No Chill Questions

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dr K

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First off this is not a fish nor a trawl or even a troll, nor is it an invitation to defrost issues that long ago went off the boil.
A lot of brewers no-chill, I do not ask why but I do ask:
Do you NC and store for days/weeks/months and use when ready to ferment?
If you do store do you store at room/cellar temp or refridgerate?
If you NC to use that day or the say day after do you:
Let it cool naturally to room temp then pitch and let go
Let it cool naturally to room temp the pitch then place in your temp contrlled fermenting fridge
Place the cube in a temp controlled fermenting fridge and pitch when temps are stabilised.
or..do you place the cube straight away in a 1C fridge to get big cold break then store or pitch at the optimum temp for the yeast you are using and if you do do this do you leave the wort on the trub etc or transfer before pitching thus both oxygenating and claering your beer.
Comments will be appreciated.

K
 
First off this is not a fish nor a trawl or even a troll, nor is it an invitation to defrost issues that long ago went off the boil.
A lot of brewers no-chill, I do not ask why but I do ask:
Do you NC and store for days/weeks/months and use when ready to ferment?

Generally no.

dr K said:
If you do store do you store at room/cellar temp or refridgerate?

Rarely store - if I do it's room temp but in my total no chill experience that's one beer that's still sitting waiting for assessment one way or another.

dr K said:
If you NC to use that day or the say day after do you:
Let it cool naturally to room temp then pitch and let go
Let it cool naturally to room temp the pitch then place in your temp contrlled fermenting fridge
Place the cube in a temp controlled fermenting fridge and pitch when temps are stabilised.
or..do you place the cube straight away in a 1C fridge to get big cold break then store or pitch at the optimum temp for the yeast you are using and if you do do this do you leave the wort on the trub etc or transfer before pitching thus both oxygenating and claering your beer.

I let chill overnight naturally, chill further if necessary (ie if it's summer in Melbourne) and basically get the wort to a few degrees below preferred pitching temp. I then shake the crap out of the cube to oxygenate and pitch in the cube. Cold break is not a concern for me - I have not noticed any flavour difference (nor have comp judges) and I don't drink my beers at temps where chill haze is ever a concern.
 
Leave to cool naturally overnight, put cube in ferment fridge the next day to bring down to pitching temps.
I siphon wort out, if the wort coming out is reasonbly clear then I leave behind the 'cold break'. If not, all goes in anyway.
 
First off this is not a fish nor a trawl or even a troll, nor is it an invitation to defrost issues that long ago went off the boil.
A lot of brewers no-chill, I do not ask why but I do ask:
Do you NC and store for days/weeks/months and use when ready to ferment?
If you do store do you store at room/cellar temp or refridgerate?
If you NC to use that day or the say day after do you:
Let it cool naturally to room temp then pitch and let go
Let it cool naturally to room temp the pitch then place in your temp contrlled fermenting fridge
Place the cube in a temp controlled fermenting fridge and pitch when temps are stabilised.
or..do you place the cube straight away in a 1C fridge to get big cold break then store or pitch at the optimum temp for the yeast you are using and if you do do this do you leave the wort on the trub etc or transfer before pitching thus both oxygenating and claering your beer.
Comments will be appreciated.

K

Hi Doc,

I NC purely because i am still working on the ghetto 3V and i haven't set up anything for chiling yet.

But...to answer your question I usually brew in the arvo and CC squeezing out all of the air and allow to cool overnight to ambient temp.

I transfer to the fermenter the next day by siphoning off, leaving the trub (as much as possible) in the cube.

Set up the FV in the temp controlled fridge 18 degrees C for my ales and pitch yeast as soon as temp drops below 22 degrees C.

The last few batches i have chilled as fast as i can in the sink to below 70 degrees, and then just let them cool to ambient from here overnight.

Theoretically i know i'm far from perfect and NC is my achilles heel to date.

I have also recently ramped my boil time to 90 from 60 minutes to try to knock out DMS precursors.

Go easy on me Doc...
 
I've only done a couple of all grain brews and have no-chilled them all.
Longest I've stored in the cube was 5 weeks in the garage.
I let them cool to room temp naturally. I transfer leaving the crap behind then pitch and put in temp controlled fermenting fridge. Only issue I've had so far is over-bittering.
 
I store for a week generally, tip the lot in, use the fridge to get to specific temps on pitching day. Cool on the shed floor.
 
