AHB Articles: Fermenting Directly in the No-chill Cube

[wide eyed and legless]

What do you use for finings, that clarity looks good.

Didn't use fining's, just let it settle out for a couple of days, I have a theory that the pressure, though only 50 kpa seems to make for a bright beer, not proven.

 

[Schikitar]

Taking this one step further, have mentioned the cube pressure fermenting before, I put down a Bass pale ale clone before I went away, so let the CO2 flush a 20 litre cube, applied some pressure today as fermentation should only have a couple of days at the most left to go. I will transfer to the 20 litre cube in a couple of days and will serve from that. The transfer will involve very little oxygen, if any. Will keep this updated.
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This is a cheap way into kegging, is a spunding valve needed? Not really, a simple clamp on the hose will work just as well, for some reason helps clear the beer as well.

This is pretty cool, do you have a more detailed list of your setup and how you fit everything together? Would love to try and replicate something like this (as I've been looking to get into kegging but this looks kinda fun)!

 

[awfulknauful]

Kinda cheap also, would like to know where the seving pressure is coming from.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Doing another brew shortly will show the set up.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Usually I do a batch of 21 litres which leaves enough room for the krausen this is 23 litres. A 25 litre cube will hold about 28 litres and I usually have a 20 litre cube as a secondary (they will hold about 23 litres). One barb is all you need on the primary so just a barb fitted to the cap is enough, the secondary needs 2 barbs one inlet one outlet there is a manifold on the shelf above for the first 2-3 days let the gas vent through the secondary cube then apply a little pressure, after 5 days transfer via the taps into the secondary and close the valve to get the carbonation, you will have to play it by ear to suit the yeast you are using. If you decide to drink directly from the secondary have a third cube set up to capture the gas (daisy chain) the collapsible cubes are ideal, so as not to create a vacuum when serving

 

[awfulknauful]

I like the idea of the manifold, can you do multiple ferments?

 

[wide eyed and legless]

I was hoping to do that, it would only work fermenting similar brews at the same time.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Took off the secondary while fermentation finishes, let some gas out but still a little out of shape and as tight as a snare drum, confident when the transfer takes place there will be no oxygen included.

 

[Coodgee]

what are those little nipple things that you are inserting into the cube? are they siliconed in or something?

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Hose barbs screwed in with silicone washers.

 

[Coodgee]

Hose barbs screwed in with silicone washers.

thanks, do you have a link to where you can buy them at all? you just screw them into the plastic?

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Got them from keg King the threaded barb and a silicone washer and a nut to suit, maybe your local home brew store will have them. 2.5kg of gas is emitted from about 20 litres of fermenting wort so a fair bit could be collected.

 

[awfulknauful]

Thats a fair bit of CO2.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

And to useful to waste.

 

[Coodgee]

Got them from keg King the threaded barb and a silicone washer and a nut to suit, maybe your local home brew store will have them. 2.5kg of gas is emitted from about 20 litres of fermenting wort so a fair bit could be collected.

so they have a nut on the inside of the cube? is that fiddly?

 

[wide eyed and legless]

so they have a nut on the inside of the cube? is that fiddly?

A little bit, had to cut and re-weld a spanner then its OK.

 

[devoutharpist]

Let me revive this thread and hopefully this is the right place as it is somewhat related.

Has anyone used a cube for ageing? I am planning to do a Barley-wine soon (and i do a RIS yearly) which require significant time of ageing in secondary. My fermenting fridge only really holds enough space for one "classic" plastic fermenter, but i can put a shelf on the top rung and have some space up the top (for bottles, etc). During winter this isn't much of an issue due to the ambient temperatures, but the 40+ Adelaide summer is far too brutal.

So what i was thinking was, get a 20L plastic jerrycan (along these lines, for shape at least) and turn it on it's side to fit. This may require some fancy modifications for the airlock, but i could fit one of those in above the fermenter for ageing.

Any thoughts or experience?

 

[altone]

I've used cubes for lagering and ageing beer before - never used the blue ones but many do use them.
As mine were always upright I didn't even use an airlock just slightly loosened the lid - still tight but loose enough excess pressure would find it's way out.

If you fit a barb to the lid a bit like WEAL has earlier in this thread and use some tubing from that to an airlock or just a bowl of sanitizer above the level
of the jerry can that should work fine.

 

[chesl73]

I'm a bit late to the party on this topic. Going back to p1 and clicking on the link to the original article the link is no longer valid. Anyone know if the article is still out there?

 

[chesl73]

I suppose thinking about it, there's not much to say is there?
- Use the cube
- Ferment as normal
- Use a loose lid or some clingwrap

Anything else?