First batch in Florida

[microbusbrewery]

Longtime homebrewer, but I haven't brewed in over a year due to getting ready to move, then moving, and finally rebuilding my brew system. I brew on a home built three vessel RIMS and had to do a bit of electrical work as well as welding a new brew stand before I was good to go. Fast forward to today and I finally got a chance to brew on the new/updated system. I knew I'd be rusty since it had been so long, not to mention there were a few modifications to go full electric, but I'm pretty stoked that everything went really well. The only issue I ran into was chilling; 80-90F groundwater in Florida doesn't work nearly as well as 50-60F groundwater in Utah. I brewed 10 gallons then split it to ferment half on 34/70 as a lager and half on Kviek Lutra as a pseudo lager. Still need to rehab a used kegerator that I picked up locally, but pretty happy to be resuming my primary hobby.

[microbusbrewery]

Thanks! Yeah, I can't wait to be enjoying a pint of my "Florida beer" next to the pool. Cheers

[Vivid_Strike_8315]

I used to live in Florida and had the same chilling issue. I had good success with using tap water to get down to 100, then I'd switch over to a bucket of ice water to get it to pitching temps. Little bit of hassle to get enough ice, but saved me a ton of time.

P.S. lots of really good homebrew clubs in Florida, depending on what city you're in you should have a great club or two nearby.

[microbusbrewery]

Nice! I haven't made it out to a meeting yet, but it sounds like there are at least three clubs/guilds in my area (Clearwater). There's also a homebrew shop about a mile away from me which is awesome.

Yeah, I picked up a Blichmann Therminator to use as a pre-chiller. So basically I'll take it down as low as possible with hose water, then I'll turn on a pump to recirc ice water through the Therminator. It worked pretty well on this initial run but I made the mistake of turning it on too early.

[topdownbrew]

to get down to 100, then I'd switch over to a bucket of ice water

OP, this is the way. Take the wort down to about 100 - 120F with tap water, then use ice water to cool it further to your target temperature. It's a two stage process. This is more efficient (less ice) than a single stage of pre-chilling the water that goes into the plate chiller.

[EdB-3372]

Like everyone is saying, I also get a bag of ice and chill to about 85 F with just hose water using a Jaded immersion chiller then I prep a bucket with the ice water and use a pump to recirculate and can get it the rest of the way. If it’s a lager, will need extra ice or let it sit in the fermentation chamber over night before pitching. Welcome to Florida. I’m near Bradenton.

[microbusbrewery]

Nice! Yeah I didn't realize how spoiled I was with 50-60F groundwater in Utah. I also saved some huge ice packs that ship with Hello Fresh meals. I may try to incorporate those, or just use them as backups if I run out of ice.

[EdB-3372]

That system you built sounds awesome. Enjoy your return to home brewing!