Contamination from ice

[coffeeguy]

Hey all...New to the forum here, and have been homebrewing for about 10 years now, either extract or partial mash. I hear all the time about how ice isn't a good bet for chilling the wort (adding ice directly to the wort, that is) because of possible bacterial contamination. Same goes for tap water. So, here goes...

I've used both for nearly every batch I brew, with no adverse results. I do 3-gallon batches, with a 1-gallon boil. The second gallon is frozen tap water, and the third is room-temp. The ice goes directly into the wort after the boil and gives me a fantastic cold break, also lowering the temp to around 90 degrees. That gets poured into the remain gallon of tap water in my fermenting bucket...80 degrees at that point, and I pitch either right then or wait a bit until it cools to 70 degrees.

By "no adverse results", I mean no visible (or smell-able) signs of infection, gushing, noticeable off-flavors, etcetera. Other than the water/ice, I practice good sanitation, and though I could go one better by pre-boiling before freezing and such, my philosophy is that if I can produce a good beer with less effort, then so be it.

I don't suppose I'd recommend my practice to those who are brewing for a competition and/or going for a strict style, but for general use has anyone who uses ice directly actually linked an infected batch to the ice or the water they used? Just curious, and would love to hear how many other 'daredevils' there are who use ice and un-boiled tap water with such reckless abandon.

 

[Hogarthe]

if you have municipal water, your tap water should have chlorine/chloramine or some such chemical to kill bacteria. so I would expect you could use it without infecting the beer. the problem I have come across is chlorine and chloromine can cause chlorophenols to develop in the beer, which taste nasty. I brewed 2 batches using tap water for my boil, and they were both dumpers because of this. Switched to bottled water, and no off flavor.

I have heard that if you buy ice from the store, sometimes there are traces of lubricant on it from the ice factory. I never had a problem with flavor or anything else when I used to chill by adding bagged ice directly to the wort though.

 

[Nosybear]

Your water report will tell you how often there is enteric bacterial contamination. That's your risk - that you'll introduce enough bacteria during one of those periods to contaminate the beer. Here, it's almost never so if I need to add water to a wort or a beer, I do it without reservation. If you're farther down the estuary, it might be a problem.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

while its above 190 anything is fine but below is another story, we could go beyond even the ice which is basically tap water, but the tray, the hands that grab the ice, the motor that makes it....... on the other hand if it works for you do it.

I'm very OCD about contamination, nothing touches my wort after its cooled

 

[coffeeguy]

Thanks so far to all. Yeah, I didn't even think about chlorinated water supplies, which applies to me... maybe i'm just fortunate regarding chlorophenols or it's not noticeable enough, but like I said I don't brew competitively either.

Oil/lubricants used for commercial icemaking equipment, too...While it would be food-grade lubricant, there's the problem of head retention. Good point. I've got the luxury of a chest freezer, so usually go with gallon ziploc bags filled with water the day before which saves me a trip to the store and a buck or three. Take it out, sanitize the outside of the bag, cut the bag and lower the ice chunk into the wort, pulling the bag back out. It'll cool a 1-gallon boil down to 90-100 in a minute or two; two ice chunks for a 2-gallon boil. Pour that into slightly chilled tap or bottled water and I'm ready to aerate and pitch either right away or in a few minutes.

I understand and support the wisdom of developing good habits, and it can certainly save a lot of frustration for a beginner if sanitation is emphasized. I'm one of those guys who usually go with what works but like to tinker and say, "let's see if it works THIS way, too"... Again, many thanks.

 

[Head First]

Just a note on municipal water.
The testing done is to see if there is a chance that it is contaminated. Testing tells the operater if there is any fecal coliform in the water supply. This is an indicator there is a possibility of contamination(there was some sort of life form in there).
Uncle watches over us all you know. This means if a test does come out positive you don't even necessarily have bad water. You do have a chance for bad water. That being said on a municipal system clorine residule is really the problem for home brewers. Keep in mind though the screens in your faucet that are exposed to air have a good chance of being contaminated. This can be easily corrected by removal, or sanitizing with bleach or alcohol then flushing.