I made a double one day, stored one for a few months and fermented the other the next day. At this stage i was bottling so i had the opportunity to taste the beers side by side. There was little difference (if any) between the two.

This was storing the cubes in the shed, which could get up to 30-40C.

When i pitch yeast i usually pitch at ambient (max 25C atm) and then let the fermenting fridge bring temps down. I have a ripper of a fermenting fridge so this doesn't take long at all, maybe 2-3 hours.

I have tried to cool a fresh hot cube in the fridge but it really doesn't work. Because of the insulation of the fridge the heat can't escape.

From my readings (and experience) most people fill the cube up, empty most of the air and let it cool slowly. BUt some people do do things to bring the temp down quickly (throw the cube in the pool). Cooling naturally means that the cubes can be stored as long as you want as the inside is properly pastuerised.

Edited to add- I store cubes for 4-6 weeks on a regular basis. I like brewing so i do it all the time, but then it takes me so long to drink it that cubes end up sitting around for ages. Haven't noticed a drop in quality.
 
ok the point of no chill is to cool naturally. I do double batches so no chill suits me! I no chill so I can brew every forntnight or so, yet only ferment one beer a fortnight other wise with only 2 kegs I have I would have the same beer on tap to often!

Cold break is nothing to worry about throw the lot in it parts in it that the yeast will benefit from, So I would not worry about it.

Also no chill I like as if you want to get down to it you can just add a neutral bitter hop then when you want to ferment chill the cube and take off some wort and boil the flavour and aroma hops this way you can brew a double or tripple yet make 2 or 3 different beers.
 
Normally NC into cube overnight then the next day put into fridge to get to pitching temp, transfer into fermenter and pitch yeast. (normally leave a bit of break behind in cube)
Have left it for a week a couple of times.

Today I tried something different and stuck the cube in an esky with a bunch of ice and ran cold water over it to get it to about 30c, then stuck it in the fridge till it got to pitching temp then after dinner transfered to fermenter and pitched yeast.
 
I NC in jerry style container, let it cool naturally to room temps and usually pitch within a couple of days.
Transfer to fermenter - pour from height to aerate , stop once cold break starts to flow.

As long as the temp is within a few degrees of desired ferment temp i let the temp controlled fridge take care of the rest.
 
First off this is not a fish nor a trawl or even a troll, nor is it an invitation to defrost issues that long ago went off the boil.
A lot of brewers no-chill, I do not ask why but I do ask:
Do you NC and store for days/weeks/months and use when ready to ferment?
If you do store do you store at room/cellar temp or refridgerate?
If you NC to use that day or the say day after do you:
Let it cool naturally to room temp then pitch and let go
Let it cool naturally to room temp the pitch then place in your temp contrlled fermenting fridge
Place the cube in a temp controlled fermenting fridge and pitch when temps are stabilised.
or..do you place the cube straight away in a 1C fridge to get big cold break then store or pitch at the optimum temp for the yeast you are using and if you do do this do you leave the wort on the trub etc or transfer before pitching thus both oxygenating and claering your beer.
Comments will be appreciated.

K
Asked myself the same questions when I first NC to be completely honest. What MY instinct told me was chuck it in hot then let it cool for no more than 24hrs then i put it in the fridge at 1-2 degrees. My theory is that food breaks down faster when atoms move faster i.e heat, so put the wort in colder temps just like ya salami and ferment asap for freshest result. Thats me anyway, I like it fresh :icon_cheers:
 
Asked myself the same questions when I first NC to be completely honest. What MY instinct told me was chuck it in hot then let it cool for no more than 24hrs then i put it in the fridge at 1-2 degrees. My theory is that food breaks down faster when atoms move faster i.e heat, so put the wort in colder temps just like ya salami and ferment asap for freshest result. Thats me anyway, I like it fresh :icon_cheers:

I normally chill but today for the first time I put the cube in cold water with a block of ice. Didn't last long. Then put the cube in the fermenting fridge. That was at midday. At 9.00pm it was 22c. Put cube into fermenter nicely aerated then tossed the yeast. Sort of half chill I suppose.
 
