Here in CA we’re in deep trouble with the whole “drought” thing. The Governor is calling for voluntary water usage reductions. So I sat down and tried to lay out a set of easy techniques to use less water.
What have I missed?
Another way to reuse chilling water would be to run it into a rain barrel. Same idea, just different vessel.
Added!
good article. I’ve been thinking about this recently as well. I keep meaning to grab a couple bottles of ‘spring’ water and freeze and then sanitize them to use a secondary chiller per euge, just drop them in your kettle. gonna try that next weekend. I’ll freeze up say 5-10 bottles, or as many as will easily fit in the freezer and see if I can’t chill with no water. that would be huge for me.
I use ~15 gallons of water just mashing and spargeing an 11 gallon batch. the stuff that’s left in the grain gets turned into eggs so that’s all good. I do water the garden with chiller water but probably more than it needs really.
Double batch!! The cooling water from the first back goes right into the MLT and HLT for the next brew.
you could brew less…but wait, scratch that - that’s a terrible idea.
seriously though, why not replace some of those beer batches with some cider experiments?
I would love to convince the wife to get some egg layers, but I live next door to a colony of feral cats who would require Fort Knox chicken cooping to keep bloody massacres out of my life! Because let’s face it - fresh eggs blow the doors off supermarket eggs. They’re two different things.
I’ve done it for years. Works like a charm.
Good idea - this is flat out what the bigger breweries do. I was amazed to see some of the details they do like cycling cooling water through an active exhaust stack to pull heat from the escaping vapor before pumping the water into the HLT for the next batch.
Mrs. R asked how this shortage is impacting the big breweries out in CA. Said I had not heard. Anyone know?
No changes that I’ve heard of yet, but I think everyone is expecting restrictions soon. For the big guys, reduced water usage has been a goal for years because of the cost of the water and the usage rates.
What about brewing at a higher gravity and diluting with ice. It could reduce or eliminate the chilling water. 3 gallons of boiling wort mixed with 2 gallons of ice should equalize at about 80F. It will be fast and all the ice winds up in the beer.
Or use an immersion chiller to bring 4 gallons down to 140, then add 1 gallon of ice. Then you’re using the immersion chiller when it’s most efficient.
Brew small batches? It may seem like a waste, but its a good way to experiment!
Brew a small(er) batch of high-gravity beer and blend it with kegged, carbonated water in a keg.
Brew a small(er) batch and blend pre-ferment with wine must or cider. Blend post-ferment with existing batch of mead, cider, beer, etc.
Reusing yeast slurry (or sourcing yeast slurry from friends/brewery) reduces water needed to make/chill starter.
On the other end of the spectrum, brew with a friend! Even if you double your batch size, you’ll still use less water than if both of you brewed separately.
Maybe stick with regular showers, just be quick about it, eh?
I have heard some of the larger breweries are going to use wastewater from their public urinals in the tap room as “grey water” for cooling purposes.
Not really but I am sure someone has plans to do something similar
Run chilling water through a showerhead and get out the soap!
Or brew stronger beers and drink less of them.
And ya got me phunhog, ya got me.
using a grey water system as cooling water is actually a good idea. assuming you have a grey water capture system that is
Assuming one can ensure zero cross contamination.
For the record, grey water does not come from a urinal/toilet.
Right, but it can come from kitchen waste water.
One of the best ideas I have seen is pumping pool water through the chiller. I don’t have a pool, but if I did I would for sure take advantage of the thermal mass of thousands of gallons water.