I Hate No-chill

[haysie]

Saving a few minutes on brew day will cost me more time cleaning up the mess.

In a perfect world RK`S yes. How many times I plan to brew and correspond a starter just doesnt happen. So cubes are a must for me, unless on the odd blinking occasion I am organised for a big hoppy septic tank.
Like a few post`s before, dont leave em forever....... I have heard of great results of brews sitting in their sugary plastic environment for months, I certainly wouldnt go there. If you need to store it, store it in the keg fridge..its cold and that alone inhibits bacteria growth.
If your yeast is ready..... dont cube.

 

[drsmurto]

*Goes out to the shed, picks up the plate chiller and gives it a big hug* :wub:

 

[pk.sax]

*Goes out to the shed, picks up the plate chiller and gives it a big hug* :wub:

You just needed a reason to visit your shed

 

[drtomc]

When I first started doing kits, I read up some of the AG stuff, and stumbled on plate chillers and accidentally spent a week reading technical literature on heat exchangers (Sometimes being a scientist can be hazardous).

Ironic, isnt' it - I NC.

A couple of dozen, and no problems that could be attributed to the NC, except for a couple of late hop addition imbalance problems early on.

2c,
T.

 

[Bribie G]

I have done the same a few times (pour hot wort straight from my BIAB urn into the fermenter)

My new favourite is finish the boil in the birko.
Put gladwrap over the top and leave to cool to room temprature over night.
Transfer to fermenter next day.
Worked a treat for the last 4 brews.

I've only had three brews that I needed to tip - two of them I would definitely blame on using bags of Liqourland ice to chill them down (they were partials) and the third was a no-chill in the Birko. That one I would blame on the tap, after dismantling the tap I found some mouldy blue hop debris stuck inside it from some previous brew. Also the sight tube is a bit of a worry as it doesn't get a good boil as such and nasties could lurk.
Having said that, you can probably do a series of no chill in urn and get away with it, and give the tap and sight tube a good cleanout with perc or PBW every time, but once bitten <_<

 

[raven19]

Darn shame about losing that brew mate.

I still have a lambic NC cube in the shed that I brewed maybe 6 months ago...

 

[Pennywise]

I'm getting lazier the more I brew, and have just experimented with the "no-no-chill method"...

... just pour hot wort straight from my BIAB urn into the fermenter, then into the fridge (@at 18 degrees) until morning, then pitch the yeast.

I know this breaks lots of rules, but the ESB I'm drinking was done this way and tastes great!

Glad to see I'm not the only one who no chills into the fermenter.
I even go as far as to put a bottlecap over the airlock hole to stop bugs getting in.

I chill like this also. I wrap some foil over the airlock so as the brew chills & contracts no bugs n stuff get through the airlock as it sucks air in.

 

[MHB]

I chill like this also. I wrap some foil over the airlock so as the brew chills & contracts no bugs n stuff get through the airlock as it sucks air in.

Sort of reminds me of a poster I first saw in the 70"s, much revisited since.
The catch line was "Condoms, the unofficial emblem of the Liberal party because it gives a bunch of fuckwits a false sense of security while being screwed".
A bit of foil isn't going to stop any bugs at all. You would do a lot better with a cotton ball tucked into the end of the airlock, or a HEPA filter in the airlock grommet, use something that actually stops bacteria getting into your fermenter.

MHB



Just for fun

 

[Pennywise]

I just use the foil because of something I read/heard in a discussion about it being harder for bacteria to travell upward. Sort of like when a starter flask is cooling, I just use foil for that too. Only takes a second to put on so I'm not too fussed over it (because the beer tastes the same ). Not really sure it's ******* territory though, maybe just a bit pointless. Cheers for the info

 

[black_labb]

i think if you're going to chill in the fermentor I'd soak a cottonball in no rinse san of some sort and place it into the airlock instead of filling it with water. that should keep things fairly sterile. I think no chill would be better but this method can work.

I'd be stirring up the wort in the fermentor when you pitch the yeast. You need to aerate as boiled water has very little dissolved oxygen.

 

[Steve]

i think if you're going to chill in the fermentor I'd soak a cottonball in no rinse san of some sort and place it into the airlock instead of filling it with water. that should keep things fairly sterile. I think no chill would be better but this method can work.

