Here we see the wort heating up, forming hot-break on the surface and finally boiling
Hops!
Hot wort outside. Chiller is in bucket of sanitizer.
Chiller goes in and water on!
Cooking the wort...
Hot break forming....
As we near boil, hot break moves aside...
Add hops at start of boil (first addition for bittering)...
Hops are added late in the boil too (flavor and aroma)
After an hour, we're finished cooking and ready to cool.
Rapid cooling is important to minimize oxidation and opportunities for bacteria.
I use a copper coil that I flow cold water through as a chiller.
I drop in the chiller, turn on the water. Gently move the coils around being careful not to splash or work in air. When the sides are cool enough that you can touch with your hand, vigorously slosh the coils up and down to accelerate cooling and to work in oxygen. Takes about 8 minutes or so to cool from boiling to room temperature.