No Chill Cube

[ArcLight]

Based on my reading here, some of you drain the hot wort directly into some kind of plastic container (cube shaped) and let it cool for a day before pitching the yeast.
I live in the USA.

What containers would be appropriate for a 20 liter batch?
What should I avoid?
Where might I get a cube in the USA?

What problems might I encounter when using a Cube?

Some when mentioned even fermenting in the Cube?
Any problems with that?

 

[Yob]

Based on my reading here, some of you drain the hot wort directly into some kind of plastic container (cube shaped) and let it cool for a day before pitching the yeast.
I live in the USA.

What containers would be appropriate for a 20 liter batch?
What should I avoid?
Where might I get a cube in the USA?

What problems might I encounter when using a Cube?

Some when mentioned even fermenting in the Cube?
Any problems with that?

Here's a link to the fermenting in a cube Article

Most camping type shops should have water drums that will be suitable HDPE type conatiners are the go.

Make sure the tap is well sealed prior to putting the wort in.. a leak at those temps is not what you want.

Add 20 mins to your hop addition calculations to compensate for the extended time at high temps.

Try to expel as much air as possible.. while the cubes in the image below are 20lt I manage to get between 23 and 25lt into them with little to no air left.



the drum on the right is starsan not wort

 

[manticle]

Hi,

This link is to a very long thread on a US based forum which will probably give you some ideas. Winpaks seem to get mentioned a lot once you get past all the doubters:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/exploring-...brewing-117111/

 

[ArcLight]

Great article, thank you.

I found this on Amazon, does it look OK for a 20 liter batch?
(is there some extra space, so the 20 liter can has maybe 21+ liters of space?)

http://www.amazon.com/Liter-Heavy-Duty-Wat...id=L0M1J3H2TCY5


Do you siphon out of a cube into your bottling bucket?
Or just pour in the beer? (Probably a risk of Oxygenating it if you do.)

 

[bcp]

Great article, thank you.

I found this on Amazon, does it look OK for a 20 liter batch?
(is there some extra space, so the 20 liter can has maybe 21+ liters of space?)

http://www.amazon.com/Liter-Heavy-Duty-Wat...id=L0M1J3H2TCY5


Do you siphon out of a cube into your bottling bucket?
Or just pour in the beer? (Probably a risk of Oxygenating it if you do.)

Most of us don't ferment in the cube, so i pour the thing through a strainer into my fermenter. A few people like Manticle ferment in the cube as well.

 

[hsb]

You'd want to be siphoning, or using a cube with a tap attached, for exactly the reason you propose (O2)

I No Chill into one of these cubes, then tip it all into a 30L plastic pail to ferment.
One issue with fermenting direct in the cube you used is oxygenating the wort, but the other thread has discussion on all that.

No Chill is great for stockpiling brews, and for avoiding the whole chilling/pitching stage rolled into brewday.
Fermenting in cubes is great purely as a space saving option - can fit more of them in a fridge.

Can't tell from your Amazon link what that jerry can is made of, ideally you want HDPE, the first dozen or so hits here for example:
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=20l+no+c...9S-Gc24iAeQrdFZ

Other plastics mightn't be so good with the near-boiling wort.
(ie; LDPE)

 

[black_labb]

HSB, what's wrong with pouring from the cube into the fermentor? I've siphoned a fair bit but have decided that it's no better unless you have drained all the trub into the cube as well. I think most people pour from the cube as it is simpler and has enough separation to keep a bit of trub behind.

 

[hsb]

Crossed wires there, the OP was asking about pouring from a fermented cube, rather than a wort cube.
I'm 100% with you on pouring straight out of the No Chill wort cube into the fermenter.

 

[manticle]

Do you siphon out of a cube into your bottling bucket?
Or just pour in the beer? (Probably a risk of Oxygenating it if you do.)

My cubes are tapped so I use silicon hose to transfer. Otherwise siphon.

 

[Bats]

I have been using the No Chill method for a while now with great success.

I have a couple of different types of cubes. Some can be squeezed and contorted more than others. Some can hardly be squeezed at all.

I prefer to no chill in the narrower 'Coleman' camping style (or similar) HDPE water cans. As they are narrower in shape, I can fit more side by side in my fermentation fridge. They are a lot tougher though and can not be squeezed to easily.

Any tips on how to squeeze the air out? Sometimes I don't have the luxury of filling the cube to the top.

I have heard that some purge the empty space with co2.

 

[manticle]

Wall on one side, knee squeezing the cube on the other.

I just use my knees and make sure I am wearing pants but I use willow cubes and have incredible thigh muscles.

 

[lukiferj]

I just use my knees and make sure I am wearing pants

This was the first mistake I made. Lack of suitable pants.

 

[manticle]

Pants are a must.

 

[lukiferj]

Learnt the hard way h34r:

 

[manticle]

Once I tried to give my cat a worming pill first thing in the morning while I was wearing nothing but a dressing gown.
With me crouched down and balls visible, the young tiger decided he didn't want the tablet and indicated so with one movement of a claw fronted paw.
Cop a cat claw in the boiled potato bag once and you soon learn to wear pants on every occasion.

 

[lukiferj]

Ouch. Also a lesson learnt the hard way!

 

[Spiesy]

Pants, or just use a towel/cloth to make sure the heat from the cube doesn't burn - if you like to brew naked (or in shorts).

 

[jyo]

Pants are a must.

After heeding some advice from Cocko, I now brew naked, or in the winter months, in my jocks.

I find a good quality Egyptian cotton towel draped across the knees as the hot cube is drawn betwixt suits me just fine.

 

[manticle]

You obviously don't have a cat

What sort of a sick, perverted, deviant, gutter bound waste of human life accepts advice from Cocko anyway?

 

[jyo]

You obviously don't have a cat

What sort of a sick, perverted, deviant, gutter bound waste of human life accepts advice from Cocko anyway?

The 'How to Cube Naked' guide with annotated iphone pics he sent me was very persausive.