I normally chill but today for the first time I put the cube in cold water with a block of ice. Didn't last long. Then put the cube in the fermenting fridge. That was at midday. At 9.00pm it was 22c. Put cube into fermenter nicely aerated then tossed the yeast. Sort of half chill I suppose.
I reckon you got the job done efficiently and fresh as possible. You can't argue with that. Next batch I do i'll chill half straight away and the other half i'll NC (IE put it in a jerry can from bunnings let it cool to ferment temps then chuck it in a fermentor and pitch yeast from same starter) I'll guarantee they will have the same amount of complexity AND when they age (stout) i'll make a bet with Dr K, if he can taste the difference i'll admit he was right .......
 
sorry for a bit :icon_offtopic: but how do you calculate the correct bitterness for a no chill beer?
thx :icon_cheers:
 
krmak. People do it all different ways, and there is prob no true way but the best is a way I do not do.

The best is to just add your hops before 20mins, so just add your bittering hop (prob be mainly your 60 or 90 min hop addition). Then when you want to brew chill the cube down below your fermenting temp (the amount I am not sure never done this) and extract 4lts from the cube and boil that and put in your flavour and aroma hops. Then you just put the boiled wort into the fermenter with the chilled wort and it should come back up to close to your temp.

The way I do it is my 20 min additions go in when the flame is turned off and then work back from there. 0 min additions I usually just dry hop
 
Do you NC and store for days/weeks/months and use when ready to ferment? Sometimes days. Never weeks/months.
If you do store do you store at room/cellar temp or refridgerate?
Let it cool naturally to room temp then pitch and let go
Let it cool naturally to room temp the pitch then place in your temp contrlled fermenting fridge
Place the cube in a temp controlled fermenting fridge and pitch when temps are stabilised. Room temp until cube is room temp then into ferment fridge to pitch temp
or..do you place the cube straight away in a 1C fridge to get big cold break No, I no-chill.
then store or pitch at the optimum temp for the yeast you are using Not trolling, you say? "Hey, no-chillers. Do you know what you're doing?"
and if you do do this do you leave the wort on the trub etc or transfer before pitching thus both oxygenating and claering your beer. Transfer. I don't always make sure I leave the shit in the cube - same diff as running a plate/immersion chiller straight into the fermenter as far as I can see.
 
Do you NC and store for days/weeks/months and use when ready to ferment? I do all the above

If you do store do you store at room/cellar temp or refridgerate? Cellar/room temp

If you NC to use that day or the say day after do you: N/A
Let it cool naturally to room temp then pitch and let go I cannot see this possible, it will not cool naturally the same day

Let it cool naturally to room temp the pitch then place in your temp contrlled fermenting fridge
I cannot see this possible, it will not cool naturally the same day

Place the cube in a temp controlled fermenting fridge and pitch when temps are stabilised.
or..do you place the cube straight away in a 1C fridge to get big cold break then store or pitch at the optimum temp for the yeast you are using and if you do do this do you leave the wort on the trub etc or transfer before pitching thus both oxygenating and claering your beer.
Comments will be appreciated.
 
I reckon you got the job done efficiently and fresh as possible. You can't argue with that. Next batch I do i'll chill half straight away and the other half i'll NC (IE put it in a jerry can from bunnings let it cool to ferment temps then chuck it in a fermentor and pitch yeast from same starter) I'll guarantee they will have the same amount of complexity AND when they age (stout) i'll make a bet with Dr K, if he can taste the difference i'll admit he was right .......


Gav I'd love to know how that experiment turns out. Give me a heads up when you do the testing. :icon_cheers:
 
I have stored cubes for up to six months with no issues. Only issue I've ever had was a cube that got hidden away for 13 months, and it leaked just a small amount of oxygen in. Pitched and fermented anyway, but did taste oxidised.

I usually do double batches that give me 2 full cubes, they then sit in the downstairs brewing area/garage until ready to pitch. They're usually still above ambient sometimes even 24 hours later.

If I have the space I will chuck them into the fermenting fridge at fermenting temp to cool before pitching, but usually don't. I dump the whole cube in, trub and all, never noticed any issues.

Just as a comparison on today's APA, I'm doing a double batch, half into the cube with 20g Citra, the other half whirlpooled and the other 20g added to the kettle at around 80C. I have a kiddies swimming pool set up, so thought I'd give the old immersion chiller a run and see how it fares. I will also pre-chill another small copper coil in an ice bath.

Will report on the differences if I remember :)

Cheers
 
what are you up to K?

Why the sudden interest in NC'ing? I felt, perhaps incorrectly, that this method didnt suit you so am curious as to the reasons for the topics.

though it must be said that the last one was a great read.

I'd like to thank you as I didnt even know about botulism previously.

Yob
 

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