Cube Crisis - The Great Mix Up!

[bindi]

That's just the air from the handle

All my cubes are squeezed

But it's impossible to get all the air out

Cheers

That may be so, but you can reduce it to bugger all by tilting the cube so the air is squeezed out, this is were the clamps make it easy [beats using towels and pushing the air out with your knees] , read a funny post awhile back about this.
I will post a photo the next 'no chill' I do.

Edit: Add photo of the clamps and one of the boards [made from the box the MashMaster mill came in]

 

[mje1980]

That may be so, but you can reduce it to bugger all by tilting the cube so the air is squeezed out, this is were the clamps make it easy [beats using towels and pushing the air out with your knees] , read a funny post awhile back about this.
I will post a photo the next 'no chill' I do.

Edit: Add photo of the clamps and one of the boards [made from the box the MashMaster mill came in]

Surely you done have to squeeze every last bit of air out??. I mean, the wort goes in so hot, and is sealed when hot, so any air in there should be "clean". When the cube is cool, if it is contracted, im happy, as i know it is sealed right, and no "dirty" air can get in. I guess if you're planning to store for months on end it might help, but, i never wait more than a week usually.

 

[bindi]

Yep, I squeeze every bit I can out, and it is not often I go more then 24hrs [only once I think, or is it twice?] before pitching the yeast.
Will keep doing what works for me as I have never had an infection.

 

[NeilArge]

Except Cortez above uses cubes for no-chilling AG brews. If they were conditioned beers, a taste would tell which is which. Cortez'z pickle is that once you open a cube of hot-packed unfermented wort, you need to add yeast pronto.

I have an Oktoberfest type lager I want to lager for a long time, partly because I will be away for a couple of months. So, the idea of racking into a cube which has less headspace sounds sensible to me. So, here's the question: that Oktoberfest is currently on a diacetlyl rest for a couple of days and the yeast has just about have run out of puff. Should I therefore pitch a small amount of lager yeast into the cube with the Oktoberfest to ensure it produces a nice CO2 pillow between it and the container? Should I also fit an airlock?

Any views?
Cheers

ToG

 

[Sammus]

There should be some CO2 dissolved in the beer already, on transferring some of it will inevitably be released and should form a good enough layer. 'tswot I've always done anyway and never had any oxidation probs

The other thing you can do if you want is to purge the cube with CO2 before filling it (or just give it a squirt, a thorough purge probably isnt necessary)

 

[NeilArge]

There should be some CO2 dissolved in the beer already, on transferring some of it will inevitably be released and should form a good enough layer. 'tswot I've always done anyway and never had any oxidation probs

The other thing you can do if you want is to purge the cube with CO2 before filling it (or just give it a squirt, a thorough purge probably isnt necessary)

Thanks Sammus - so, you wouldn't fit an airlock either? I don't quite understand the last bit about purging. To me, purging involves completely getting rid of something but that doesn't quite seem to be what you are referring to. Am I missing something? :huh:

Cheers

ToG