Ok I Have To Ask, What Is No Chill?

[mick8882003]

Well really I just want to confirm what I think no chill is, that is not cooling the wort letting it sit overnight? To cool naturally?

I assume this is correct, so what are the pros and cons to this, is it worth it, anyone had an infection trying this? Do many people do it? Also any web pages outlining it would be great.

Cheers Mick

 

[Cortez The Killer]

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...;showarticle=56

Cheers

 

[Bribie G]

Just so. Did my first no chill a few days ago. In your excellent article, Cortez, you mentioned possible difficulty in getting wort from cube into fermenter so while this thread is live, pls note that if you buy a jerry, for examle the current Willow ones at Bunnings, they often come with an extra spout (either a straight one or a flexible one) which you can screw on after you take off the screwcap and it makes pouring easier.

Also I let the cube cool for a few hours then put in fridge to chill right down overnight and pitch next day.

 

[Swinging Beef]

What CtheK said, +

not cooling the wort letting it sit overnight? YES
To cool naturally? YES
anyone had an infection trying this? Maybe, but probably NO
Do many people do it? In Australia, YES

 

[geoffi]

I don't have any probs with getting the wort from cube to fermenter. I just tip it in. My theory is that the splashing from this transfer oxygenates the wort. And I don't worry about break material etc, as I believe that will settle out in the fermenter anyway.

One big advantage of this method I've found is that I can do double batches and end up with a number of cubes 'fermenter ready'. Same work, more beer...how sweet it is!

 

[raven19]

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...;showarticle=56

Cheers

+1 It is a great article this one. So many good things to read on AHB, work is really starting to get in the way! :lol:

 

[PostModern]

I don't have any probs with getting the wort from cube to fermenter. I just tip it in. My theory is that the splashing from this transfer oxygenates the wort. And I don't worry about break material etc, as I believe that will settle out in the fermenter anyway.

One big advantage of this method I've found is that I can do double batches and end up with a number of cubes 'fermenter ready'. Same work, more beer...how sweet it is!

+1 On both counts. Must be an Illawarra thing

I love this about no chill. I almost only brew double batches now (except big beers where a 44L mash tun volume is the limiting factor).

 

[Cortez The Killer]

When ever I tip the wort out of the top of my cubes I always miss the fermenter... always

Nothing worse than sticky wort on the floor

Taps on the cubes make transfer a lot easier

Cheers

 

[Pumpy]

Ohh Noo !!!

Just hope Darren dont see this Topic,
he may drag his beer crate down,turn it upside down here stand on it ,under a street lamp, and start 'Ranting' "The End of the World is Nigh " "No Chill is the end of Humanity as we know it"

Pumpy :unsure:

 

[matti]

Ohh Noo !!!

Just hope Darren dont see this Topic,
he may drag his beer crate down,turn it upside down here stand on it ,under a street lamp, and start 'Ranting' "The End of the World is Nigh " "No Chill is the end of Humanity as we know it"

Pumpy :unsure:

h34r: :lol:

Not boored by any chance, Pumpy.....

 

[warrenlw63]

When ever I tip the wort out of the top of my cubes I always miss the fermenter... always

Nothing worse than sticky wort on the floor

Taps on the cubes make transfer a lot easier

Cheers

Cortez

If you go to Kmart and buy one of those small 5 litre Willow cubes they have the same opening as the regular ones.

Bonus is they give you a blue spout that screws onto the thread on the lid. Makes pouring to the fermenter a far easier experience.

Warren -

 

[mikem108]

Flame Suit on!!

Does "Rapidly Chilled" taste better than "no chill" in a side by side blind tasting- YES

 

[Cortez The Killer]

Hi Mike

Have you got any further info re: the blind tasting?

