., Star-San) through your chiller.
- Sanitizing is crucial to prevent contamination in your brew.
Your wort chiller is now ready for use on brew day!
After Brewing:
After brewing, it's recommended to run two cleaning cycles through your chiller.
- Pump a mixture of water and brewery wash (PBW) through your chiller.
- Finish the cleaning process by pumping clean water through your chiller.
- This step removes any residual PBW.
Note:
In some cases, there may be leftover water in your chiller, especially if it is mounted and cannot be turned over. This is perfectly normal and nothing to be concerned about. Properly cleaning your chiller before brew day, as described in the "Before Brew Day" section, will help push out any standing water from the chiller before use.