I'd be stirring up the wort in the fermentor when you pitch the yeast. You need to aerate as boiled water has very little dissolved oxygen.

I no chill overnight in fermenters and have an empty airlock with gradwrap over the top held in place with a lacky band. You only need to aerate if using liquid yeast, not dry yeast.
Cheers
Steve

 

[schooey]

You only need to aerate if using liquid yeast, not dry yeast.

Really? I was under the impression that all yeast cells needed oxygen to get their funk on and multiply?

Anyway...happy to be schooled differently. I still aerate my wort when pitching dry yeast....

On a side note, I discovered a reason I dislike (hate is such a strong word) no chill tonight. I opened a cube of what I thought was RIS tonight to find out it was actually a cube of English Mild. Oh well, looks like the largish starter of 1028/1084 blend is going in the Mild and the 1469 culture in the fridge is going in the RIS... :unsure:

 

[manticle]

Send me your address and I'll post you a couple of textas.

 

[schooey]

Yeah yeah.. I know.. but it was brewed at chappos and we were pissed... blah blah. I had a 50/50 shot at it...

 

[schooey]

Oh and from the Fermentis website...

Oxygen is required to assure a healthy cell multiplication. Oxygenation is
either made by top filling and splashing wort against the wall of the
fermenter, aeration or direct oxygen injection. It is usually recommended
to make the oxygenation on cooled wort. At this stage hygiene is essential
since bacteria may develop during the aeration. Oxygen should only be
added in the first twelve hours of fermentation (9 ppm). Adding oxygen
during late fermentation will increase aldehyde levels and amplify diacetyl
formation. High levels of oxygen will suppress ester production. It has been
noticed that oxygen can increase SO concentrations in some worts.

 

[Steve]

Really? I was under the impression that all yeast cells needed oxygen to get their funk on and multiply?

Anyway...happy to be schooled differently. I still aerate my wort when pitching dry yeast....

Ross mentioned it years ago so I gave it a try. Havent noticed any adverse affects since I started doing it. No delayed lag time etc.
Cheers
Steve

 

[MHB]

Another case of the right answer to a brewing question being Maybe!
There is an optimum amount of yeast, which is determined by many factors including wort gravity, pitching/brewing temperature, wort composition, type and health of the yeast...
I'm of the opinion that in a healthy well balanced wort you can pitch dry yeast without aeration, if you also pay attention to pitch size and all the rest.
Naturally you don't want to over pitch either.

MHB

 

[Sammus]

I just use the foil because of something I read/heard in a discussion about it being harder for bacteria to travell upward. Sort of like when a starter flask is cooling, I just use foil for that too. Only takes a second to put on so I'm not too fussed over it (because the beer tastes the same ). Not really sure it's ******* territory though, maybe just a bit pointless. Cheers for the info

That's true if the air is still, the idea is that the airborne bacteria don't 'swim' around in the air, they just travel on currents. In still air a gooseneck bend is enough to stop any bacteria -- there's a study about this but I can't seem to find it; it's essentially a glass flask of some kind of nutrient rich solution with a goosenck bent opening that has remained sterile for like 100 years or something. This is different when you're 'no chilling', the heat of the work creates a lot of turbulence in the air, and more importantly, as it cools (and the air above it with it), it sucks in more air, this is where infection is possible.

 

[Dazza_devil]

I've had to chill my fermenter down 5-10 degrees in my fermentation fridge before pitching a few times. I use normal dilution strength starsan in my 2-piece airlock and never had a problem, touch wood. I doubt any bacteria would survive the trip through the starsan bubbles and fluid, but you never know I guess.

 

[zebba]

In still air a gooseneck bend is enough to stop any bacteria -- there's a study about this but I can't seem to find it; it's essentially a glass flask of some kind of nutrient rich solution with a goosenck bent opening that has remained sterile for like 100 years or something

God bless Louis Pasteur. I believe the experiment you are thinking of is in the Pastuer Institute, but just looking at Louis Pasteurs page in wiki has a picture of the basic idea. It disproved the idea of spontaneous generation, which makes YEC pages asking why, if evolution were true, we haven't seen any new animals fly out of jars of peanut butter seem rather ignorant...