Eg recipe, differences perceived, procedure undertaken etc

It'd be interesting to see if anything else may have accounted for difference in taste, or if the chill indeed tasted better - then why so

Cheers

 

[jonocarroll]

Does "Rapidly Chilled" taste better than "no chill" in a side by side blind tasting- YES

I've not done a 'no-chill' yet, but to be fair, I haven't done a 'rapid-chill' yet either (new to this) but I'm also keen to know about a side-by-side tasting. Is it from the exact same batch (half into cube, half through chiller)? Both fermenters in the same fridge at the same time?

This all comes down to what equipment you have. Even if there is a clear cut improvement by going rapid-chill (which has yet to be proven or unproven), I'm not going that way just yet as it costs money, and uses up water (sure, you can use it on the garden, etc...). I've done my 'lesser' beers without a ferment fridge and they've come out okay. I'm (reliably) told that using a ferment fridge will dramatically improve the taste, but the lack of one isn't the end of the world. You make do with what you've got, and no-chill seems to do an okay job.

I see no-chill as an inexpensive way to get the wort cooled. If you don't like it, don't do it - get/build a chiller. Just don't let people tell you it's the devil's method if they don't know for sure that it will make anything of lesser quality.

 

[Stuster]

I think Mike might be hoping I post in this thread, being somebody who has defended no-chill just a bit. I have recently done a side-by-side split batch of APA, half run off to a cube, the second half chilled with an immersion chiller in about 15-20 minutes. Fermented with half of a big starter each. Then things got messy which confuses things slightly. I messed up on my batches and bottled the chilled half, thought I was bottling the other no-chilled half and racking a saison. Turns out I bottled the saison, and racked the no-chilled half which then got a two week secondary before it was bottled. Anyway, other than that all is identical and I can't see the extra secondary time being dramatically different to extra time in the bottle. I will do another test next year just to be sure.

So the results are pretty dramatic to my taste. The chilled batch has dramatically more aroma, and the aroma is much sharper, brighter. The no-chill beer is certainly fine, but the no-chill is better. I don't think the malt tastes are different in any way that I have noticed. The no-chill beer probably has a little more hop flavour which I guess is what you'd expect, with some of the flame out additions being turned into flavour additions. So, I haven't been able to test it out on any other brewers, but my wife is an APA lover (and winner of the Bathurst comp pale ale category ) and she could tell the difference really easily in a taste test and massively preferred the chilled one. I'm going to be doing another split batch next year and will get more people to have a triangular test of the two beers. I'll still be doing no chill for beers where hops are not the main event, but for APAs and IPAs, my chiller gets a reprieve from the scrap yard. B)

 

[Cortez The Killer]

In light of that I wonder if hopping in the fermenter is a better option for no-chillers

Cheers

 

[Paul H]

What CtheK said, +

not cooling the wort letting it sit overnight? YES
To cool naturally? YES
anyone had an infection trying this? Maybe, but probably NO
Do many people do it? In Australia, YES

AFAIAC it would be like kissing your sister....................it just isn't right ^_^

Cheers

Paul

 

[Bribie G]

Stuster, so you're suggesting that no chill might be the go for malt driven beers? Sounds reassuring as I'll be doing Yorkshire bitters etc for the time being. There are a couple of threads currently going (like today) on no chill and hops; and ultra late hopping has been put forward as a 'patch' to reduce unwanted bitterness and boost hop flavour/aroma.

I'll drag out my espresso machine for my next brew and chuck in a short styrian extra shot, and report on how that goes

 

[pokolbinguy]

Ok so I didnt read the whole of this thread but I pose this question...

If I taking the boiled wort out of my kettle and place in a blue willow jerry can and then place in fridge straight away (set to 4 degs), would this be a viable way to cool ht wort ???

Or should I put in a cube/jerry and squeeze all the air out etc or use a a chiller.

Anyway I'm sure someone has tried it.

Cheers, Pok

 

[geoffi]

In light of that I wonder if hopping in the fermenter is a better option for no-chillers

Cheers

Or just using a bit more finishing hops where needed.

I believe the extra hops would also reduce the dire threat of botulism

(Preemptive strike, there...)