A keel is a large, flat, open-topped vat used to rapidly cool hot wort or liquor through surface evaporation before the advent of mechanical heat exchangers. The shallow depth maximizes the surface area exposed to ambient air. Because the liquid is entirely exposed, the vessel relies on a clean environment to prevent unwanted wild yeast or bacterial inoculation during the cooling phase.
Heard on the job
The old brewery still has a copper keel on the top floor, though they haven't used it for production in decades.
Also heard as
- coolship